Copying Vintage Old Logo labels for restoring old equipment

[adamfromayr]

Hi All


I use Corel Draw and i did have a look on YouTube etc for help on this

I restore a lot of old equipment mainly Industrial and Old Lamps that they just don't make any more

I take pride in doing the sand blasting, Powder coating etc

But when you do this the old original labels come off and i want to duplicate them to match the orginals ones from say 1940


Does anyone else do this? And how do you do it? I use Corel Paint and Corel Draw

I was thinking that you take a photo of what is left of the old logo label?

And import into Corel draw i have tried this but it's very time-consuming and wanted to know how other people do it?

Thanks

 

[Bobby H]

For old logos or labels that exist only in analog form the best approach is scanning an authentic print of it in a flatbed scanner and then using the scanned image as a guide to re-build a vector-based version of it. But, yeah, the process can be time consuming. Auto-trace filters are only good for quick and dirty results.

Shooting a photo of an old label is going to be a step down from using a flatbed scanner due to perspective and barrel/pincushion distortion issues. But some items just won't fit in a scanner (some items can be scanned in pieces and re-assembled into a larger overall image).

 

[damonCA21]

Yes, I do quite a bit of this. I scan or photograph what I can get, import into draw and then recreate the design as a vector over the top of it. It's the only way to get a decent original result as pretty much all old labels were screen printed, so printing scans never gives a good enough result>
It can be time consuming, but with practice then you get quicker at it.

 

[Billct2]

Yep, usually the only way to reproduce is a photo of whatever is left, combined with and online search. Then rebuild it.
It's amazing how may repop logos are out there.
I'd also run the photo by the vector doctor to see if he can handle it.

 

[adamfromayr]

Thanks guys for the replies, i did do some research and did attempt two already and looked okay but I've still loads to learn in Corel so i think i will get better, i never thought of scanning thats a good idea as a photo can be more off than a scan, so that's a helpful tip i never thought of!

I thought maybe there was a faster way but i guess its just going to take time and more practice, Thanks again guys your replies were very helpful

P.S. When i was trying to recreate this old logo i scrolled through the "nearest font" i could find then edited the font bit by bit using such tools as "envelope" in Corel

Original one and my practice one, not prefect but its a start

That old font you just cant find?

 

[VizualVoice]

I'l

Thanks guys for the replies, i did do some research and did attempt two already and looked okay but I've still loads to learn in Corel so i think i will get better, i never thought of scanning thats a good idea as a photo can be more off than a scan, so that's a helpful tip i never thought of!

I thought maybe there was a faster way but i guess its just going to take time and more practice, Thanks again guys your replies were very helpful

P.S. When i was trying to recreate this old logo i scrolled through the "nearest font" i could find then edited the font bit by bit using such tools as "envelope" in Corel

Original one and my practice one, not prefect but its a start

That old font you just cant find?

View attachment 168398

View attachment 168399

l'll be honest, to me that's not even close. The baseline of the original word DUGDILL'S is straight, not arched like yours. The width of the U vertical lines looks like it should be the same per the original, and the apostrophe is completely the wrong shape. Hard to tell from the photo you have, but the G and the S look to have serifs I think in some other pics in a quick search. I'm nos sure what's going on with the strange double-lines on the ILL'S, trying to make it dimensional?

Not to sound too harsh, but basically, if you're trying to accurately reproduce the original you need to keep working on it. If you're just going with something derivative, well... my comment stays the same.

It's not an easy task to recreate vintage stuff, a lot of those fonts were hand-drawn for starters. That being said, it's a rewarding thing once you finally get it right so keep plugging at it. This is a good and relatively easy one to start with. I'd say find some more source material than just the one photo if it's available. A quick search for "Dugdill's RTM label" netted me a few decent photos. Unfortunately all at angles, BUT maybe you can take bits and pieces from them and make a composite. I work in illustrator, but I'm sure you can do the same in Corel. I like to import the original and stick on the bottom layer and lock it. Then I'll start lettering or drawing on top in a highly contrasting color so I can see what I need to tweak. So like if your letters are black, use a bright blue or bright green or something and then once it's all done set your colors to the proper ones. That makes it a lot easier to see what you're actually working on.

 

[damonCA21]

I agree with above. You need to consider that the decal is applied to a curved surface, so the baseline of the top word will be flat. You also need to take into account how the curved surface effects the width of the text. if the decal was laid flat it would be wider than it appears on the photo due to the curve. Also your curve of the top of the letters isn't uniform, it should be one smooth curve from left to right, and it is also much too high.

The L's and I are close, but all the other letters aren't even close+6.

A lot of old 'fonts' aren't actually fonts, so you will never find a match. The most useful thing you can learn to do in Corel is to recreate letters from scratch using rectangles, curves and ellipses.

It is all a learning process though, so the more you practice the easier it gets.

 

[adamfromayr]

CHILL out LOL

It wasn't meant to be close it even has shadows it was closer than that but i continued messing around with it

Adam can do much better Adam will do much better

 

[adamfromayr]

Many thanks for the tips guys,

Greatly appreciated i will practice on the rainy days when i have some free time

This is the hardest font to recreate as its curved I dived into the deep end on this font

Maybe i will practice on something easier first!

That image i showed wasn't meant to be a match it was a bit similar, but then i went overboard messing with it more and more!

Will practice on maybe straight font vintage logo first

Thanks again!

 

[visual800]

when I reproduce something of this nature I redo the fonts , not as a whole word but each individual letter. It is time consuming but once done, its done. I use flexisign and do a wireframe over the old logos to better manipulate. My dad worked at the dairy below and I vectored that logo off a bill board I was able to grab online at dept of archives. The logos were black an orange but later changed to a light teal bcak in 80s...its a lot of work!

 

[adamfromayr]

I love the old vintage signs and the Hall Brothers one you did

thanks for all your replies

i now know its a lot of work not hard work more time-consuming to do it, i was just wondering how others did it and it wasnt just me

im guessing it could take a good days work/time to do just one logo for a beginner and an expert maybe 1-3 hours

Thats the good thing we are brining back to life old vintage logos and many of the companies no longer exist so i think we are doing a good thing

Im refurbishing many old items from the 1930s to 1970s and have to do several old labels but im happy to do it i just wondered if there was a fast way so i dont waste time but i now know thanks to all your replies

 

[Notarealsignguy]

We do similar work, it's time consuming and tedious especially if you are anal retentive about how your final product turns out.

 

[adamfromayr]

Great to know this Glad i asked now

 

[jochwat]

I've been taking forever on a similar project that's fun to do, time-consuming, and will generate very little money. But I find the whole creating / making / selling / shipping process cathartic for some reason. Here's the first one I did and finally got it online for sale. Bowling alley from the little town in Chicago where I grew up. I think I found a very slightly better source photo of the attached sign to start with, but luckily was able to find the fonts and didn't have to lose my mind trying to recreate it all. Sold about a half dozen so far. I AM RICH!

 

[bob]

Not even close.

Thanks guys for the replies, i did do some research and did attempt two already and looked okay but I've still loads to learn in Corel so i think i will get better, i never thought of scanning thats a good idea as a photo can be more off than a scan, so that's a helpful tip i never thought of!

I thought maybe there was a faster way but i guess its just going to take time and more practice, Thanks again guys your replies were very helpful

P.S. When i was trying to recreate this old logo i scrolled through the "nearest font" i could find then edited the font bit by bit using such tools as "envelope" in Corel

Original one and my practice one, not prefect but its a start

That old font you just cant find?

Not even close.

 

[adamfromayr]

No need to be cheeky BOB! If you read what i said it was closer i just uploaded it for the sake of it i didnt ask for peoples opinions if it was close! i know myself i made it and can see its not a replica

Jochwat i love the t-shirt it classy and vintage looking

 

[Notarealsignguy]

I've been taking forever on a similar project that's fun to do, time-consuming, and will generate very little money. But I find the whole creating / making / selling / shipping process cathartic for some reason. Here's the first one I did and finally got it online for sale. Bowling alley from the little town in Chicago where I grew up. I think I found a very slightly better source photo of the attached sign to start with, but luckily was able to find the fonts and didn't have to lose my mind trying to recreate it all. Sold about a half dozen so far. I AM RICH!

It's all fun and games until it takes off. Then it's a job.

 

[damonCA21]

Most simple ish text logos I can do in under an hour with a half decent copy to work from. This logo was done from scratch and probably took about 40 minutes. You do get a lot quicker the more you do them though.
I normally find it easier just to work from scratch rather than trying to autotrace and then tidy it up as it never gives as good a result as making up original artwork.
Of course the customer is always charged for the design setup time

 

[damonCA21]

Often you can also improve on an old logo as the old printing techniques often gave quite a fuzzy edge, so with modern printers you can get them looking a lot sharper, more how the company would have wanted the original decals to look

 

[gnubler]

Tracing or drawing elements like this is a million times easier using a stylus and tablet. Much more dexterity and control.