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Custom Etch Plexi Replacement for PDP Nintendo Switch Dock Shield

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Price:
$16.95 (USD)
SKU
CUSTOM-PDPSHIELD-PLEXI-TOP
Weight
3.00 Ounces
Availability
Please allow up to 7-10 business days to process custom orders. Order will appear in the Custom Job Tracker.
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Calculated at checkout

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  • Product Description

    Please Read Before You Order

    Below is important information to know before placing a custom order with us:

    • Project L Official Artwork: Do not submit the PNG samples. Instead, please download the zipped Photoshop PSD version, unzip the file and integrate them into our artwork templates new-window-icon.png for your desired fightstick model
    • Hori Official Street Fighter 6 Artwork:  Please do not submit this artwork for the Fightstick Alpha. It is not compatible with our print and cut, as it contains registration marks that cannot be removed. If you wish to have the artwork printed only, you can use our Non-Commercial Fightstick Panel Artwork Print service. 
    • Hori Official Tekken 8 Artwork. We can print and cut most of Hori's official Tekken 8 artwork, as they revised the artwork files to allow removing the registration marks. Exception is artwork for Jun Kazama which has registration marks that cannot be removed.
    • Custom Orders do Not Ship Separately: If you place an order for a personalized product along with non-custom products, such as arcade part or merchandise, please note that all items will ship together.

    The PDP Nintendo Switch Light Up Dock Shield is a novel addition to the existing Nintendo Switch dock. Its RGB LED platform shines a bright color light below a clear acrylic panel, and frosted white portions of the acrylic capture the color.

    Designed for PDP Nintendo Switch Dock Shield

    PDP Nintendo Switch Light Up Dock
    Custom PDP Switch Light Up Dock Shield Template (Photoshop, 4.3Mb zip)

    The PDP Nintendo Dock Shield uses an acrylic panel that is just a hair thinner than .100".  Our plexi is about .100, and will fit the dock, but at times may feel snug upon install.

    Options

    Often, you will have several options to personalize your control panel, such as button layout, removal of control panel or screws in some models, button label etching, and text etching.

    ETCHED TEXT | ETCH TEXT FONTS | ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS

    Optional Text Positioning

    In addition to an etched graphic, you can choose a text presentation in the center and top and bottom corners. 

    PDP Custom Nintendo Switch Dock: Optional Text Positions

    Etch Text Fonts

    You can choose from a variety of fonts across seven distinct themes:

    COMIC | GRUNGE | HANDWRITTEN | POP CULTURE | CLASSIC/RETRO | SANS | SERIF

    Comic

    Comic: Badaboom Font (under license from Blambot Fonts Inc.)
    Comic: Detectives Font (under license from Blambot Fonts Inc.)
    Comic: Feasts of Flesh Font (under license from Blambot Fonts Inc.)
    Comic: Krakhead Font (under license from Blambot Fonts Inc.)
    Comic: Newsflash Font (under license from Blambot Fonts Inc.)


    Back to fonts
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    Grunge

    Grunge: Dust Mites Font
    Grunge: Frakturika font
    Grunge: Toy Soldiers


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    HANDWRITTEN

    Hand: Aaaiight! font
    Hand: Fat Boy Slim font
    Hand: Oneer font
    Hand: Yellowtail Regular font


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    Pop Culture

    Pop: Antique Olive (Fast & Furious) font
    Pop: Hacked (Watch Dogs) font
    Pop: Overdrive Sunset (Sunset Overdrive) font
    Pop: Planet Kosmos (various) font
    Pop: Pricedown (various) font
    Pop: Sin City (Sin City) font
    pop: Tarrget (Tekken) font
    pop: Martyric Regular font (used under commercial license)
    pop: MKX Title Regular (Mortal Kombat) font
    pop: Saiyan Sans (Dragon Ball Z) font
    pop: BigNoodleToo Oblique (Overwatch Title) font
    pop: Burbank Big Condensed Black (Fortnite) font
    pop: Nintender Regular (Nintendo Logo) font
    pop: Super Nintendo Italic (SNES Logo) font
    pop: Gamecuben (Nintendo Gamecube Logo) font
    pop: The Wild Breath of Zelda (Zelda Breath of the Wild) font
    pop: Moon Get Heavy (Super Mario Odyssey) font


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    Classic/Retro

    CLASSIC: Cherry Cream Soda font
    CLASSIC: Cinzel Black font
    CLASSIC: Contour Black font
    CLASSIC: Mael font
    CLASSIC: Squada One font
    CLASSIC: Streetwear font
    CLASSIC: Vast Shadow font


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    Sans

    Sans: Americorps font
    Sans: Kanji Free font
    Sans: Passion One Black
    Sans: Pier font
    Sans: Reckoner font


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    Serif

    Serif: Alegreya font
    Serif: Freshman Font
    Serif: Optimus Princeps font
    alhambra2.png


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    Additional Instructions

    If you would like to clarify something regarding your personalization that wasn't covered in the options, you can complete the "Additional Instructions" form.  Please do not make requests for customization outside of the requirements of the plexi, such as fixing your graphic, or creating a logo, as any orders placed in "HOLD" status is pushed to the bottom of the queue until it is changed back to "IN PROGRESS".

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    Art Tips

    ORIGINAL PANEL STYLE | FLIPPING ARTGRAYSCALE PHOTOS | DON'T HAVE PHOTOSHOP?

    The PDP Nintendo Switch Light Up Dock Shield is a colorful compliment to the existing dock that accompanies the non-Lite model. It rotates through several colors across red, green and blue hues.  If you are looking to create your own special panel using our service, here are tips to get close to the output as original panels.

    PDP Nintendo Switch Light Up Dock Template

    Custom PDP Switch Light Up Dock Shield Template (Photoshop, 4.3Mb zip)

    Click above to download the The PDP Nintendo Dock Shield etch template. The file is in Photoshop .psd format, and compressed using .zip format. Please contact our support team if you have any technical issues with the zip file.

    Replicating the Style of Original Panels

    The panels that come with the PDP Light Up Dock Shield uses flat white graphics to display its lighting effects. 

    To replicate this in an etch, you must use only two colors: Black and White. Unlike greyscale, which allows for values of black or white in between, you cannot have more than these two colors. 

    One important thing to remember about etching is this: Anything that is black will etch as frosted white on acrylic. Conversely, anything that is white will not etch at all. 

    This  idea is sure to trip up many folks who aren't used to submitting artwork like this. I explain further below.

    Let's look this example.  It has only two colors - black and white:

    PDP Dock Tutorial Example 1: Sample Black and White Image

    Untreated, it will etch like this:  Remember, areas that are black in the original photo will etch as white. Anything that is white in the photo will not etch at all.

    PDP Dock Tutorial Example 1: Plexi Output

    However, you may prefer to see more of the character's face rather than an outline of it, and keep the hair: 

    PDP Dock Tutorial Example 2:Optimal Output

    This was done using three techniques: inverting, masking, and stroke.

    Inverting

    The "invert" of a black and white photo reverses the colors.  Everything that was once black is now white and vice versa. Here is an example of of the the image when inverted:

    PDP Dock Tutorial Example 1: Sample Black and White Image Inverse

    Remember that when etching, anything black will appear as frosted white.  However, you may not want this effect, as the entire background is white:

    PDP Dock Tutorial Example 3: Inverse Unwanted Effect

    Masking

    In Photoshop, you have the ability to "mask" an object. To do this, create a selection around the shape of the subject, then click the "mask" icon in the layer.

    pdpdock-tut-ex4-palette.png

    With the layer mask in place, anything that is not part of the mask (what appears in white within the mask thumbnail) is hidden. Photoshop represents transparency via a checkerboard pattern.

    PDP Dock Tutorial Example 5: Mask

    An important note regarding transparency: If you are using Photoshop, make sure the new document you place an image into has the background set to "transparent", or you won't immediately see the transparency that is created by the mask.

    Tool Window Background Transparency

    A detailed explanation of how layer masks work, as well as clipping masks, is available via designshack.net.  Definitely worth a read.

    Adding a Stroke Line

    A "stroke" line is a visual attribute that you can apply to a path, or in this case, an object.  A stroke line can vary and thickness and color. In the image where a portion of the character's hair is at left, it is colored white and thus does not appear when etched:

    PDP Dock Tutorial Example 7: Before Stroke

    For our image, we want the stroke path to represent where the anime character's hair appears.  since when etching, anything that is white will not etch.  

    In Photoshop, locate your "Layers" palette. (Menu: View > Layers) and click the "fx" icon.  Of the options that appear in the resulting dropdown, select "Stroke...":

    PDP Dock Tutorial Example 7: Stroke Fx Palette

    The following window will appear, allowing you to adjust the size and position of the stroke line. In this case, we add a 5 pixel stroke line. If you are using our Photoshop template, expect to use a higher number to represent the stroke line since a higher resolution is used in that template.

    PDP Dock Tutorial Example 7: Expanded Options for Effects

    This is how it should look after the stroke is applied:

    PDP Dock Tutorial Example 7: Stroke Output

    And when etched will look like this:

    PDP Dock Tutorial Example 2:Optimal Output

    You can learn more about stroke lines at tutsplus.com.

    Flipping for Correct Install Orientation

    One more important note regarding laser etch is orientation.  Etching is performed on the back side of the acrylic.  This means that the etch appears behind the surface, and must have its orientation reversed to appear correct when installed onto the dock shield.

    In this example, the output here is not yet reversed:

    PDP Dock Tutorial Example 7: Stroke Output

    The non-reversed will actually appear like this when etched and then installed onto the dock shield:

    pdpdock-tut-ex7-plexi-output-reverse.jpg

    Since you want the character to appear on the right side when installed, you'll instead want to horizontally flip the image layer.  In Photoshop, select the artwork layer, then select the following from the menu:

    Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal 

    It will now look like this:

    PDP Dock Tutorial Example 7: Stroke Output

    and etched, will output correctly like this:

    PDP Dock Tutorial Example 2:Optimal Output

    Grayscale Images

    The process of etching uses the laser to create successive frosted lines onto cast acrylic.  In software, the laser etch machine interprets the color black as an area to fire the etch laser, and white as an area to skip.

    This means that for the most faithful reproduction onto acrylic, we need artwork in black and white.  Grayscale, or images that have varying intensities of black or white, will also etch, but as white dots of varying size and density which attempt to represent a shade of gray.

    This closeup view shows how grayscale images can etch on acrylic.

    When submitting artwork with grayscale values, please keep this in mind.  Similar techniques described under "Replicate Style of Original Panels" topic, such as masking and stroke can also apply to the greyscale images.

    I Don't Have Photoshop

    File:Adobe Photoshop CC icon.svg

    Many that don't own a copy of Photoshop will often use the free, open source application GIMP to create artwork using our control panel templates. It is possible to import our Photoshop templates into GIMP. Plexworks currently does not support GIMP's .XCF format, but GIMP does export to Photoshop .PSD format.

    Another possible alternative is Autodesk Sketchbook, recently made free to download and use.  It will open Photoshop PSD files, allow you to work in layers, and export to PSD.  We have tried it and it does function well.

    Plexworks will also accept files in JPG, PNG, TIFF, and PDF.  However, there are some caveats when submitting these formats:

    • Often, artwork saved as PDF in Photoshop will automatically flatten all of the layers into one single layer.  We cannot use this because the guidelines must be removed before we print the artwork.  The guidelines are only for your use when positioning artwork elements.  If you have Photoshop, please save as a layered PSD file instead. You won't help us by saving in PDF.
    • Artwork that are submitted without our Photoshop templates, a smaller size than 300dpi, or other inconsistency from our templates will be prone to judgement calls from our fulfillment team when sizing for print within our internal templates. We will post warning notes of possible changes that we have to make in order to etch the artwork.  Please note that custom artwork services are not refundable.
    • Please consider the artwork you are using in relation to the layout you want to print on.  For example, key parts of the artwork may get removed when trying to format it for the panel.
    • Please keep in mind that artwork submitted without our Photoshop template will be attempted to line up with our internal templates, but may not align exactly as expected. If you are concerned about positioning, then please use our Photoshop templates to submit your artwork.

    Here is one example of an artwork submitted by a customer that did not use a photoshop template, nor formatted for black and white:

    pdpdock-tut-ex1-original-nophotoshop.jpg

    Our artists will try to use some quick techniques to output like this 

    pdpdock-tut-ex1-plexi-nophotoshop.jpg

    However, when an image is not submitted using the template, or black and white and reversed, we cannot guarantee that we will match what the customer might desire. All custom artwork services are non-refundable unless damaged in transit.

    I hope these techniques may help you design a fun and attractive PDP Light Up Dock Shield panel.

    Support

    New to FA Plexworks?

    Click the "Options" tab for a detailed explanation of each customization option available to you. Using a mobile device?  Click here to scroll to the descriptions.

    Artwork templates

    We offer a photoshop template for each custom artwork or custom plexi etch. Click the "Description" tab (or scroll up if on mobile device) to display the template and download. You can also click here to access our repository and download artwork and etch templates (in Photoshop PSD format) for your desired model and others.

    Important: Using templates outside of the ones we provide may produce unwanted output.  We are not responsible for output generated from unsupported templates.  More information here.

    Warranty and Support for FA Plexworks Custom Order

    Custom orders cannot be returned for refund, or exchanged for another custom order. Orders damaged upon arrival are subject to special terms within our return policy. Please see our FA Plexworks FAQ for more information about our Plexworks return policy and related Q&A.

    If you have not used our Plexworks custom services before, we recommend that you visit our support section for updated information, helpful tips, and resources to get the best output.

    Some useful sections to review before making your purchase (will open in new browser window or tab):

  • Product Reviews

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    Write A Review

    1. Great product

      Ordered this as I like to personalize all my consoles and fightsticks. Had to read carefully to make sure the PSD file was setup properly. Order came quickly and in very safe packaging. The Plexi was very clean and the image was very clear. I would recommend. on Apr 8th 2020

    2. Perfectly Flawed

      Update from FA:

      No laser etching machine is designed to etch individual pixels as your artwork attempted. Instead please send artwork in a smooth gradient, so the software can create its own dot based gradient that the machine can replicate.

      ---

      An amazing piece, with nearly nothing to complain about! Adds a great accent to the Switch dock, whether it's lit or not.

      However, the etching process does not handle dithering very well, as there will be large, abrupt edges with a sudden change in pattern and density. Please be mindful of this if you're customizing your plate with pixel perfection like I was!
      on Mar 20th 2020

    3. WOW!!!!!!

      This custom Switch dock shield is amazing. It's better than the one that came originally. I had a Witcher 3 one made!!!! Probably going to order more soon. Thanks again!!!!! on Mar 6th 2020

  • Product Videos

    • FA Plexworks Custom Fightstick Artwork Services
      This video explains the many options available to you when cho...

    FA Plexworks Custom Fightstick Artwork Services

    This video explains the many options available to you when choosing custom FA Plexworks services at focusattack.com. We also cover important tips and references for properly uploading artwork when placing an order. Visit https://www.focusattack.com/customize/ to place an order for custom Fightstick artwork, a replacement acrylic top, or even laser etched design on acrylic. For additional information about FA Plexworks, download templates, and additional tips on how to submit artwork, visit our support portal http://bit.ly/fa-plexworks-support Big thanks to Naota for his pro-tier production! ** Artwork pictures are sample illustrations. All printed artwork is submitted by the user, and not sold directly on the website.
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