who can print wording on dials?

[stallonepanerai]

Is there anyone that is able to print wording on a sterile dial for me?

Thanks in advance

[jcrry2]

i would also like to know

[blackbard]

Or, conversely, who can give us a tutorial?

[bob bean]

I had a local printer (pad printer) do this one off dial for me.

There must be one in your local area I would imagine. Just look for those little outfits that do corporate goodies. Pens, cups, etc.

[Dudemeister]

I have an Alps printer that can print among other things white, silver and gold. This printer is very commonly used to print decals (water slide type) which are waterproof, and if applied properly, can look like a silk screen job. These are opaque inks on transparent decal paper, much like you see in a model kit.

I've done many decals for some of my other hobbies, but never for a watch. Considering how small the lettering can be on a dial, it would be interesting to try one. The printer does have a 1200dpi resolution, so it should work.

I anyone is interested I can try to run a few tests. All I need is the artwork, in vector graphics format (Illustrator, Corel, eps, etc). Very high resolution bitmaps should work as well (1200dpi or better).

I was thinking of doing a few date wheels, but I don't have access to the original lettering fonts or hi-res scans.

[bob bean]

Doing decal using Alps printer was my first avenue of thought, I was advised that I may need to apply (airbrush) a coat of clear matt varnish to help reduce the possibility of seeing the edges of the decal.

Any thoughts on that Dudemeister? How noticeable would the edges be?

[Dudemeister]

The film is extremely thin, and when applied using a special decal softening solution like the MicroSet stuff, it's nearly perfect, but under certain lighting and at certain angles you can see the sheen of the decal film.

So to answer your question, yes, you should apply a coat of clear paint (flat, satin, gloss) what ever makes the surface look like the original. Not only does the clear coat blend the decal in, it also protects it from scratches.

For example on a Panerai dial you'd use a flat coat. Two possible techniques to minimize the visible edges would be to either trim the decal as close as possible to the actual drawing/letters, etc, or alternately, have it cover the entire surface of the dial, edge to edge. That last one would work well on surfaces that have little or no textures or applique stuff (glued on markers or logos)

[Francisco]

here examples of modding that I have done using decals:

text on PAM dials:

Modding Hublot Big Bang:

Modding Officine Panerai text:

Regards,

Francisco