Re: Product packaging

On 5/15/2025 1:30 AM, Liz Tuddenham wrote:

But, glossy smooth finishes are pretty boring (not everyone
is blind; a product should appeal to sighted users as well!).

 I have had good results in the past with the following:
 Apply primers etc in the usual way, finishing up with a coat or two of
matte black.
Apply white transfer lettering.
Apply a thin coat of cellulose varnish to fix the lettering and allow to
dry thoroughly.
Apply several more thin coats of cellulose varnish

Ouch!  This would be a labor of love!  I'm looking for a technique
or material that can be mass produced (100K qty's) without breaking
the bank.

This is similar to the methods used by coachbuilders in the past and
produces the clearest readable lettering on a deep gloss black that
appears to have depth.  It would probably be too labour-intensive for
anything but a one-off, but the underlying principle of a clear varnish
layer on a matte undercoat could be adapted to small batch production
and gives outstandingly good results; the 'depth' effect is really
attractive.

Yes.  "Labor of love".

For clear lettering, I have found nothing better than Helvetica Bold
unless it is critical to distinguish between '1', 'I' and 'l', in which
case you need a Roman font.

I've avoided lettering for the obvious reasons  :>
The FIRST question (sighted) folks would invariably ask when encountering
The Reading Machine was "But there are no labels on the keys!"
<https://media.gettyimages.com/id/837628284/it/foto/jan-21-1978-jan-22-1978-mike-hingson-shows-the-kurzweil-reading-machine-hingson-head-of-the.jpg?s=612x612&w=gi&k=20&c=JP59v2mZikRffoVT5mMykH_xGDxXOH0Ot0TBiOYfQOA=>
"Ah, OK!  I'll label them for you.  Now, CLOSE YOUR EYES..."

There seem to be some coatings that are widely used.  But,
they don't seem to hold up over the long term -- many get
"tacky" as if a plasticizer shit the bed (?)

 I have some cooking utensils that I dread touching.  The plastic surface
is supposed to be soft and appealing, but on something that may come
into contact with food, such as the handle of a frying pan spatula, it
just feels tacky and uncleanable. -- Ugggh!

Exactly.  That's likely the same "coating" that I've been disparaging.
It appears to degrade.  It's not "dirty", it has just turned to shit!
(The solution is to remove the material with a solvent)

Some of the QUAD amplifiers were coated with a 'flock' surface that I
presume was supposed to give the impression of quality or opulence.
After a while it broke down into a disgusting sticky mess which needs a
lot of work to remove cleanly without damaging the panels underneath.
 You would do much better to avoid the latest gimmicky materials and just
keep to established surface finishes applied in a thoughtful way.  You
aren't in the fashion business; fashion is ephemeral and risky but good
taste lasts much longer.

Even smooth plastic/metal is not immune from looking like shit,
over time.
I've made some product with textured molds that remained appealing
and were still "cleanable".  But, someone still had to NOTICE that
they needed to be cleaned.
A "cleaning reminder" that alerts every N days???