Labeling blank HP 41 overlays

[Dave Britten]

I got a couple of the original white overlays - both with and without the shifted functions pre-printed - and some of the sticker sheets for labeling them. I'm trying to figure out the best way to label these. A 0.5 mm mechanical pencil directly on the overlay gives fair results, and is easy to erase if I want to change the assignments, though the lead can be smeared away fairly easily. The sticker sheets are about 50% blanks, and I can write on the blank stickers with an ultra-fine Sharpie, but even that appears to be prone to wiping away. Not to mention the stickers have a tendency to curl up at the ends a bit after applying them (I'm experimenting with removing and applying the stickers using needle-point tweezers to minimize curling). I'm hesitant to write directly on the overlay with a Sharpie, since I may want to change the assignments later. What was the usual go-to choice for labeling these things back in the day?

[Sylvain Cote]

I use the overlay generator from spb (see old 2011 thread).
I works with Firefox (97.0) but has issue with Safari (15.3) and since Chrome is not installed on my Mac, I have not tried it.

[Maximilian Hohmann]

Hello!

(02-15-2022 08:17 PM)Sylvain Cote Wrote:  I use the overlay generator...

And how do the letters get from your browser onto the overlay?

Back in the days when I wasted lifetime ( ;-) ) labelling overlays I either used soft pencil and eraser for programs which I knew would only be used for a short time. For permanent stuff I used Letraset (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letraset) transfer lettering. The company does not exist any more but their products can still be found on places like eBay. If you need the lettering to be really permanent and scratch proof it can be treated with a coat of transparent lacquer. I used to do that also with the front plates of selfmade electronic devices.

Regards
Max

[Dave Britten]

(02-15-2022 08:41 PM)Maximilian Hohmann Wrote:  Hello!

(02-15-2022 08:17 PM)Sylvain Cote Wrote:  I use the overlay generator...

And how do the letters get from your browser onto the overlay?

Back in the days when I wasted lifetime ( ;-) ) labelling overlays I either used soft pencil and eraser for programs which I knew would only be used for a short time. For permanent stuff I used Letraset (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letraset) transfer lettering. The company does not exist any more but their products can still be found on places like eBay. If you need the lettering to be really permanent and scratch proof it can be treated with a coat of transparent lacquer. I used to do that also with the front plates of selfmade electronic devices.

Regards
Max

That's a good idea, I wonder if I could find a suitable Letraset replacement with characters minuscule enough to fit on the little stickers. I'll have to take a peek in the craft store next time I'm in that area.

So far, removing the stickers from their backing and positioning them on the overlay with a set of needle-point tweezers seems to work well without causing the stickers to curl and peel up at the ends.

Here's a closeup of how I've got it looking. The labels indicate the shifted functions I've assigned.

https://i.imgur.com/IyfAwE2.jpg

[Maximilian Hohmann]

Hello!

(02-15-2022 09:18 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  ... I wonder if I could find a suitable Letraset replacement with characters minuscule enough to fit on the little stickers.

I did a quick search and found some very small ones on Amazon: "Mini Series 1/16in": https://www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/B000BRFD6...870&sr=8-6

But there is plenty of choice, obviously this market is still alive, even without the original Letraset company from England. etsy.com produces a lot of search resuslts too.

Regards
Max

[Dave Britten]

(02-15-2022 09:39 PM)Maximilian Hohmann Wrote:  Hello!

(02-15-2022 09:18 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  ... I wonder if I could find a suitable Letraset replacement with characters minuscule enough to fit on the little stickers.

I did a quick search and found some very small ones on Amazon: "Mini Series 1/16in": https://www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/B000BRFD6...870&sr=8-6

But there is plenty of choice, obviously this market is still alive, even without the original Letraset company from England. etsy.com produces a lot of search resuslts too.

Regards
Max

Ah, of course, it's listed in model railroading supplies! We've got a hobby shop nearby that sells tons of model railroad stuff, I bet they'd have something like this.

[Sylvain Cote]

(02-15-2022 08:41 PM)Maximilian Hohmann Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 08:17 PM)Sylvain Cote Wrote:  I use the overlay generator...

And how do the letters get from your browser onto the overlay?

I print the overlay on thick or glossy paper, cut it and then glue it on top of a plastic overlay.
I use a Cricut cutter to remove the extra paper. (contour and key holes)
I use water based paper glue, allowing me to easily remove the paper overlay from the plastic overlay when no longer needed.
Sylvain

[HP-Collection]

As cutting is very boring: Do you have a Silhouette Plotter?

[striegel]

(02-15-2022 04:48 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  ... original white overlays ... I'm trying to figure out the best way to label these. A 0.5 mm mechanical pencil directly on the overlay gives fair results, and is easy to erase if I want to change the assignments, though the lead can be smeared away fairly easily.

... I'm hesitant to write directly on the overlay with a Sharpie, since I may want to change the assignments later.

You could try using the Pilot Frixion Ball slim Retractable Erasable Gel Ink Pens,fine Point, 0.38 Mm. I carry one with me everywhere in a pocket.

[Dave Britten]

(02-18-2022 08:50 PM)striegel Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 04:48 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  ... original white overlays ... I'm trying to figure out the best way to label these. A 0.5 mm mechanical pencil directly on the overlay gives fair results, and is easy to erase if I want to change the assignments, though the lead can be smeared away fairly easily.

... I'm hesitant to write directly on the overlay with a Sharpie, since I may want to change the assignments later.

You could try using the Pilot Frixion Ball slim Retractable Erasable Gel Ink Pens,fine Point, 0.38 Mm. I carry one with me everywhere in a pocket.

Hmm, my wife is in love with Frixion pens, though I don't know if she has any 0.38. Maybe I'll have to get a few, and a couple extras for her so she doesn't take mine.

[Sylvain Cote]

I also sometime use a Staedler Lumocolor non-permanent pen. The writing can be removed with water.
If the marking is left on the overlay for a long period of time, completely removing it can be a hard thing to do.

[MeindertKuipers]

I would be interested in the exact process to generate overlays with a cutting machine. I have been considering to buy one, but wasn't sure if it would really work. Ideally I would like to print it on my inkjet printer and cut out the keys and shape. Is the cutting exact on the printed image?

(02-16-2022 03:44 AM)Sylvain Cote Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 08:41 PM)Maximilian Hohmann Wrote:  And how do the letters get from your browser onto the overlay?

I print the overlay on thick or glossy paper, cut it and then glue it on top of a plastic overlay.
I use a Cricut cutter to remove the extra paper. (contour and key holes)
I use water based paper glue, allowing me to easily remove the paper overlay from the plastic overlay when no longer needed.
Sylvain

[mfleming]

(02-20-2022 10:35 AM)MeindertKuipers Wrote:  I would be interested in the exact process to generate overlays with a cutting machine. I have been considering to buy one, but wasn't sure if it would really work. Ideally I would like to print it on my inkjet printer and cut out the keys and shape. Is the cutting exact on the printed image?

I did this some years back, first with a Cricut cutter and later with a Brother scan & cut. In the end, neither cutter was satisfactory. The Cricut suffered from a fair amount of cumulative positioning error that made it impossible to cut more than one overlay at a time. For the Cricut you upload your image to their web tool and draw the cut lines on the image (you are locked into their proprietary web site as they sued a company that tried marketing a standalone design program). The cut directions are then downloaded to the machine. With printed cardstock carefully aligned to the carrier base, the cutter would optically align to the base home position, then follow the cut directions as a offset from home. You can do multiple overlay cuts from the same saved cut directions, but the process is laborious and subject to inaccuracies, hardly an improvement over cutting by hand.

The Brother cutter seemed an improvement as it would scan the image you placed on the carrier base and load the image into a standalone program where you could define the cut lines. The program proved to be frustrating to use and difficult to get cut directions right.

I'd love to see what a true CAD/CAM device could do, but I suspect that only a machined stamping cutter could provide an accurate overlay like an HP original.

~Mark

[MeindertKuipers]

I could not resist to try this myself, so I have found a good deal on a 2nd hand older model Silhouette Cameo plotting cutter, and the first tests (with just plain paper) looks really good with pretty accurate print and cut capabilities.