Vision Reel Strips completely faded

[hd474]

I just got my new S2000 Vision "Ms. Little Green Men". The machine is a very good condition, including chrome and formica. The only bad thing was the condition of the reel strips. The color on the strips was completely faded away. I did notice this on many 5 Reel IGTs during my last trip to Vegas, so it seems that they changed something. I checked some of my S+ reel stripes and they look different. These seem to be made out of plastic, while the vision strips look like coated paper. Maybe this is the reason for the fading. Anyway, this was not acceptable for me and since you can not buy them,  I made some new strips for me. Here are some pictures. I scanned the originals, added a little Photoshop magic, created the strips in Freehand and had them printed and covered with cellophane (thinner than laminating).

[stayouttadabunker]

That's fantastic hd74!!!       
What printing shop didn't mind printing your strips?
What kind of photo paper was used?
Were they very costly?

[slot monkey]

Wow that brings them back to life!

[hd474]

Thanks..... :-)

They are printed on 130g/sqm photo paper. Paper size is A1 (594 × 841mm or 23.4 x 33.1 inches). I was able to put 2 sets (=2 times 5 reel strips) on one sheet. Cost for printing incl. covering with cellophane was about Euro 28,- (ca $40).

Jens

[CaptainHappy]

Wow, great work.

Whatever you do, do not clean your original strips with any liquid at all. I suspect that those strips are victims of a horrible mistake by IGT several years ago. I heard this from a friend who works for IGT. Apparently they decided to go out of house to get reel strips printed, and when they came back in someone "forgot" that the strips still needed to be laminated with a protective coating!  You can usually tell if you look at the strips at an angle and they have a dull, not a shinny look to them. Also you can wet your finger slightly and rub in the corner that is usually hidden when the strips are on the reel, if it seems like a film is disolved and it looks like white paper underneath, they were not coated and are victims.

Tons of strips got out in machines. These strips faded terribly, but even worse if any liquid is used to clean these strips they "erase" and the graphics just wash away. They were quietly replacing strips when they were doing maintenance an machines in the casinos! That obviously means nothing to people who have these machines now! You seem to have made a perfect solution for yourself though!

CaptainHappy

[stayouttadabunker]

They are beautiful...
did you like save the photo-shopped strips on a file and
bring the file on a thumbdrive to your printer's place?

[Flexpipe]

Nice Job,

Yes, I agree, most of the 5 Reel games do seem to share the problem of Strip Fading. I assume your reels are backlit? How do the new strips look in the machine when the backlight reel lighting illuminates?

[Bettor Slots]

Nice job on the strips!!

I assume your reels are backlit?

Flex, if you look closely at the one picture,of the reels installed you can see there is no back-lit film on the back. I would guess he is not using back-lighting or if he is then the effect would be a glow around the symbol rather than the symbol lighting up itself.

[uniman]

Wow, great work.

Whatever you do, do not clean your original strips with any liquid at all. I suspect that those strips are victims of a horrible mistake by IGT several years ago. I heard this from a friend who works for IGT. Apparently they decided to go out of house to get reel strips printed, and when they came back in someone "forgot" that the strips still needed to be laminated with a protective coating!  You can usually tell if you look at the strips at an angle and they have a dull, not a shinny look to them. Also you can wet your finger slightly and rub in the corner that is usually hidden when the strips are on the reel, if it seems like a film is disolved and it looks like white paper underneath, they were not coated and are victims.

Tons of strips got out in machines. These strips faded terribly, but even worse if any liquid is used to clean these strips they "erase" and the graphics just wash away. They were quietly replacing strips when they were doing maintenance an machines in the casinos! That obviously means nothing to people who have these machines now! You seem to have made a perfect solution for yourself though!

CaptainHappy

A horrible mistake yes!     Someone forgot?   
Hmmm.....Sorry Capt., I just don't buy that one.
Sounds more like the low bidder won and IGT got what they paid for.
Not only five reelers, but three reelers too! It's sickening to see a beautiful machine in a casino only to find the strips look horrible. Triple-Double-Wild Cherry is one of my favorites. Can't tell you how many times I find them totally faded. 
They should have replaced them all.

[slot monkey]

hd474,

Is the front and back covered with cellophane, or just the fronts?

[CaptainHappy]

Wow, great work.

Whatever you do, do not clean your original strips with any liquid at all. I suspect that those strips are victims of a horrible mistake by IGT several years ago. I heard this from a friend who works for IGT. Apparently they decided to go out of house to get reel strips printed, and when they came back in someone "forgot" that the strips still needed to be laminated with a protective coating!  You can usually tell if you look at the strips at an angle and they have a dull, not a shinny look to them. Also you can wet your finger slightly and rub in the corner that is usually hidden when the strips are on the reel, if it seems like a film is disolved and it looks like white paper underneath, they were not coated and are victims.

Tons of strips got out in machines. These strips faded terribly, but even worse if any liquid is used to clean these strips they "erase" and the graphics just wash away. They were quietly replacing strips when they were doing maintenance an machines in the casinos! That obviously means nothing to people who have these machines now! You seem to have made a perfect solution for yourself though!

CaptainHappy

A horrible mistake yes!     Someone forgot?   
Hmmm.....Sorry Capt., I just don't buy that one.
Sounds more like the low bidder won and IGT got what they paid for.
Not only five reelers, but three reelers too! It's sickening to see a beautiful machine in a casino only to find the strips look horrible. Triple-Double-Wild Cherry is one of my favorites. Can't tell you how many times I find them totally faded. 
They should have replaced them all.

Just what I heard, but it could have been a cost saving measure that was not well thought out!!!  Bean counters carry alot of weight there!!!

It was especially prevalent in the 3 reel plus bonus reel games as they were new and popular at that time. My Super Spin Sizzling Sevens and Diamond Stars are victim to that as well! 
Anyone got those reel strips available??? I know I better keep dreaming!!! 

CH

[hd474]

My machine does not have back-lit reels, at least not yet. But sounds like an interesting project for me to make back-lit strips. I already have some ideas and will give it a try. I'll keep you updated.

@stayouttadabunker: The strips are stored as PDF file (about 140MB), so small enough for a thumbdrive.

@slot monkey: both sides are covered.

Since the fading of the reel strips looks like a common problem, I could make a "step-by-step" guide for making reel strips, if you are interested.

[slot monkey]

hd474

I would like to see a step by step, thanks.

slot monkey