In building my new layout design I have photographed a backdrop special for my area of modeling. I am a retired pro photog and have processed in Pm and Photoshop to the ninth degree. This one is 84"X21" and scaled for N scale. I want to print on Scrim. My biggest problem is finding a printing company to do the work without telling me to present it in PDF form. This is a tif image and I don’t want to change the format. I’m afraid if I do the file will lose info. Sooo does anyone have suggestions besides the backdrop companies who really want to sell their own photo creations and over price, (I think) doing work for the layout builder and photog? Even though you tell them you are a pro and can talk the language they are really not interested. Doug
I think I am setting an all time record for no reply’s to my post. Anyway I’m working toward a solution and when I find it, I’ll POST IT.
Thanks for reply. I will check it out. Doug
You might try this website: http://www.photoartomation.com/ArtWork/Panoramic.htm
I shoot alot of panoramas and I’ve thought about using a few of mine for a future room sized railroad. This company does explain how to submit files larger then 20MB in their website. maybe this will work for you. In the meantime I may have one of my panoramas enlarged to a 10" x 48" wall hanging, just to see how well t comes out.
Good Luck,
Jeff B
Thanks for the reply Jeff. What I am doing now is working with Office Depot. They will send my image to a special printer in Denver. I submitted the image on Disc and did change it to an Adobe PDF at 120 PPI and they can print up to 1200 DPI, but for this purpose I have told them to give me a proff of 600 DPI from the inside of the image to check for overlap continuity and see how it looks. For this 84X21 image printed on Scrim the cost they tell me will be a little over $100.00 but don’t know the exact amount yet. As submitted the image size is 272 MB. I am a regular Office Depot customer anyway so I decided to try them for this backdrop. Right now I am waiting for the proff and should be in mid week. If this direction I’m trying works it will be a huge savings. Time will tell and I will let all know. Doug
Doug,
There is no reason to fear the PDF if you have Acrobat Pro. You may set the output file parameters any way you wish. Press Quality setting in Acrobat will produce a PDF version of your TIFF that will be exactly the same output quality on an offset press. You can even go nuts if you want by setting the print quality to 1200 or an absurd 2400 dpi.
PDF is the standard for file exchange in the professional print world. I do it everyday. Correctly generated PDFs produce the exact same print results as the image file from which they were generated if the user knows how to properly set the output parameters.
If you don’t have Acrobat Pro then contact me via PM. I can do the conversion for you.
Thanks for reply Alan. I’m not concerned about super sharpness in the PDF backdrop file, just the color. I did not know that a PDF was so good now. What I did in the day, tif was demanded. Ofc. Depot has it now and I’ll see what happens with the proof they send me and thanks for offer. . Doug
I Got the proof back today and is fantastic printed on scrim. I OK’d the printing of the whole backdrop and should be done and back on this coming Monday. It’s paid for now. I had a Ofc. Depot 15% off coupon and the total cost using it plus tax was $88.80. Wow that is better than 3 to 4 hundred. This was a special image anyway and I wanted it perfect. Hope I have helped others for future backdrops. Doug
Doug,
Thanks for this info. I did not know what scrim was until I googled/wiki’d the term and discovered that it is a form of fabric. I’m glad the photo looks great on the fabric. I have a few questions.
Is there a weave or texture to scrim that shows through the printed photo, or does it look smooth like paper?
How would you mount this to a backdrop, such as masonite or drywall?
Why did you choose scrim over another material, such as paper? (maybe its just the size of it, 84 x21)
Thanks
I plan on mounting it on Masonite . Am checking now on the type of adhesive to use. I held it up to the layout room light and did not detect any light coming through. The image side of the Scrim is flat, no texture and very flat smooth. The back looks like a satin finish vinyl. The material is flexible and when unrolled it lays flat with no roll memory so it should be easy to adhere when I figure out with what. The proof is free so I can use that to test adhesives. I had heard about this material and told it was very stable, but I keep the layout temp with in 20 degrees all the time just in case. I also was told it is nylon reinforced and has latex in it. Paper has memory and unrolling it and to adhere it can be difficult. If you want to see Scrim for yourself go to your local Ofc. Depot to the copy and print section and they have a sample book with Scrim. When I saw it I wanted to try it. The test goes on. Doug
Scrim is popularly used for printing stand up banners often used at trade shows and the like. As mentioned, one of its most redeeming qualities is the lack of memory. The banner can be stored rolled up and when unrolled it is wrinkle free and doesn’t want to curl back up. Very common product used by sign shops and quick print shops. Great product for backdrop applications. Good choice you made.
I feel real good about the choice now that I have seen the image proof printed on it. I stopped off at Sherwin-Williams yesterday and bought a quart of Roman Pro 543 Universal Border Adhesive used for wall paper and its borders, cut a sample off the printed proof and mounted it on tempered Masonite. This morning it looks great and adhered properly. This pre-mixed adhesive is water soluble and dries clear and flat. When the printed backdrop comes back from the printers this project will be finished. Also I got a little of the adhesive on the proof piece (on purpose) and it wiped right off with no indication of residue on the printed Scrim. My 84"X21" backdrop will look great. Doug
Got the 84X21 Pano back yesterday. Ofc. Depot asked me to change the PPI to 300 before they printed it which I did. That changed the file size to 1.002 Gig’s. Then they printed it at 800 DPI. The image is beautiful as I had hoped and the Scrim is wonderful to work with. I had cut the Masonite to size before hand and adhered the Pano yesterday afternoon. I used a 9 inch paint roller with a 3/8th" nap to gently roll the image over the #543 wall paper adhesive ( making sure no air bubbles were trapped) that I brushed on wet but thinly and I matched the edges to the Masonite. Perfect fit, WHEW! I checked through the evening watching for any signs of air bubbles.
Everything looked good this morning so I sprayed three coats of Krylon #1311 Matte Finish (ACE) to the surface to protect it. I used the proof to make sure the Krylon Matte Finish was compatible yesterday before I used it on the image.
I can’t say enough about how good it was working with my local Office Depot copy and print department. They seemed to really care about producing a good Pano Print. The cost was reasonable. Masonite, #543 Sherwin Williams wall paper adhesive and one can of Krylon made the project come out the way I wanted it too look. I am letting it sit and cure today and will mount it tomorrow.
I hope this thread has helped others for the future. Doug
When I read about your using scrim I was a litttle curious as to how you plan to use it. When I worked at a professional model shop in New York many years ago, we used ‘scrim’ for some of our exhibit/displays to hide the exhibit model until the lights were turned on behind the scrim, then you could see through the scrim. This is similar to looking out a window at night with the lights on and then off. The scrim we used was a black fabric with an open weave so you could see through it when properly illuminated. I guess times have changed.
I did have an idea that I hope to try on my background and that is to have the moon light up from behind a translucent area that would appear as sky during the ‘daylight’ and then as the moon during the ‘night’ scene. I plan to use some translucent mylar sheet that I have and glue it over a round hole (the moon) in the masonite background. If properly painted and illuminated it should give good results. Didn’t mean to get off the subject but the ‘scrim’ triggered the idea.
-Bob
Yes, times have changed Bob. The products available now are miles above what was when I started in Model Railroading long ago. I mounted my new back drop yesterday evening and Wow is it nice. I am elated at how nice the image looks printed on the Scrim and how well it adhered to the Masonite giving a smooth flat non glare photograph. Your idea about the moon sounds interesting and would be quite a different effect. Doug
Doug
Would be nice if you could post a couple of photos of the completed project, including a close-up.
Alan T
I’ll work toward that Alan. Right now there is bench work, a wall with a back drop and some cork installed. Winter is starting here and some snow predicted tonight sooo, RR time is at hand. Better than 106.7 degrees that we had this summer with no rain for almost three months. Doug