Help with etching artwork

[VonRyan]

You said that the person who did the artwork and had the parts etched doesn't have any more parts for sale. But the company that etched them most likely still has the artwork on-file, so running another batch wouldn't be as expensive as the initial run.

Couldn't you ask that person to have another batch produced? Even if you offered to pay for that entire run out of your own pocket, that would still be less hassle and cheaper than you trying to get the artwork, re-drawing it, and then having some etching company do them for you.  Unless of course you were planning on having them etched at home.

It wasn't a production item. They never were offered for sale. It was just someone who drew them and had them etched for themselves, and maybe one or two friends. I don't know what the rest of the sheet looks like, nor do I know where they were etched.

The artwork doesn't need to be redrawn because it's the artwork. It's already drawn. I have is a screenshot of it.

And no, I wasn't planning on etching them here at home. I have no equipment or knowledge to even attempt to do so.

[peteski]

It wasn't a production item. They never were offered for sale. It was just someone who drew them and had them etched for themselves, and maybe one or two friends. I don't know what the rest of the sheet looks like, nor do I know where they were etched.

The artwork doesn't need to be redrawn because it's the artwork. It's already drawn. I have is a screenshot of it.

And no, I wasn't planning on etching them here at home. I have no equipment or knowledge to even attempt to do so.

Like Bryan said earlier, a screenshot is a bitmap.  For several reasons, that is not artwork, nor it will become artwork without being redrawn.  Etching companies need vector-based artwork (not bitmaps).

I still think your best bet is to ask the person who has the real artwork whether they would be willing to produce another batch (which you would pay for) or give you the "real" artwork (at least for the specific part you want).  Or ask them if they would hook you up with the company which did their etching to see if they can run a batch of those parts for you. It really wouldn't hurt to ask.

Or befriend someone who is a good friend of the person who did the etchigns and then then work through them to get another batch produced. 

[Chris333]

The artwork doesn't need to be redrawn because it's the artwork. It's already drawn. I have is a screenshot of it.

I have a photo of a mint 1957 Chevy, therefore I don't need to restore mine 

The artwork needs re-drawn because you don't have the artwork. You have a photo of the artwork. Now you can use the screenshot to figure out how they did it so that could save some time in thinking up the design. Even if I had the etched sheet in my hand. I would still have to scan it and re-draw the whole thing by "tracing" over the scan.


So the stock sideframes flare out 45 degrees with the wheels. Why wouldn't etched sideframes flare out 45 degrees? Sounds like you are using the wrong axle length or something. Mark was able to use the same top hats so there is a way to make it work. Ask him how.


This is a Hallmark Christmas tree ornament:


To get the wheels to roll I glued in inserts that had holes drilled in them. To get them to spin freely I had to take a bit (by hand) and flare out the holes.

[VonRyan]

Like Bryan said earlier, a screenshot is a bitmap.  For several reasons, that is not artwork, nor it will become artwork without being redrawn.  Etching companies need vector-based artwork (not bitmaps).

I still think your best bet is to ask the person who has the real artwork whether they would be willing to produce another batch (which you would pay for) or give you the "real" artwork (at least for the specific part you want).  Or ask them if they would hook you up with the company which did their etching to see if they can run a batch of those parts for you. It really wouldn't hurt to ask.

Or befriend someone who is a good friend of the person who did the etchigns and then then work through them to get another batch produced. 

The screenshot I have is a .jpeg but the forum won't allow me to attach it.

Would a .pdf of the artwork work for etching? I had been offered a PDF but was given a .jpeg screenshot.

[wcfn100]

The screenshot I have is a .jpeg but the forum won't allow me to attach it.

Would a .pdf of the artwork work for etching? I had been offered a PDF but was given a .jpeg screenshot.

If it's a PDF of the actual artwork, you could be golden.  It could depend on how the layers are represented.

Jason

[peteski]

Sorry if I wasn't clear:  Bitmap is a .jpg, .jpeg, .bmp, .gif, .png, and several other format files.

PDF files are capable of storing vector-fromat graphics, so if that it how the artwork is stored would be usable as artwork.  But PDFs can also contain bitmapped images, so someone could just put a bitmap screen shot of the artwork in a PDF file and that would be useless. I guess if you can get the PDF file then go for it and then we can determine if it contains vectors or bitmaps inside.

[Chris333]

I still don't think you need to etch anything. Why not try the 2mm association bearings in the Peco wagons instead of the Parkside Dundas bearings?

I mean if you are trying to fit a 6' wide couch in a 5' wide room replacing the plastic walls with brass doesn't fix the problem.

[VonRyan]

I still don't think you need to etch anything. Why not try the 2mm association bearings in the Peco wagons instead of the Parkside Dundas bearings?

I mean if you are trying to fit a 6' wide couch in a 5' wide room replacing the plastic walls with brass doesn't fix the problem.

The etched chassis was designed for the Peco wagon kits as a replacement of the stock sideframes.

The Peco sideframes are too much grief to begin with since they are two pieces rather than a 1-piece chassis.

[jimmo]

This is a Hallmark Christmas tree ornament:


To get the wheels to roll I glued in inserts that had holes drilled in them. To get them to spin freely I had to take a bit (by hand) and flare out the holes.

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Leave it to Chris to make an awesome Z-scale passenger train out of clunky Christmas ornaments! Can't wait to see them finished.

[Chris333]

Says I uploaded that video 8 years ago. They are still in a box in the basement looking the same. 

[jimmo]

Here is Cody's screen shot:

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[Chris333]

See how fuzzy the whole thing looks.



At the top yellow arrows you can see how the rivets appear to be 2 different sizes. I'm sure on the real artwork they all match. Same at the bottom yellow arrows. Each side shows different sized rivets.

The areas with the blue lines should be filled in to match the rest for "no etch", but at PPD they want you to show white as "full etch" so really the whole open area should be white and the solid metal areas should remain black.

Red is half etched on the front.
Blue is half etched on the back.

[bbussey]

Cody, you should ask for the PDF since it was offered. If the PDF contains vector artwork, it can be converted into useful etching artwork. (As Chris mentioned, the open areas on the screenshot are not properly represented.)  If the PDF contains Bitmap artwork, you're out of luck. But the screenshot is useless other than being a guide on the arrangement of the components in the sheet. The artwork is not crisp or uniform, and there is no point of reference regarding scale or measurement. It's not workable even to use as a template to redraw new artwork.

As Peter stated, it makes far more sense to commission the original designer to have a new batch etched. It will cost you far less than having the artwork redrawn and subsequently submitted for etching.