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As I work on the new pedal redesigns, I wonder to myself... shall they be labelled as usual, or shall I switch to screenprinted enclosures? The quandry is thus... the labels look sharp and colorful no doubt, however a powdercoated and silkscreened box is more durable. Screenprinted boxes would probably add $1-5 to the final customer purchase price. They'd probably be white ink on a colorful box. The graphics might become slightly simpler.....

I will at least be doing the prototypes with labels, and mayeb continue labels for however long, but do you guys want more durable silkscreened boxes?!!

I went with labels because I prefer the colorful look and usually the sides of my pedals end up getting chipped by 1/4'' jacks and the bare metal doesn't chip. It's tough though because I do appreciate the look of some all painted pedals...

I went with silkscreen because I think you have a good eye and could do some awesome things with screen printing.

It would be cool to see some ideas like a label version and a screen version of the two. Maybe show us one of the new ones!!

There are some cool inks you could look into. I would also shop around, cause PPP seems pretty pricey. Printers are easy to haggle with. In my experiences.

I actually think Pedal Parts Plus has great prices on their silkscreening, particularly the fact that they will do such small quanitities at one time.

the main difference int he graphics would be this. a silkscreen version of any mellowtone style graphic would probably lose the outside border... MAYBE the inside border... there probably wouldnt be any halftones so any character/object ont he graphic would instead become lineart. probbaly all in white ink on a colored pedal, or perhaps a colored ink on a white/creme pedal.

letsgocoyote wrote:I actually think Pedal Parts Plus has great prices on their silkscreening, particularly the fact that they will do such small quanitities at one time.

the main difference int he graphics would be this. a silkscreen version of any mellowtone style graphic would probably lose the outside border... MAYBE the inside border... there probably wouldnt be any halftones so any character/object ont he graphic would instead become lineart. probbaly all in white ink on a colored pedal, or perhaps a colored ink on a white/creme pedal.

Don't they have a $100 setup fee?

If you don't mind, what did they quote you on pricing?

I know of places that'll do it locally in batches of 25, for $30 ($15 per screen) setup and probably 2 bucks per pedal. And they'll save your screen and you just pay the $2 per pedal per order.

I voted labels. Just because I like the style you have and without a silk screen example, I wouldn't know if I should suggest it or not.

So basically my thought process right now: if it ain't broke don't fix it.

But that could change with a silk screen preview if possible.

Mellowtone pedals have great labels and a really unique style to them. You have excellent graphic design skills. If you could carry that over to the screenprinting process that would be amazing.

i like the labels and colors and especially the halftone graphics. i wouldnt change it

I also picked the labels - they feel really unique to Mellowtone to me. I'd say don't change them unless you're about to radically change the Mellowtone process or offerings.

at risk of divulging one of the new models.... which hasnt even been breadboarded yet (although it is a rename/redesign/combination/etc of the hi five boost and singing tree pedals).... so i dont think the design of this one is going to change. but here is the difference of look graphically. the screenprinted design on left was done super quick just now to illustrate the difference. i intend to do much smoother and more detailed lineart than that!
granted the label design is much more dynamic thanks to possible resolution and amount of colors you can use... i think the silkscreen design would look better in person.
if i could jsut find a different method to accomplish all goals

man that lineart looks ghetto but i promise the real thing would be mroe detailed!

They both look pretty excellent. I do lean toward the label more. Need all my colors of the rainbow!

Yea I think the label DOES look a little better, but you could make it work with the screenprinting not to mention it should be a hellava lot quicker having PPP do the boxes for you. Maybe more upfront initially but safer in the long haul. I dunno... Mellowtone has a cool DIY sorta feel brought on by the unfinished boxes and labels. SPing would bring it into a more permanent dare I say... Standard feeling fx box.

I dig both and support either decision.

after seeing the mock-ups i would like to confirm that i like the labels better. the multi colors and the halftone just looks better and more unique to mellowtone as a brand

also i had guessed the phonogram (Gramaphone?) would be the new High five (Now "HI-FI" ve) plus the color continuity from the kitty, but now its an overdrive instead of a boost!!!

labels