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Relettering a Marantz faceplate - a w1jim basement miracle!

drillher said:
The white decal paper is 89.00/sheet!
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Nix. That's $89 for 100 sheets or $15.23 for 10 (plus shipping).
http://www.texascraft.com/hps/home.php?cat=267

I presume that the white paper would be useful on a dark surface but then you'd have to trim it square to give the white background a neat presentation. I'm interested in seeing how the clear material would work (with a color laser printer) if you printed a light color on it and then applied to a dark surface.
 
w1jim said:
Nix. That's $89 for 100 sheets or $15.23 for 10 (plus shipping).
http://www.texascraft.com/hps/home.php?cat=267

I presume that the white paper would be useful on a dark surface but then you'd have to trim it square to give the white background a neat presentation. I'm interested in seeing how the clear material would work (with a color laser printer) if you printed a light color on it and then applied to a dark surface.
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The problem is, with laser printers you don't print a light color, you just put less ink down so the white shows through more. There are special ink's and printers to print on black paper with white ink though. :yes:
 
Just Out of Curisoty

Has anyone tried printing a mirror image of the text on a laser printer and ironing it on as some home electronics guys do when etching printed circuit boards? I would think it would be pretty durable especially if you hit it with a clearcoat afterwards.
 
This is one of the most interesting threads I've seen in a long time in any audio forum.
Maybe, if we could gather information and "build" a database of different fonts for Marantz, Kenwood, Pioneer, Sansui and so many different brands, we could turn this kind of information into a "sticky" thread. I am sure it would help a lot of people restore their precious gems to their full glory... :thmbsp:
 
In my opinion, the ideal way to do it would be to take macro photos of various lettering on faceplates and then use a vector graphics program such as Illustrator to touch up each letter and then compile them into a font, which you could then use to create any word you like.

Sure, this would be more time consuming than just taking photos of particular common words, but it would be far more versatile.

That's just how I would do it.

-Nik
 
Great Thread. Working along on a Marantz 2325 resto and needed a way to get the printing back on the interior surfaces that cover the various fm, am sections where it had corroded surfaces. I'll scan surfaces from my good 2325 and go from there. Just ordered the paper so it'll be awhile but I'll post before n after pics. Thanks again for this.:thmbsp:
 
A few years back I purchased a few copies of transfer lettering for Marantz on the Bay. I never used them but was going to replace some worn letters and try to permaset them with a flat lacquer. I will take some pictures of the sheet It seems to have most combinations of letters and words and if there is something you would like to try let me know. They are printed on a clear velum. If someone would like I could email from my phone as I'm not that good at copying from my IPad.
Peter
 
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as anyone tried printing a mirror image of the text on a laser printer and ironing it on as some home electronics guys do when etching printed circuit boards?
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:yes:

I did it this way: printed a mirrored image on a laser printer, placed the paper in position, fixed it with some tape, and transferred the letter to the faceplate wetting it with some acetone (very little), slowly, and heated it with the soldering iron tip, then removed the paper. The result was quite good, very acceptable. It works with thin letters, not with wide surfaces.

I practiced on metal pieces before trying on the real plate.
 
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If you don't have a scanner, you can use a camera,as I did with this nameplate,I "borrowed" an image from the auction site, and edited it.
I brought the image to a Friend's trophy shop to produce the name plate in brass.
 

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I found a site some time ago that had specs on trademark logos,

MARANTZ uses GARAMOND BOLD

the site even had the Pantone numbers.
 
Blast from the past

Hey, I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to contribute my $0.02. It looks to me that the marantz font is a variant of Metropolis CT, not Garamond. If you look closely, the Metropolis CT font is very similar to the official marantz font, but the official font seems to have flattened serifs and slightly less prominent terminals on the letters. I have attached a few lettering samples in Metropolis CT, and below is an image comparing the official logo to Metro CT and Garamond Bold.
comparison.png


ETA: I have a pretty complete set of samples in Metropolis CT, if anyone is interested. The zip file is a little too large to attach, but I can find a host if anyone wants them.
http://s23.postimg.org/497owrgmj/snip.png
 

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dankwijoti said:
Hey, I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to contribute my $0.02. It looks to me that the marantz font is a variant of Metropolis CT, not Garamond. If you look closely, the Metropolis CT font is very similar to the official marantz font, but the official font seems to have flattened serifs and slightly less prominent terminals on the letters. I have attached a few lettering samples in Metropolis CT, and below is an image comparing the official logo to Metro CT and Garamond Bold.
comparison.png


ETA: I have a pretty complete set of samples in Metropolis CT, if anyone is interested. The zip file is a little too large to attach, but I can find a host if anyone wants them.
http://s23.postimg.org/497owrgmj/snip.png
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More of a "knob" on the lowercase "r," too.
 
Glad you posted it back up. Not just for marantz fonts but for DIY.

Anybody tested the decal links and methods lately? been looking at some film printer but wonder how accurate.. more like a whole custom face plate.
 
I have an 1120 and the faceplate needs a complete redo. Someone cleaned the lettering right off. All the lettering.
 
wbain said:
I have an 1120 and the faceplate needs a complete redo. Someone cleaned the lettering right off. All the lettering.
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Oof. That's a real bummer, man. I haven't tried doing any transfers myself, but some of the images I made for labels can be found at the link below if anyone else wants to give it a shot. I know Metropolis CT isn't a perfect match, but when it is printed 3/16" tall, it might be close enough.

Marantz Reveiver and Amp Control Labels
 
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Taking a look at your 1120 amp as an example, the Metropolis CT font is really, really close for everything except the actual logo. I guess it makes sense that they would take the time to stylize the logo more than all the various control labels
 

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dankwijoti said:
Taking a look at your 1120 amp as an example, the Metropolis CT font is really, really close for everything except the actual logo. I guess it makes sense that they would take the time to stylize the logo more than all the various control labels
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Do you need I re-draw that Marantz Logo from the Metropolis CT font?

I do this professionally all day, to me is less than 1/2 hour work, if you provide a link to the font and to a good picture of the logo.

A google search for "marantz vector logo" gave me ugly examples.
 
Researched this a while back. It's likely Marantz
( http://fontsinuse.com/uses/4675/marantz-receivers-1970s ) also used "Hohe Metropolis" (http://fontsinuse.com/uses/6534/the-pause-that-keeps-you-going-keeping-a-slim) for some characters. "Hohe Metropolis" has not been digitized (Maybe Marantz bought the Copyright) but someone skilled in Adobe Illustrator could match a scan/photo by "Creating Outlines" (which makes it a vector object and no longer a font) in AI and manipulating the necessary Metropolis characters.
 
I do remember that recessed lettering is filled with something rubbed on and or it. maybe heated?

maybe somebody has a 3d printer that can be very fine detailed. perhaps 5 thousands thick? I could use a volume decal that is green to yellow and red call tech. or if operated by family teen, 'you die one hundred chores.' is displayed. as in somebody wiped out the printing..

I'm sure 100's of thousands of vintage amps would be operating today with a gain limiting knob. Strangely the phenom still continues knowing very well the amp can't take it.
 
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