Can anyone suggest a way to scale down a herald using a computer so that I can print it out in multiple copies. If possible I would like to avoid using special software. I want to design my own RR logo.
I don’t know about “special” programs, but I designed mine on Print Shop software. It has lots of lettering and resizing options and can import different file formats for use. Its a fairly common program installed by the manufacturer on lots of computers. (I bought my version, my wife has a new version on her HP system)
I also make most of my own signage and will be getting into making my own decals as soon as I get a color laser printer. For now I use my inkjet for printing signs and either spray them with a matte medium or cover the smaller ones with scotch invisible tape before I cut them out to protect the ink from moisture. See my websites for examples.
Thanks for this, I will follow your tips. Up to now I have only produced lettering & numbers, but they look fairly boring without color heralds. Cheers John.(Avid ATSF Modeller)
As you are discovering there is not a good way to scale images up or down when using raster based images (.BMP, .JPG etc…) This is because they use pixles of color to make up the image. If you are set on using raster based images you need to experiment with drawing them to the size you want them to be. Most all decal makers as well as graphic designers work in “vectors”. Vector drawings do not use pixles to represent images. Instead the lines are calculated mathematicaly and are recalculated when an image is scaled up or down. By using this method a drawing can be scaled up or down virtually to infinity. The drawback to vectors though is the ability to do photo realistic imaging. The individual pixles that allow for a raster image to look realistic such as in photo’s does not exist in vectors.
There is a more indepth discussion of this on my web site at this link
http://www.dansresincasting.com/custom%20decals.htm
Dan Pikulski
www.DansResinCasting.com
If you have anything that will create a picture, you can use Microsoft Word to scale and print it. Choose Insert - Picture - From File and bring in your picture. Then click on the picture, grab the little black box in the corner and re-size it. Then print.
If you have an artist in the family (I’m blessed with 2 of them) you could start with a paper logo and either scan it or use a digital camera.
As Dan mentioned above, though, this does still have the limitations of bitmap printing, but I’ve found bitmap scaling is much more satisfactory when you’re shrinking a picture than it is when you’re blowing it up.