Reproducing Lionel 310 inserts, any ideas

I am not sure I have ever seen the original 310 inserts, but I have seen many other ones over the years.  If I were doing this I would:

- work in MS Powerpoint with its many fonts and graphics to reproduce the look of those two: this does not look like it would be too challenging to reproduce almost exactly

- work to adjust size, placement until when I printed out a sample I got it just the right size and color, etc., using a good laser printer

- print it out on good quality card stock

- use a quality contact cement to glue it to very thin Plastruck sheet styrene, for strength and longevity

- trim it exactly to size

Done 

- 

If you just look for "card stock" in a big-bix office supply, you'll find it. Otherwise, design and print what you want on regular paper, stop by one of the major copy places and have them color-copy it to their heaviest card stock. If you don't plan on using a lot of it, that might be your easiest option. Another possibility is to buy printer-ready postcards. They're either two or four to a sheet and are usually in medium to heavy stock. 

The 65-lb. weight will go through most regular printers without a problem. Many printers have a separate feed so you don't have to empty and reload the paper tray for one sheet. It's often a straighter way through the machine. For example, the paper tray in ours routes unprinted sheets back, up, around and down. The single-sheet feed is down at an angle and through, so there's much less bending for heavy stock. 

Andrew:

Yes those dealer display billboard signs you have pictured are very rare but be advised that those signs were not made in the 3” x 5” size that fit into the 310 billboard frames.  I have one of those signs and it is 4” x 6¾” and made of much heavier cardboard so it can stand by itself in a slot in a wooden base.  I can send you a photo of mine if you would like. 

But there were other Lionel dealer display signs that were 3” x 5” and designed to fit in the post-war #310 frames.  Several have been listed on eBay recently.  Attached is a pdf file which shows 2 of the 4 known colorful 3” x 5” dealer display signs.  The 3^rd one was red and yellow and had a drawing of a steam whistle with the text “Lionel Trains with built-in Remote Control Whistle”.  The 4^th had a blue background with red lettering and showed a large cloud of white smoke coming out of the smoke stack of a black steam locomotive with the text “Lionel Locos puff clean white smoke”.  

In addition there was a set of eight 3" x 5" signs which were just plain black text on a white background with each one identifying a different 1961 cataloged train set.

There are several sellers on eBay listing reproduction Lionel billboards for sale so it must not be hard to duplicate them.  Some of the ones they are identifying as reproductions were never made by Lionel!    

HTH,

Bill (BTW also a Nittany Lion)    

Hi Bill:

Yes, I saw those on eBay recently- something fishy is going on with the seller as he's reposted them several times at higher prices each time. 

I am building a reproduction D-148 and am including the wooden base of which you speak on one corner- it'll look something like the below picture when done (though not as good as an original). My concern in searching what others have done for reproductions (even those selling them) is that the material seems to be much lighter, or downright incorrect. 

I am glad you pointed out it's bigger than the standard inserts, I had no idea on that. 

I'll hit Staples and Office Depot and the like and see what material I can find- I know it'll need to be somewhat glossy to look correct, and heavy enough to stand up on its own.

Thanks for the help! Go State! 

You can also get full sheet peel and stick paper label stock (just like mailing labels only full sheet) and apply that to any stock you want.  Russ

Print on card stock and then use automotive grade adhesive to apply to a fiberboard or paperboard of appropriate weight

I would love to get a good hi res copy of these if you are willing to share -Thanks

http://users.zoominternet.net/...ds/Lionel2.htm#Page2

This site has hi-res of all the Lionel billboards, and also some user submitted copies. I grabbed the pics from there.

Some other folks have provided several ways to accomplish this above.  The simplest method to get a workable end result would be to print the image on 'normal' paper, then use adhesive to attach it to a thicker material.  I'll recommend using a quality photo paper if you are using an ink-jet printer for crisp, clear, images.  With a photo quality color laser printer you could also print directly onto label stock and stick that to the thicker card.  

Short of running a 4 color printing press, the closest to original you are likely to get is with the Dye-sublimation process.  This involves printing onto a transfer material, then using a heat press (More or less a giant iron) to transfer the image to a fiber-board product.  The material used to make coasters looks about right for your purpose.  

You may want to look into a local shop that makes custom, personalized goods, such as coffee mugs and mouse pads.  The coasters are a popular item, though most folks probably use material pre-cut to size, so you may have to do some hunting to find someone that will order it in the needed size.  I'm afraid I can't suggest a supplier for small quantities at this time.