A Solution to the Dreaded "Worn Silkscreen Syndrome!" - With Photos!

[comp_wiz101]

After a bit of work, I have created an image which, properly treated, can be used to replace the silkscreening on the Zorki 4/4K shutter speed dial. I suppose you could print it on transparancy, or paper with a protective layer of packing tape (as I have).
The image for printing should be printed at 1200 DPI in order to make sure it is life-sized. If you have a colour printer, you should use a simple "Paint" program to colour the speeds 1 - 1/30 in red.

 

[reagan]

Wow. Good work wiz. Tedious stuff... you must have good eyes and patience.

 

[santino]

good work! my speeds are still ok but I'll come back to your dial as mine gets bad 🙂

 

[ZorkiKat]

Excellent! Is one for the silkscreened frame counter in the works? 😀

 

[comp_wiz101]

Thanks for all of the comments 🙂 Yes, it was rather tedious work, but my other hobbies involve building electronics and servicing vintage wristwatches, so I'm getting better at the tiny stuff... at least that's what I keep telling myself ;-) . Frame counter? Hmm... that might be trickier. The dial section is flat, which is good. My dial is in pretty good shape right now, but if there is a lot of demand I could be convinced....
Now, for the important parts: Improvement on the idea.
Some may be familiar with how printed circuit boards in electronics can be made, one such method involves applying a "resist" of the pattern to the copper-clad board, then etching the board with acid.
That said, using laser printers to create the resist patterns have become rather popular. Using the paper designed for making the resist, you could in theory:
1) Buff off the old marks
2) Print reversed dial image onto resist paper
3) using hot iron, melt toner onto dial
4) cool, dunk in water and rub off paper.
VOILA! A nice looking "Professionale" dial.
One step further: Coat with layer of plastic (ie Packing Tape) for protection.

If I ever get around to buying a laser printer, I might just try this.