Metropoulos Forum

While my attempt to get an accurate repro cloth with the rubberized strips, etc has stalled, I've made some significant progress on the digital recreation. A client in Europe took some hi-res pics of his pinstripe straight cab, and I manipulated it very close to a reality for printing with one of my friends who has a shop that has a large format dye sub printer and decent cloth to print it on.

The almost final tweaked out cloth file is going to a Photoshop capable graphic artist today (I already sent it to them in fact) and hopefully I'll have a fully dialed in blended without any edges or artifacts type file in a short while.

For now, though, this is where I'm at with the digital recreation before final tweaking. It's pretty decent, and some filters will be applied to even out some shadows in the top and right sides of the file. Some of the holes/tears aren't completely tweaked out yet, but I feel this is pretty darn close.

Feel free to comment. I do not have a price for this yet, by the way. I'll have to see what it costs to print/ship/yada yada yada.

Graphic artist got the CD and he's made some further improvements below. A bit more filter tweaking and I think we'll have a winner!

Looks very promising! So I take it this won't have any "texture"?

Nope, no texture. The cloth it will be printed on will be thicker white cloth, somewhere in the 1/8" thick zone, or just under, as I remember it. That piece I had done originally a long time ago is in storage.

It's not going to have the reduced air flow of original pinstripe, either, which appears to be about 65-75% rubberized strips and the rest of it the backing cloth.

But if the graphic file works out I'll be able to offer it for far less than what's currently being set for a price, or so I hope!

Here's a close up pic of the cloth Udo sent me so long ago.

http://www.southbayampworks.com/pinstri ... stripe.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not being one that's a huge PS fan, I think it looks great!

Lookin' pretty sweet there Jim.

thousandshirts wrote:Lookin' pretty sweet there Jim.

Graphic artist got my CD and has already improved the file quite a bit. Check this out.

I got a preliminary quote on doing the digital pinstripe cloth from my printer. If my calculations are correct, we'll be looking somewhere in the $100 or less category for a yard of cloth, including shipping to the USA. Obviously more for shipping to foreign countries.

The completed file should be back to me sometime next week, then I'll send it off to the printer to have 10 yards made up. When I get the cloth in it will be 36 inches tall and 28.5 inches wide, plenty to do a tall TV cab.

And since I have one of those in storage...I guess that's what I'll do first.

Careful. When you're out on a nice day shopping, and people say "Cabbie!" for a taxi, you might start turning your head and looking!

Southbay Ampworks wrote:

thousandshirts wrote:Lookin' pretty sweet there Jim.

Graphic artist got my CD and has already improved the file quite a bit. Check this out.

There's a pretty visible stripe running vertically about 1/6th from the right hand edge. Also, a darker and somewhat creased area around just below the center. Any chance to touch-up those? OTOH, this way it has a certain amount of wear "built-in"...kind of like a relic.

Be sure to post photos of a cab, logo installed and all!

shakti, yeah, the artist is on those "stripe" areas already. This was just his first pass at it quickly and he's pretty sure he can get it all looking even and balanced from side to side. We've already discussed the problem areas, but you should have seen it when it started.

It was this... http://www.southbayampworks.com/pinstri ... o253lq.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So there's been a huge improvement in quality since it started.

Latest version. Too big to post, have to link it. This is only 1/2 size.

http://www.southbayampworks.com/pinstri ... e62502.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Southbay Ampworks wrote:Latest version. Too big to post, have to link it. This is only 1/2 size.

Looking damn fine, and the estimated price tag definitely has a positive feeling to it. I guess I'll keep checking back here to see how this goes. I know what your personal quality control philosophy is like,
so when it is good enough for you, I'm sure it will go over well elsewhere. Looking forward to it.

Seems my graphic artist is not quite done. He wants another day or two with it to fine tune it and get the repeating pattern right (I guess there is one!) before he sends me back a 1/2 gb file.

LOL

Can't say as I blame him. He knows how I am about this type of stuff.

TS, you're right, too. When I think it's good enough for me, then I'll offer it up to others, and not before. The curse of perfectionism I guess.