[GB][GBC][GBA] Advice on reprinting cartridge labels/stickers?

[Urbanshadow]

As the title says, I have some (very) beaten up cartridges working well, and I would like to put them its label back. I have made by hand a couple of labels I'm proud of, but need help deciding what kind of media should I print the first tests. I have access to professional graphics printers with qualities up to 1200 dpi, but am planing to print at 600 dpi.

Any advice would be helpful.

 

[FAST6191]

I don't know how many here will have done much with labels enough to give specific advice, and it sounds like you know your way around a printer and graphics programs well enough as it is.
I can see the dots on my GB mario 2 cart here with the naked eye. Even my weakest magnifying glass renders them plain as day.
Warriors of Might and magic on GBC is even worse, though that might be dithering exacerbating it (few months back I did redo a boxart for a previously unreleased game... so much dithering).
Handful of GBA games ranging from early to late are all not that much better with a lot of the logos having all sorts of really quite bad aliasing, especially for the size they are (almost enough to make me wonder if Nintendo specced things oddly).

Other than special editions (not sure what they might be) none have any kind of gold foil inserts or anything like that, cardboard boxes the games come in are a different matter. To that end the hardest part there is probably going to be finding some sticky back glossy paper to make it shiny and cutting it out properly afterwards.

To that end I would likely not worry about DPI as 600 is overkill. I can't be bothered to go find some proper magnification and count things but I would not be surprised to see 120 or something equally low here.

 

[Urbanshadow]

Other than special editions (not sure what they might be) none have any kind of gold foil inserts or anything like that, cardboard boxes the games come in are a different matter. To that end the hardest part there is probably going to be finding some sticky back glossy paper to make it shiny and cutting it out properly afterwards.

To that end I would likely not worry about DPI as 600 is overkill. I can't be bothered to go find some proper magnification and count things but I would not be surprised to see 120 or something equally low here.

First of all, thank you for stepping out and answering

Just for documentation sake, Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal had Gold/Silver/Silver foil inserts as background, specifically.

From the carts that I own with good label health it's not as shiny as a glossy photo paper and not even close to that in thickness. I also do not believe the original media to be a photo type, as as you said the dither can be very evident. It mostly looks and feels like regular thin sticky paper with a clear tape protection over it post printing but I dont believe putting tape over a print would actually work as much as a bootleg cartridge label would.

I know for sure they didn't had 600 dpi digital printing presses back then, and 120 dpi sounds about right in terms of resolution at the time of production.

I don't know. I'm very confused. I'll try ran some tests and see how do regular 80 gsm paper works if at all.

 

[FAST6191]

First of all, thank you for stepping out and answering

Just for documentation sake, Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal had Gold/Silver/Silver foil inserts as background, specifically.

From the carts that I own with good label health it's not as shiny as a glossy photo paper and not even close to that in thickness. I also do not believe the original media to be a photo type, as as you said the dither can be very evident. It mostly looks and feels like regular thin sticky paper with a clear tape protection over it post printing but I dont believe putting tape over a print would actually work as much as a bootleg cartridge label would.

I know for sure they didn't had 600 dpi digital printing presses back then, and 120 dpi sounds about right in terms of resolution at the time of production.

I don't know. I'm very confused. I'll try ran some tests and see how do regular 80 gsm paper works if at all.

Yeah I did wonder what would be out there in the world on the glossy front. It does vary a bit whenever I had gone looking for things for people.

As far as plastic covered labels then I have never seen one peel like it, and I just grabbed two games, a pencil rubber and went to town. Black label (prince of persia https://picclick.fr/GBA-PRINCE-OF-PERSIA-264130847281.html ) had black rubbings and dulled the black down, coloured label (denki blocks https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Denki-Blocks-Nintendo-Game-Boy-Advance-/353113290969 ) properly dulled down and matching coloured rubbings came off, neither any kind of plastic layer either gone through, coming off, fraying at the edges where I did not rub or the like.