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Old 2nd Aug 2017, 9:17 am   #21
Andrew2
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Default Re: Lettering on metals - how is is done?

Scott - when I were a lad I had a B44 VHF transceiver (it came from a dealer via PW I think) and I used to look in awe at the innards and was especially fascinated by the labelling of the major chassis-mounted components. The chassis itself was lovely clean aluminium and the labelling so black & crisp, just like your photos.
Re type-faces. I don't know if anyone here watched it, but on BBC4 the other night was a fascinating documentary about the Johnston typeface which was developed for use on the London Underground. From this came the Gill typeface which was almost identical but cleaned up somewhat. Very 'wartime'.
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Old 2nd Aug 2017, 9:52 am   #22
David G4EBT
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Default Re: Lettering on metals - how is is done?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew2 View Post
Re type-faces. I don't know if anyone here watched it, but on BBC4 the other night was a fascinating documentary about the Johnston typeface which was developed for use on the London Underground. From this came the Gill typeface which was almost identical but cleaned up somewhat. Very 'wartime'.
Very interesting programme - I hadn't realised just hope ubiquitous Gill sans and the Johnston typeface are but they're all around us - in the home and outdoors - and we don't even notice. The most common typeface in the world is apparently Helvetica, due largely to it being the standard font used by Apple for its products. Neither had I realised that the term 'font' is really about the size of a typeface - not its style. The correct term is 'typeface' - not 'font'.

You can watch the hour long BBC4 programme on i-player here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...ces-of-britain

Some interesting info about it here, and about the design aspects of typeface proportions:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35916807

This too, might be of interest:

Helvetica: How did one typeface conquer the world?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-maga...nitor-26383185
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Old 2nd Aug 2017, 11:30 am   #23
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Default Re: Lettering on metals - how is is done?

An unfortunate feature of Helvetica is that the upper case "I" and lower-case "l" are identical. In many situations the context makes it clear whet is meant, but in technical documents where both symbols appear in forumlae (and in on-line passwords, where in addition, two contiguous letters "V" are indistingushable from "W"), it can cause problems.
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Old 2nd Aug 2017, 12:23 pm   #24
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Default Re: Lettering on metals - how is is done?

So Helvetica is perfect for Apple then since it looks great and is good for the vast majority of the time but for certain specialist uses it lacks a necessary functionality. Hmmm yes... perfect for Apple

Cheers,
Steve.
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Old 2nd Aug 2017, 3:52 pm   #25
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Default Re: Lettering on metals - how is is done?

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Originally Posted by emeritus View Post
An unfortunate feature of Helvetica is that the upper case "I" and lower-case "l" are identical. In many situations the context makes it clear whet is meant, but in technical documents where both symbols appear in forumlae (and in on-line passwords, where in addition, two contiguous letters "V" are indistingushable from "W"), it can cause problems.
The issue is largely dependent on whether the type face is serif or sans serif. In the case of the latter, it does not have extending features called 'serifs' at the end of strokes. Accordingly when a sans serif typeface is used for an acronym, there can be confusion as to the identification of individual characters.
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Old 7th Aug 2017, 10:01 am   #26
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Default Re: Lettering on metals - how is is done?

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Originally Posted by MrBungle View Post
If you want a suitable modern font for equipment look for Futura. That was used by Tektronix in their equipment and manuals of the era and looks just about spot on. Use lots of all caps for headlines and keep copy short and sweet. My personal limited company branding uses it and has a 1960s Cold War feel to it. I think i spent more time obsessing about this than I did on setting the rest of the company up!
Haha.. another 80%-20% rule example! or: the devil is in the detail!

Thanks, Scott.
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Old 7th Aug 2017, 10:08 am   #27
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Default Re: Lettering on metals - how is is done?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew2 View Post
Scott - when I were a lad I had a B44 VHF transceiver (it came from a dealer via PW I think) and I used to look in awe at the innards and was especially fascinated by the labelling of the major chassis-mounted components. The chassis itself was lovely clean aluminium and the labelling so black & crisp, just like your photos.
Re type-faces. I don't know if anyone here watched it, but on BBC4 the other night was a fascinating documentary about the Johnston typeface which was developed for use on the London Underground. From this came the Gill typeface which was almost identical but cleaned up somewhat. Very 'wartime'.
Thank you, and also to David G4EBT - I struggle to find 60 minutes for TV these days (2x kids and busy job) but it sounds like a really interesting program..

Your B44 transceiver sounds just like the sort of lettering I'm on about, looks so much more purposeful than a stick-on label, where an engraved plate would be overkill.

Cheers, Scott
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Old 7th Aug 2017, 10:56 am   #28
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Default Re: Lettering on metals - how is is done?

Thanks again for the tips.. .Now have some clues as to where to look...

Gill Sans is on the whole very close, the number 1 is correct (more like a capital i), but the capital J hangs below the bottom, m middle does not go all the way down, and 9 AND 6 are incorrect..

Futura Bold has the correct J, but incorrect 1.

Johnson, while it's awesome, is too stylised for this application.

Learning lots, have a few close matches, but still can't find the perfect typeface answer! May end up having to learn how to design my own font to match these examples!
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Last edited by ScottBouch; 7th Aug 2017 at 11:02 am.
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Old 7th Aug 2017, 12:27 pm   #29
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Default Re: Lettering on metals - how is is done?

Hi

When I needed the right font for my Stirling model there were many that were close. I suspect that that long ago people just made up stencils for themselves and never released them as a 'standard'.

I too only needed to change some small details of the lettering so I downloaded a font designer software package. That allows you to modify any standard font or draw your own. I downloaded two, one wasn't very good, the other was OK.

Cheers
James

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Old 7th Aug 2017, 12:50 pm   #30
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Default Re: Lettering on metals - how is is done?

Hi James,

Thanks, at least you've shown it is possible!

I have used Inkscape before to make SVG's. Inkscape is a free vector line drawing package, a quick google I found this tutorial on making fonts with it: https://www.thoughtco.com/create-you...kscape-1701895

So may try it, but if you can recall the package that worked for you, I may give that a try, as it will probably be easier using a dedicated front creator than Inkscape.

Thank you, Scott.
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Old 8th Aug 2017, 5:40 pm   #31
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Default Re: Lettering on metals - how is is done?

Another example of the typeface I'm interested in finding / replicating...
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Old 9th Aug 2017, 1:39 pm   #32
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Default Re: Lettering on metals - how is is done?

Another application of printing techniques discussed in this thread is the faces of aircraft cockpit indicators / gauges.

This Cold War era Westons brake pressure indicator looks like white paint on black, so possibly an example of silk screen printing?

Cheers, Scott
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