Hi Crew,
I have been trying to keep under the radar for a while concerning my
decals that I sell on ebay, mainly due to the fact that shameless self
promotion is not my thing. As a lot of you know, I have been a
listmember for a couple of years and sometimes I chime in when I feel I
have something positive to comment on - but like most 'sleepers' I hold
my tongue even when the most inane and exasperating comments are made.
I have been selling repro decals on ebay and by special order for nearly
a couple of years and have learnt that this 'band of brothers' ( the CR
listmembers) only represents a tiny fraction of those who enjoy riding
and restoring vintage steel. There is a massive pool of interest out
there and within the confines of the CR list we are really just a
small, but very dedicated and focussed group. I have made so many strong
friendships locally and internationally that, like many other CR
members, has improved the quality of my life and of course my bike
stable!
Lets talk about decals.... firstly a couple of the comments recently
posted....
Dale Phelps argues that reproductions are too thick and require too much
clear coat to bury...... normally true if the maker uses thick vinyl.
The vinyl I use is the finest I can source in regards to thickness - the
next finer grade is virtually 'cling wrap' which has major distortion
problems when applying. Most repro makers use thick vinyl that is
suitable for outdoor signage - so longevity is more important as well as
cost....my vinyl costs considerably more to buy than the average
commercial product. I have used many pressure rub and water slides and
there is nearly no difference to the thickness that I use. An elderly
framebuilder (living treasure Jim Bundy) restoring an old Speedwell
couldn't convince his old biking cronies that my decals on his frame
were not waterslide transfers.
Don Gillies mentions that on a couple of my Reynolds decals there were
some mistakes.....accepted. I politely thanked him for his input and
consequently changed the artwork...that was a long time ago Don! The
variety of Reynolds and the different commercial printers that handled
the printing requiremnts for them over the decades has produced more
variations than you can poke a stick at. I am constantly editing and
building my resource library to get the most generic and accurate
artwork for each new print run. At that time I had a contractor doing
them for me at great cost and artistic control was tough work. I solved
the problem by investing about $40,000 into machinery, software and
materials (mirror gold vinyl cost $1000 a roll for my printer) and set
about learning the art of forging. I was a slave to the printer and
software for quite a while - but managed a good outcome...now the roles
have been reversed and its a slave to me. What has to be considered in
the equation is the personal cost of a venture of this sort......aside
from the $ investment, ordinary folk who have a day job, a family, like
doing stuff like riding and building bikes could find themselves in
trouble. To digitalize a full set of decals - correctly - and have the
artwork compatible to a specific printer which does dry heat foil
transfer style printing - and nothing else really works - could take up
to a week of evenings spent bent over a computer screen. Staring at a
monitor for weeks and months is not good for your health and you end up
putting on weight...its true! Sample runs, wastage and the other stuff -
emails, postage and packing make a $40 set of decals basically a 3rd
world economic venture. So you have to have someone committed, with the
resources of $ and time and has a tough enough shell to get over the odd
slap in the face and with the burning desire to get as many vintage
steel bikes back to their true original - if not improved - state.
I own about 30 bikes, have another 30 frames and have friends who have
stables as well. I also have a large collection of decals and this is
where I have been getting most of my artwork from to date. Many
purchases of decals to help expand my library of artwork has resulted in
the expensive experience of ending up with useless decals - poor
registration, incorrect graphics, bad cutting. True originals quite
often end up shattering or even turning to dust when attempting to mount
them. A set of vintage foil decals I paid $150 for the set, fell to
pieces, and am now selling reproductions for $10...and these wont
break.
Moral dilemma? Getting vintage steel on the road looking great sits on
the moral high ground IMO, and inspires others to restore, save and
perpetuate vintage classics for future generations. Certain marques or
brands worrying about copywrite? - the restoration of their heritage is
something that they haven't done themselves and should be grateful for
those that are rebuilding their historic base. For the CR listmembers
who have concerns about originality in correct restorations- a shortfall
in supply of original decals compared to the needs of the many seems to
me to be a very short sighted and exclusive way of thinking. To the guys
out there that are making rubber campy hoods - good on you - but please
state that they are repros so there is no deception. I have some of
these and they are tops! Compared to a set that sat in a fridge for 20
years, they haven't quickly gone hard and brittle like the NOS set that
were like a picture of Dorian Gray and were pretty nasty after 4 months
of normal exposure - even installed on a bike that lives under a sheet
in the spare room in my house.
I have plans to expand my library of decals which probably amounts
currently to over 130 different sets gradually as time permits. I am not
keen on doing 'one off' specials - let Michael from Velographics take
care of that and I wish him well. Certainly for networking this sort of
venture is great, but to be effective you need everything at hand...no
waiting or relyng on others. Might I say that I have a soft spot for CR
members requests - even though I have done a couple of jobs for 'you
know who I am talking about' and have heard nothing from them although a
week of my spare time was invested in the process.
I have plans to see some of you guys at Eroica or even Dale's final bash
in 2007 Cirque.
Sorry about the length but have been saving a lot up for quite a while.
Now to print the Allegro, Rauler and Tommasini sets I have been working
on.
Greg Softley
Coffs Harbour
Oztralia