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Very nice work!
I'm usually hanging around more in the Charvel side of the fence, or I would have checked this out sooner!
I do this kind of thing all the time, although I've never done a clear'd over graphic- I run a small design/graphics studio in my day-job, so I've got access to all of the equipment that this is done on.
A couple observations from my read-through:
1) the 'checkerboard' pattern is a function of what's called "air egress technology" used in some of the higer-end vinyls used on vehicle wraps- basically it is a series of small air channels in the adhesive layer, designed to let bubbles squeeze out from under the graphic without having to pop them from the front. The vinyl used for your print was actually the 1st generation iteration of this, as the newer versions fixed that problem with smaller channels and different patterns. The same vinyl is also available without the air egress, but for small print jobs you may just have to go with what the printer has in stock.
2) Nice work on the hand-cutting for the HS logo and the hidden lion- I do have a computer-driven vinyl plotter that does the same thing, just with the precision and accuracy that comes from CAD devices. It makes me cringe to see that pattern-over method, just because the computer makes it so clean and easy. I'd be happy to help out if you ever need more done-
3) you hit the nail on the head with the 'vinyl edge transition' issue- I guess you put enough clear over it to fill in the step down where the print transitions to the paint? I'm definitely interested to see how that finished off. Looks excellent in the pics, but can you see/feel it at all through the clear? I've come up with a few tricks myself for this kind of stuff- but I mostly try to use hard-edged guitars (with binding if possible) that have a nice square edge that I can trim on. LPs, acoustics, etc. are what I started out doing, and then moving up to SGs (which have a small roundover edge) and finally my last one was a strat. Those large roundovers & comfort contours can make for some great fun.
Here's my last one- a squier '51 Vintage Modified Strat that we gave away at my band's last show:
Basically had to wrap the guitar, and then the HUGE pickguard to make it look good.
Oh yeah- Green Strap!
I'm usually hanging around more in the Charvel side of the fence, or I would have checked this out sooner!
I do this kind of thing all the time, although I've never done a clear'd over graphic- I run a small design/graphics studio in my day-job, so I've got access to all of the equipment that this is done on.
A couple observations from my read-through:
1) the 'checkerboard' pattern is a function of what's called "air egress technology" used in some of the higer-end vinyls used on vehicle wraps- basically it is a series of small air channels in the adhesive layer, designed to let bubbles squeeze out from under the graphic without having to pop them from the front. The vinyl used for your print was actually the 1st generation iteration of this, as the newer versions fixed that problem with smaller channels and different patterns. The same vinyl is also available without the air egress, but for small print jobs you may just have to go with what the printer has in stock.
2) Nice work on the hand-cutting for the HS logo and the hidden lion- I do have a computer-driven vinyl plotter that does the same thing, just with the precision and accuracy that comes from CAD devices. It makes me cringe to see that pattern-over method, just because the computer makes it so clean and easy. I'd be happy to help out if you ever need more done-
3) you hit the nail on the head with the 'vinyl edge transition' issue- I guess you put enough clear over it to fill in the step down where the print transitions to the paint? I'm definitely interested to see how that finished off. Looks excellent in the pics, but can you see/feel it at all through the clear? I've come up with a few tricks myself for this kind of stuff- but I mostly try to use hard-edged guitars (with binding if possible) that have a nice square edge that I can trim on. LPs, acoustics, etc. are what I started out doing, and then moving up to SGs (which have a small roundover edge) and finally my last one was a strat. Those large roundovers & comfort contours can make for some great fun.
Here's my last one- a squier '51 Vintage Modified Strat that we gave away at my band's last show:
Basically had to wrap the guitar, and then the HUGE pickguard to make it look good.
Oh yeah- Green Strap!
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