How I made some replacment reel strips

[poppo]

DISCLAIMER: I am not selling or providing any reel strip making service, images, etc.. The following is for informational purposes only for those who may need to replace some damaged or hard to find strips that they already own. This was done for S+ strips but could be applied to other non-backlit strips.

There are a few threads about having Kinko’s print scanned strips but I wanted to find a cheap way to do it myself. First I needed to find some paper. I found some 4" wide Epson glossy paper rolls on e-bay cheap (discontinued printer). Next I had to figure out how to get my printer to print on it. It took some finessing of the custom paper sizes, but once that was done I was ready to proceed.

Now the time consuming part was coming up with a symbol library.  I found that scanning the whole strips and trying to fix them up with photoshop to be more trouble than just using individual symbols that you only have to fix once and then pasting them onto a blank strip template. In some cases, I made new symbols from scratch.

After pasting the symbols onto a strip template, I drew a 1 pixel wide line at each end along both edges. This will be used as a guide for cutting the strips later. Then I printed the strips centered on the 4" wide paper. This will give the results shown in the first picture. Note: I intentionally made the 3 bar symbol a different color than the original, but it’s easy enough to change the color once you have the symbol made. The second picture shows the cutting alignment marks better.

[poppo]

The next step is to laminate them. You don’t have to laminate them, but the strips can be damaged easily if you don’t.  I used a cheap 'cold' roll laminator I got on Amazon. Now here is the tricky part. You can't laminate both the front and back or they will be too thick. So I put some plain printer paper temporarily behind the strips and laminate it all (like a sandwich).

This first picture shows the strip laminated. You can see the paper I put behind the strip to keep the  lamination from sticking to the back side. I could have done two strips at a time, but it’s less likely to screw up if you just do one at a time.

Next, using those alignment lines as guides, I cut the strips to the right width with a steel straight edge and exacto. The laminated back (now stuck to that regular printer paper) will then separate. I now have a strip only laminated on the front. All that is left is cutting the strip to the correct length (I use the original strip as a guide). I then cut the reel notches, and am just about done. The laminated strips are still a hair thicker than normal strips. Where they overlap, it may not fit in the S+ reel groove. So I use a piece of sandpaper folded in half to widen the reel groove in that spot a bit and then they fit fine.

The second picture is the completed strips minus the reel notch. The originals are on the left, and the replacements on the right.

[FORDSBS]

nice job, poppo.   

[CaptainHappy]

nice job, poppo.   

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ WHAT HE SAID!  from me too for sharing!

CH

[knagl]

Excellent!  K+ for taking the time to document this and share it with us.

[StatFreak]

I have a couple of questions.

Has anyone tried this using the low-heat laminators (the ones that don't need cardboard sleeves)? The laminate is not sticky; it partially melts when laminated, so I'm not sure that the paper backing technique would work with those.

How did you find laminating material long enough for the entire length of the strip, and if you didn't, what did you do about the seam?

[poppo]

I have a couple of questions.

Has anyone tried this using the low-heat laminators (the ones that don't need cardboard sleeves)? The laminate is not sticky; it partially melts when laminated, so I'm not sure that the paper backing technique would work with those.

How did you find laminating material long enough for the entire length of the strip, and if you didn't, what did you do about the seam?

Depending on the thickness of the laminating material, you may be able to get by with laminating both sides. If not, the 'paper on the back' should work the same way as long as the lamination sticks to the front of the strip. I was hesitant to use a heat based laminator because I was not sure if the ink would bleed. Plus they are pricey.

The laminator I used came with a 'sampler' 15' roll. You can buy 60' refills, so strip length is not a problem.

http://www.amazon.com/Xyron-145612-ezLaminator-60-Foot-Cartridge/dp/B000MK4SGU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=arts-crafts&qid=1303421441&sr=8-1

[stayouttadabunker]

Poppo,
You're applying a thin "paper" onto the back right?
You ought to think about printing the "paper" with back-lighting shadowing
so you'll essentially turn your work into back-lit strips!  
Here's an example of some work I did with Ms.LGM>>>

[poppo]

Poppo,
You're applying a thin "paper" onto the back right?
You ought to think about printing the "paper" with backlighting shadowing
so you'll essentially turn your work into backlit strips!  

The thin paper on the back is just to keep the lamination from sticking to the strip and is removed. I've thought a lot about how to make backlit ones, but I don't see any easy way to do it. Perhaps printing a black 'negative' of the strip on some transparency rolls (if they even made such a thing) and then just sandwiching them together and hope things line up. But I don't have any S2000 machines so it's not really on my to-do list.

<edit> LOL you posted your pictures as I was typing. 

[stayouttadabunker]

But I don't have any S2000 machines...

You don't need an S2000 machine to have backlighting...
I installed backlight lighting on my S+ reels 2 years ago.
The S+ is fully capable of turning on reel lights...

[poppo]

You don't need an S2000 machine to have backlighting...
The S+ is fully capable of turning on reel lights...

La, la, la, la. I didn't hear that.

[stayouttadabunker]

OKay then...I'LL SAY IT LOUDER THEN !!!!

THE S+ IS FULLY CAPABLE
         OF LIGHTING UP
         REEL LIGHTS!!!!


                  




(By The Way, NICE JOB with the strips dude!  )

[kibble]

Ill bite, How can my s+  use back lit reels?

[Brianzz]

If you've already got a reel strip template, you should post it in this thread

[poppo]

Ill bite, How can my s+  use back lit reels?

 

Seriously, I thought I saw a thread where someone (Bunker?) made some.

[poppo]

If you've already got a reel strip template, you should post it in this thread

The template I used was nothing more than a blank 29" x 3.32" strip made in photoshop. Then the symbols were placed centered every 2-1/2" (or 3-3/4" for certain symbols like on that third strip). To keep in line with the forum rules and previous threads on the subject, no symbols will be uploaded or posted. 

[reho33]

McGuyver job

[IFFV68]

The Mag light really adds to the name, Back-Lit.

Your back-lit reel is Top Shelve. Too expensive to run in my machines.

Great idea?

[StatFreak]

Ill bite, How can my s+  use back lit reels?

 

Seriously, I thought I saw a thread where someone (Bunker?) made some.

   
"Batteries Not Included"

[Yoeddy1]

Also, rememember if the motor dies out, just throw some strips on one of these.  Getting the little guys to stop running is about as random as the RNG isn't it?  There's ALWAYS a workaround on NLG!  

Jason

[stayouttadabunker]

lol  To weigh the jackpot symbols for these reels,
you stick some cheese about 90 degrees below the pay-line symbol.