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Today I received some samples for a new (to me) type of front panel material which I may use on the SDrive NUXX. It is aluminum which has been colored and anodized in a manner which allows for very reasonably priced markings in black and silver (natural aluminum). As can be seen with the ~5mm text above, this method of marking has far more detail than what one sees in panels from Front Panel Express.
The downside to this new process is that I’ll have to order a fairly substantial number of panels (100) to get the price that I’m wanting, but hopefully they’ll sell.
After seeing how nice the sample piece looked, I began working up new artwork for the panels which takes advantage of this different marking method. Here is one of my first test results, showing a nicely Atari-ish font and what I feel is overall a more appropriate look for something which is to be used with 25 year old hardware. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be able to get the rear panel roughed in, and somehow (nicely) tie them together visually.
There is one thing I feel really guilty about, though. In my search for a good font for the button / slot / LED labeling I ended up using the font Interstate, which is the same as was used throughout the x0xb0x front panel redesign. I guess it still holds as a good stuff-labeling font.
Can you tell more about where this panel came from and what it cost? It looks beautiful, much nicer than Front Panel Express. But is it practical for a one-off, or only for a panel which will be produced in volume?
Alex: This is just standard Metalphoto material, and is available from a number of suppliers. This is probably not practical for a one-off, as the shop generally needs to make a die for punching out the holes, but… it’s hard to say. FPE really is expensive.
I love the look of the Metalphoto but I wouldn’t want to pay for the punch die for a one-off. A hybrid approach might work: I could get the lettering done on the Metalphoto and the holes cut out at FPE. I don’t find FPE’s prices as bad as some people seem to — I guess I’ve seen too many panels labeled with a Q-Touch labeler!