You want to print what??

So, in an attempt to finish out my Cinematronics War of the Worlds cabinet, I needed a marquee. Not too easy to locate (and I was amazed I ended up with the monitor overlay and bezel). So, lets have some printed up! I was able to have a friend recreate the WotW marquee artwork in Adobe Illustrator. It was a fairly easy task (at least for him) and he had it knocked out in two hours including a few revisions I asked for. It is important to note that as a vectorized artwork file, the marquee can be resized to any dimensions and still retail infinite detail. All lines are just a set of points set in a defined relation to each other. Make the picture smaller or bigger - it doesn't matter. I could have made the marquee 1,000 feet long and it would still have looked sharp and crisp.

Then, after sitting on my butt for three months, I finally began searching out a competent printer. Rob Winner had printed up a small run of Quantum marquees the previous year. I bought one, partially because I wanted one, and partially because I wanted to see how he did it. Essentially, it was a durantran which is sandwiched between two layers of glass (or plexiglass if you so desire) and then backlit. During my research, I discovered that most normal duratrans are produced for store signage and are not made with any specific longevity in mind. I think their lifespan is measured in months...

I discovered a more substantial, longer-lasting duratran derivative called a Ilfochrome Classic, also known as Cibachrome. Pretty neat stuff. I was quoted a lifespan of the printed work of two years constant backlighting. The end-result artwork is an actual photograph which has been processed in the traditional sense. I found a local printer that specialized in providing trade show and Point of Purchase graphics and who had an in-house Lambda digital photo "press". At this point, all the hard work was done.

I explained what I was after (a Lambda backlit print) and provided them with a diskette of the WotW marquee artwork. I did have to get the exact final dimensions, and for that, I measured one of my Armor Attack marquees (after all, I was converting an Armor Attack cabinet into my WotW). For those that are interested, the marquee dimensions are: width - 24 inches; height - 7 inches.

The next day, I came back to approve the test print.

The red background, once printed on the flexible duratran material and backlit, was a bit too pink for my liking, so with a PMS color sample on the same material I was having printed, I picked out a nice blood-red color. The printer let me keep the proof sheet. Pretty cool, as all the marquees are 25% normal size. Ultra rare WotW cabaret marquees! ;) The following day, I returned to pick up the final marquee prints. Looks sweet!

Print out your own marquee - 200 dpi, backlit Lambda print.
War of the Worlds marquee (adobe illustrator format)