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| The following is a good method of custom lettering equipment panels with professional looking durable results. The quality of your results depends on how careful you are in the process. |
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Materials you will need.... AVERY CLEAR FULL SHEET LABELS #8665 AVERY LAMINATING SHEETS #73601 COMPUTER INK JET OR LASER PRINTER |
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The #8665 sheets state they are for ink jet printers but I have used them on a laser printer with excellent results. STEP ONE Design your panel lettering using a computer program of your choice. I have done panel lettering using ©Microsoft PAINT, ©Microsoft WORD or any word processor. Using PAINT makes laying out easy. Using a word processor tends to yield a somewhat sharper printed image. The example shown below was done using WORD. Do a rough lettering layout putting an X where any holes will be drilled. Print a test sheet on paper. Fit the test sheet over the panel and see if it fits the way you want. I suggest you always put a boarder around the design as shown in the example. Besides dressing up the panel it makes for a good cutting guide. NOTE: It makes life easier if you do not drill panel holes until you have your layout done on paper. The holes are drilled using the printout as a template. Put an X on your layout where you want to drill a hole. Once you have the panel lettering layout done, print on a piece of paper. This is your template for drilling any holes. Go to step 2. STEP TWO Carefully cut out the template (using the boarder as a guide if you used one). Tape the template in position on the panel. Using the X marks, carefully drill your holes. It is a good idea to use a small drill first, and then use the larger correct size drill. This helps prevent the larger drill from "walking" out of position. Once you have all your holes drilled and de-burred, clean the panel off and paint if desired. In the example below a pre-painted panel was used. STEP THREE Print the AVERY label using the 8665 clear label. Make sure you use the same program you printed the template and printer you printed the template with. Give the label enough time to dry. Use Scotch tape and tape the label down to a clean flat surface so it will not move but be careful not to tape over or near the printed area. DO NOT REMOVE THE BACKING FROM THE LABEL. Now take a #73601 laminating sheet, remove the laminating backing and start from one edge of the label and slowly apply the lamination over the label. Use your finger tips (not your nails) and rub the lamination down as you go along keeping air bubbles from forming. |
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STEP FOUR Carefully cut out the laminated label. |
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STEP FIVE Clean panel surface with isopropyl alcohol to get all grease off. Dry panel with clean rag or paper towel. Let panel air dry for a few minutes. Panel should be at room temperature 70 to 90 degrees fahrenheit so label will stick good. |
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STEP SIX Apply the label to the panel. Remove the backing from the label and carefully allign all the X's with the correct holes and apply the label to the panel. If the label starts to go on crooked, carefully pull the label off from one side and re-align. Rub with your fingers and work out air pockets starting at one side to the other. |
| Use a sharp Xacto knife to cut out holes in the label. Cut around the edge of the holes carefully to prevent the knife from causing a rip in the label. Panels should be a light color like shown. Dark colored panels will make it difficult to see the lettering. |
PANEL LETTERING - PANEL LETTERING - PANEL LETTERING - PANEL LETTERING - PANEL LETTERING - PANEL LETTERING
PANEL LETTERING - PANEL LETTERING - PANEL LETTERING - PANEL LETTERING - PANEL LETTERING - PANEL LETTERING
PANEL LETTERING - PANEL LETTERING - PANEL LETTERING - PANEL LETTERING - PANEL LETTERING - PANEL LETTERING
PANEL LETTERING - PANEL LETTERING - PANEL LETTERING - PANEL LETTERING - PANEL LETTERING - PANEL LETTERING