PEDAL UV PRINTING

I am able to UV print pedal enclosures for your commercial or DIY builds. This printing is done in-house, with a Roland (yes, BOSS Roland, Japan) VersaUV printer. These prints really are the highest quality that you will find. By far. I have dealt with many local UV printers over the years, and been through my share of the associated quality issues out there.

I am based in Dandenong, Victoria, Australia.

Please email me at thornbury@gmail.com for any questions or orders.

Please take the time to read the information below.

Terms

Printing cost is $9 per pedal, with a minimum charge of $45 per order. Return postage is charged additionally. Further fees may be charged if there is more processing than usual.

Artwork file preparation can vary in complexity if you need to use white ink. If complex artwork setup is required, then a minimum order of 5x pedals may be charged per artwork file.

I'm not currently stocking blank enclosures here. You will have to deliver them to me, or order them delivered to me directly from the distributor. Many builders prefer to order enclosures from Tayda, as they have economical and fast delivery to Australia.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Which file type is preferred?
A: Most file formats are okay, but a .PDF, .PSD, or .AI file would be great, as these retains physical sizing information, and can also include all of your layer information which can be extremely helpful to setup white and clear ink layers.

If your file doesn't have sizing information, then you must provide the printing resolution (DPI) to make it print to scale. Try to use a transparent background where possible to help setup white and clear ink layers.

Q: What is the maximum print resolution quality?
A: All prints are done @ 1440 DPI. So please feel free to use larger files up to this resolution, if you want higher quality prints.

Q: Can I print matte or gloss?
A: Yes. Please let me know if you have a preference. You can even specify which areas are matte or gloss within the artwork file. A clear varnish layer is printed on top for adding gloss, and adding protection to the print. This varnish process is generally recommended, but not required.

There is an extra high gloss capability for accent areas, but is generally not suggested. This works best for thin and small artwork areas, such as text labels. This is not practical to use for filled print areas, as it will likely form bubbles on the surface. Extra high gloss requires 3x additional processes inside the printer, and uses a lot of extra ink. There is an additional fee of $3 per pedal for extra high gloss accents. Standard gloss is without additional charge.

Q: Do I need to wait for dry time?
A: No. The ink is fully cured by the UV light. A box of freshly printed enclosures might have an ink smell, but this goes away after being exposed to the air for a while.

Q: How strong is the print? Should I use a clear coat?
A: It's probably the toughest printing process around. Particularly when printing to powder coat, or paint. The amount of effort required to scratch or chip the print, is usually pretty much what would be required to also damage the base coat. So you don't need to paint over the top. I generally print a clear protective varnish layer on top of most prints.

Care should still be taken when drilling large holes through printed areas. It's better to make exclusion areas in the artwork to avoid potentially chipping the print. If you simply must drill through a printed area (say for a 3mm LED hole), then I would advise to do this extra carefully and slowly as a small a mount or burring is likely to occur. I do this with some of my builds, so its not a big problem, but definitely worth mentioning.

I have seen only one powder coat surface where the ink did not adhere so great, which was made 'okay' with the use of clear ink on top. But all of the powders from Tayda etc. have been perfect.

Q: What's this about white ink?
A: Okay, so this is one of the trickier concepts to explain... If you are not printing to a white surface, then an area must be specified in the artwork to print a white base layer for colours to match correctly. If you have white areas in your artwork (#FFFFFF), those areas will be clear and not print anything. This principal is exactly the same as how a home A4 printer would work - you always start with white paper.

For example; if you print blue directly on a red box, it might look purple - not blue. If you print blue on a black box, it will still mostly look black.

White and gloss inks are defined as SPOT colours: RDG_WHITE and RDG_GLOSS. I assist setting these up. This is where it is helpful to have a working file with layers and transparencies, to better select theses areas.

The CMYK ink should ideally overprint past the white ink by a small amount, to hide the edges of the white base layer. This isn't necessary, but it's a professional touch.

Q: How do you make everything align? How close can I print to the edge?
A: Your artwork must be centred in your file. The enclosure is centred inside a rectangular print area by-eye. If you are trying to print a border right to the edge, then any alignment imperfections will become easier to notice.

Your artwork file must have sizing information, or otherwise you'll need to just tell me the DPI you were working with.

Here is a suggested template for keeping withing the curved print boundary of a 1590N / 125B enclosure. Please contact me for a 1590B or 1590BB template etc.

• 1590N1 / 125B boundary

Q: What dimensions should my working file be?
A: It doesn't matter, as long as your artwork is in the centre of the file, and doesn't exceed the physical printable area of the enclosure.

Q: Can I print on textured surfaces?
A: Yes. Textured powder coating and paints are okay to print on. As long as they are clean of loose debris like hair fibers. The closer the print head can get, the better.

Q: Can I print over a drilled hole?
A: Please put some tape under the holes so that the ink has somewhere to land, otherwise the ink will 'mist'.

Q: Can I print directly to metal?
A: Under some conditions, yes. Though the ink won't bond as well as it would to powder coating or paint. Thin print areas such as text can sometimes be scratched off. The durability of the ink does vary with different enclosure surfaces. Durability can be improved by sanding the surface of the enclosure (I can provide this service). Larger print areas are more durable, and can be made with a wide base area, or by printing clear cover over the surface of the whole enclosure. A good example of this is my Big Fuzz pedal, which is printed directly to a sanded enclosure, without using a white ink base coat.

Basically, thin areas printed directly to metal cannot be guaranteed as durable. It may work fine, but a test is suggested.

Printing is not available on polished metal, as this can damage the print heads.

Q: Is there a guarantee for duds or errors?
A: Yes. Sometimes errors occur, particularly setting up new files. It's a small percentage, but it's worth having a clear policy to address this. If errors occur as a result of the printer or my own fault, then I can offer to replace and reprint the enclosure with a matching Tayda or Hammond enclosure, or possibly re-powder coat it here.

Q: Can I print on irregular shaped enclosures?
A: The print head needs to be able to hover directly above the printing area, so printing can only be made on the highest point of the enclosure. The surface needs to be reasonable flat and level. Curved surfaces will need to be printed slower, from a distance, and loose image clarity with increased curvature distance.

Q: Can UV printing help me acid etch enclosures?
A: Yes. UV printing can make an excellent acid resist mask. I've done this myself using clear ink and ferric chloride.