Custom Cartridge Labels

[staxx]

I got the Vectrex controller decals from MrBigRedDog. Nice stuff, though you can tell it is a replica it is still very nice. You can tell by the screw holes since the replica is not as thick as the original Vectrex controller decal. Here is a screen shot with the replica decal after application. Overall I recommend MrBigRedDog's work.

 

Well I did send you extras... So you could just put one on top of the other to make it thicker...

 

Yeah thanks for the extras, I thought about doing that but overall the screw holes is very minor and why waste them. Many thanks and I hope more people will contact you for Vectrex decals since no one else does them. I should post it on the Vectrex forums and have people contact you, or you could do a sales thread there too. Again many thanks, great stuff.

[jasonbar]

I should post it on the Vectrex forums and have people contact you, or you could do a sales thread there too.

 

 

Vectrex forums? You mean rec.games.vectrex? Or are there more?

 

Thanks,

-Jason

 

PS--let's not derail this great thread--just a 1-post answer, please.

[mrbigreddog]

Updated 1st Post!

 

Edited September 26, 2010 by mrbigreddog

[shenske]

I think its a great idea but ...

 

I don't totally feel comfortable with this guy taking custom cover artwork he didn't make so he can make a quick buck.

 

Check out some of the spines from the covers that thecoverproject.net provides for free.

Look familiar? The only reason he is able to make a complete set for the N64 is because we have a complete set of all the covers on our site.

 

 

Diddy Kong Racing

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?cover_id=10874

Super Mario 64

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?cover_id=10032

Legend of Zelda

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?cover_id=10876

Super Smash Bros.

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?cover_id=10311

StarFox 64

http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?cover_id=11154

 

Shall I continue?

 

Normally I wouldn't do this but since i feel so uncomfortably about this guy making money off of other people's hard work (not to mention overpricing)feel free to drop by thecoverproject.net and i'll make you all the top labels you want for FREE!!!!

I'll explain how to print them off yourself and i'll provide all the actual competed top label images.

 

Cheers!

 

-Shenske

[mrbigreddog]

I never said I did the artwork. Most of the artwork I have is provided by other people anyways. I'm just offering the high quality print, with UV lamination and custom computer die cut label. Everyone I've done prints for love the quality of the print and the high quality of the label. That's what I provide. I've never taken credit for ANY of the artwork! And I liked the style that I saw on the cover project. Because I assume most people who are on here and care probably would like the end labels to match the box art! I don't think my prices are crazy at all. Especially since they are vinyl decals that will last years beyond the paper stickers that are on the front of the cartridge. Someone ASKED me to make end labels, and I've provided that service. I've constantly been asked to make full sets of N64 games. I also will make end labels with customer provide artwork. Not just the designs that I have.

 

These are some of the designs I offer. Some of the artwork is provided by thecoverproject.net.

Edited September 26, 2010 by mrbigreddog

[shenske]

I'm just offering the high quality print, with UV lamination and custom computer die cut label. Everyone I've done prints for love the quality of the print and the high quality of the label. That's what I provide.

 

Ok, perhaps i jumped the gun on you taking credit for the artwork you used as your own but how can you justify the price?

 

A complete set of n64 labels, whats that like 350 labels for $100?

Judging by where the labels are placed i'm assuming th dimensions are 1/2" x 2.5".

So since you are using a die cut you should be able to cut pretty precisely right?

You should be able to fit 61 labels no problem on a normal 8.5"x11" sheet of paper.

(following image scaled down to fit screen)

With the diagram shown you should be able to fit ALL the labels with some space left over on 6 sheets.

.... So are you telling me that each sheet costs you ~ $17?

And this is just factoring your bulk orders, the individual labels is even more outrageous!

 

Even if you were to factor in shipping ... you are shipping PAPER, shouldn't cost more than a few bucks

Edited September 26, 2010 by shenske

[mrbigreddog]

IT'S NOT PAPER!!! I have a 54" wide HP Designjet 9000 and a 54" Graphtec Plotter. The labels are printed on 3M IJ35C Vinyl rolls with 3M 8509 UV lamination!

 

Here's some customer feedback!

 

Wynstar @ Sega-16.com

I just received my Genesis cart labels, most of which are already shown in previous post and I love them; wonderful job! Some people might shoot me for saying this, though others might understand, I prefer the vinyl labels to the original paper ones. I'm VERY careful when I handle my Genesis games. It's so easy to ruin the label after only a short period of time, just from light handling. I can never just pop the game in and go without worrying. The games that I no longer felt like ordering for the second, third and forth time, in hopes of finding one with a nice label have been taken care of, thanks to Red. The rest of my collection is in extremely nice condition, but after seeing and investing into some vinyl labels, I'd be happy to replace the paper ones with new, more resistant vinyl ones; which I don't say lightly. I simply was/am that happy with the product that I received.

 

 

OH! And your the only one complaining about the price! I have lots of customers who understand the quality they are getting and happily order again! And yes! $14 a sq. ft. it the price for printing! And with so much die cut time and setup. $17 a sq. ft. is just about right. But again, it's not paper! And everyone here can vouch for that!

 

I suggest you read through the thread before you start pointing fingers.. Besides, don't you steal your artwork from Nintendo? And you offer it free on your site, and yet you accuse me of stealing from you? When you offer it free? All the label making wasn't even my idea at all! I do work at a sign shop, and we do printing. I've been a member of Sega-16.com for quite a while. And someone asked about getting a reprinted label. And I was like "man, I can totally do that" And then I started getting message over and over again. "Can you print these, or these, or these?" Someone suggested doing end labels, then someone suggested doing complete sets. I tell them how much I think it's worth. And they pay! I've done discounts, and occasionally when people ask for a better deal, I give it to them. Then someone suggested that I should advertise on AtariAge, so I did! That's my story. I don't care if you don't like it! If you wanna give away cheap paper end labels! Great! Enjoy all the wasted time! If someone here wants high quality, long lasting, VINYL labels! I'll still be here!

Edited September 26, 2010 by mrbigreddog

[mrbigreddog]

----

Edited September 26, 2010 by mrbigreddog

[shenske]

Haha, i'm not arguing about the quality of the print. I'm sure its top notch, i have a bachelors in graphic design and have used many print shops before. What i'm complaining about is that I believe you are over charging people and taking advantage of them to make some money. The $17 i factored was for 8.5x11 paper. A sq foot would increase the printing area by ~33%. For a sq foot you should be able to fit ~ 96 labels. I see above that you are actually only offering 289 end labels. So lets just say that the vinyl you are using is $14 a sq foot (i remember it being cheaper last time i used it, here nor there) then you could fit all the labels on 3 sq feet. $42 .... not quite $100 even if you do factor in time to set up the die cuts.

 

I also had a problem with you ripping the artwork you used directly from covers I made .. i mean come on at least be original. Since you got the covers from TCP then you could have sent me a pm to see if i minded, which i wouldn't have if you would have asked. The covers i made are not the retail scans and i'm not comfortable with you making money off of something i have provided for free for everyone.

Edited September 26, 2010 by shenske

[mrbigreddog]

Haha, i'm not arguing about the quality of the print. I'm sure it top notch, i have a bachelors in graphic design and have used many print shops before. What i'm complaining about is that I believe you are over charging people and taking advantage of them to make some money. The $17 i factored was for 8.5x11 paper. A sq foot would increase the printing area by ~33%. For a sq foot you should be able to fit ~ 96 labels. I see above that you are actually only offering 289 end labels. So lets just say that the vinyl you are using is $14 a sq foot (i remember it being cheaper last time i used it, here nor there) then you could fit all the labels on 3 sq feet. $42 .... not quite $100 even if you do factor in time to set up the die cuts.

 

I also had a problem with you ripping the artwork you used directly from covers I made .. i mean come on at least be original.

 

$100 wasn't even my idea... Someone came to me and ask (Would you be willing to do a full set of 289 N64 labels for $100?) I said sure!

 

What do you want? Give you credit for the artwork you scanned off Nintendo boxes?

 

And if you don't like my prices, I suggest you don't order anything from me! Easy enough right?!

Edited September 26, 2010 by mrbigreddog

[shenske]

I don't desire credit, its just insinuated that you made the labels all by yourself. You got a bit of a head-start with some of the covers you used. Download, copy, paste, print, sell ... doesn't seem right to me.

 

You are correct to say that i don't like your prices and will not be ordering from you. I just thought it was fair to inform people about "business" you are offering and for them to rethink the offer before forking over a bunch of money to you.

 

Have Fun Buddy

Edited September 26, 2010 by shenske

[mrbigreddog]

All artwork is copyright to their respective companies. All artwork provided is free of charge! The cost for these labels cover the vinyl print media, UV lamination, and electrical cost to run these machines. These decals are high quality vinyl (not paper) self-adhesive decals with a UV lamination.

[Greg2600]

It's pretty clear what you're paying for is the expertise, access to, and materials for a commercial-quality printing solution. Many have said, make the labels and just get Kinko's to print them out. Well, let me tell you, that can be a hassle. Printing yourself on today's inkjets in color is like throwing money down the drain. I thought the Genesis label price was very good. Haven't looked at the N64 label cost.

[mrbigreddog]

Thanks Greg!

[retroillucid]

I made a label/insert for my Everdrive and mrbigreddog print those for me

Excellent quality, fair price and a great guy

 

I recommend his services

[the.golden.ax]

All artwork is copyright to their respective companies. All artwork provided is free of charge! The cost for these labels cover the vinyl print media, UV lamination, and electrical cost to run these machines. These decals are high quality vinyl (not paper) self-adhesive decals with a UV lamination.

 

 

Plus, I'm certain if you want OTHER art, Mrbig would gladly use the same die cut settings with whatever you provide him. In my book this is clearly a service, not art.

 

On another note, Mrbig, do you print other materials? Vinyl is a bit of overkill in some situations like Genesis inserts, IMHO, especially with my plans to make a couple hundred. Awesome for labels though (since you touch those).

 

AX

[mrbigreddog]

All artwork is copyright to their respective companies. All artwork provided is free of charge! The cost for these labels cover the vinyl print media, UV lamination, and electrical cost to run these machines. These decals are high quality vinyl (not paper) self-adhesive decals with a UV lamination.

 

 

Plus, I'm certain if you want OTHER art, Mrbig would gladly use the same die cut settings with whatever you provide him. In my book this is clearly a service, not art.

 

On another note, Mrbig, do you print other materials? Vinyl is a bit of overkill in some situations like Genesis inserts, IMHO, especially with my plans to make a couple hundred. Awesome for labels though (since you touch those).

 

AX

 

Thank you! PM sent!

 

What’s really funny about all this is… None of this label printing was my idea! I have the ability, people were asking for someone to do it for them. So I offered and all I ask is to cover my media, time, and shipping! If you think my prices are too high, then don’t order from me! Easy enough. If you have the ability to print them yourself, great! I appreciate thecoverproject.net resources. And they are free to use as we want, correct? Even more so, I had a customer point me to that site to use the artwork! “hey man can you make end labels for the n64, here’s a good site where you can get the artwork!” I never knew it was such a big deal! And when I’m done creating the n64 end label full set (USA set) you’ll see that 90% of the labels don’t look like the spin of the designs on thecoverproject.net the other 10%, YEAH! I like the design and based it on those 10%! And when I'm done with the end label designs, if shenske agrees, I'll upload all the finalized artwork to thecoverproject.net so EVERYONE can download and make their own end labels! But if you don't want to print your own labels, come see me!I have plenty of happy customers! Here’s my feedback thread for Sega-16.com http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11545

 

And yes, for the small order that someone requested, I pull the artwork directly from thecoverproject.net (so that's the samples I have) but I'm working on the full set, and I want everything to be uniform (which I cannot get on thecoverproject.net)

 

And just to help prove that I'm actually not just (downloading, copy & pasting) here is a sample of the line art that I've made for this full set project!

 

Edited September 28, 2010 by mrbigreddog

[Greg2600]

Joe, on the N64 labels, have you thought about doing a multi-color scheme? For instance, all action/adventure games are red outlined label, all sports are blue, puzzle/racing yellow, something else green? Or be completely random? I know that's more work, but the N64 was always a mult-colored system. Controllers, consoles, cartridges came in different official colors.

 

PS: If you need help making the label graphics for N64, I can help at night. I like photoshopping.

[mrbigreddog]

Joe, on the N64 labels, have you thought about doing a multi-color scheme? For instance, all action/adventure games are red outlined label, all sports are blue, puzzle/racing yellow, something else green? Or be completely random? I know that's more work, but the N64 was always a mult-colored system. Controllers, consoles, cartridges came in different official colors.

 

PS: If you need help making the label graphics for N64, I can help at night. I like photoshopping.

 

Well if someone ask for that multi-color scheme... I'll do it. But these preorder that I have for the first batch, the design is all green in the background! Once I have all the artwork complete, it won't be that hard to change the background color!

 

Thanks for the offer on the artwork help... But I got it!

[shenske]

@MrBigRedDog

 

It was not my intention to flame you or try and post a discrepancy about the quality of the product you are offering. Like i said before I've used vinyl before and the quality is VERY VERY good. I was upset about some of the images used and the price.

 

Images:

I was upset that some of the images you used were recreations by myself. Like it was pointed out before that we spend a lot of time cleaning and recreating logos from scratch to make them appear retail (or close to it). Sometimes it can take hours in illustrator and photoshop to recreate a logo or an image so it looks just right.

If we take all this time to create something free for the public and we see someone using the exact recreated images/logos for profit it can kind of get under my skin.

 

Price:

I have no problem with you using the recreated images i have made or anything you can find on thecoverproject but when i saw the price thats what got at me. I understand that labor is not factored and its not exactly convenient for you to offer the label printing service.

I just have my mind completely set in the "free mode" since I've been making covers for years out of the kindness of my heart for anyone at no price. I've been offered commission money to create a cover or print off a cover for people many times but have always turned it down.

I have printed some for some dedicated members but i didn't charge them anything outside of the cost for the print and the shipping cost. I just get their covers printed put next time i'm at office max getting my own printed.

Since you already work at a print-shop then it shouldn't be that inconvenient for you to print them while you're already there. I understand that Ink costs money too (not $52 worth) but labor shouldn't be factored into at all. If you are already there and the customer is willing to pay for the print and the shipping then everything outside of that is profit. Since neither of us own the image rights i don't think it is ethical to make any profit on the images used at all.

 

People have there right to pay you for your services even if the price in my opinion is too high. Not everyone has the ability to go out and print the labels off themselves and you are offering that to them. Like i said many times before the main problem i have is the amount you charge ($100) exceeds the cost of printing the labels out, yes even on vinyl. I understand that you didn't come up with the idea of the labels or the amount you charge but you are still standing by that amount now.

 

As far as your offer goes for hosting the labels on thecoverproject.net, i think that is a great idea. As long as they pass quality control and we as a site decide that we will host top labels then i have absolutely no problem with it. We are currently discussing if it is appropriate for thecoverproject.net to host top labels (since they were not officially used) so if we decide to do that then i look forward to adding your labels to the site.

 

- Shenske

[Rev]

none of us own the rights to any of these covers,homebrews,etc etc.

[jasonbar]

Pair of Ever Drive case inserts arrived in the mail today. The 1st set was lost in the mail & mrbigreddog kindly sent me another pair free of charge.

 

For some reason, I thought these were paper, like the original case inserts, but they're vinyl. These should be very very durable.

 

Thanks for the good product & at a price that I find fair.

 

-Jason

[mrbigreddog]

Pair of Ever Drive case inserts arrived in the mail today. The 1st set was lost in the mail & mrbigreddog kindly sent me another pair free of charge.

 

For some reason, I thought these were paper, like the original case inserts, but they're vinyl. These should be very very durable.

 

Thanks for the good product & at a price that I find fair.

 

-Jason

 

Glad you like them.. They actually are paper, but just with doublesided lamination!

[mrbigreddog]

I just wanted to let everyone know that I've joined TCP. And that Unclebob, Shenske, and I are working things out!

Most of you guys have my back on these issues and I appreciate it! But most of this on both sides was a misunderstanding one way or the other! So thanks again for everyone's support!

[Greg2600]

That's fantastic, it's a great website.