1:32 - Old number plates

[JEP]

Sorry if this has been covered before, but does anyone make the old type of number plate - grey/silver lettering/black background. Or is there an easy way to make them (as in photocopy/printer methods - which I use for my modern white/yellow plates)

Any help/info, much appreciated.

[JoshParkinson]

If i was you mate i would just do the same as your doing now except change the colour of the background/writing, easily done on most design programmes and probably on microsoft word if that's what you use 

[JEP]

Thanks Josh,

I'm afraid the "design programmes" are a bit to techie for me 

I have tried printing a 20% grey colour, (MS word) onto black paper - but it is not very successful.

Regards

JEP

[PDH]

What are you looking to put the plates on? It was really only prestige cars that had silver on black. Most family cars, trucks, motorbikes, farm equipment etc had white on black.

White on black shouldn't be too difficult to re-produce with MS Word etc. Personally I prefer to use Excel as it has more features for this sort of thing.

[Leakeyvale]

Using Excel (or word if you prefer) you can fill rthe background with black and have the font colour as white or silver then print on white paper. 

You  get a better effect than printing on black paper because there are no printers with white ink and grey is really a combination of "nothing" and black ink.

[THEBRITFARMER]

Using Excel (or word if you prefer) you can fill rthe background with black and have the font colour as white or silver then print on white paper. 

You  get a better effect than printing on black paper because there are no printers with white ink and grey is really a combination of "nothing" and black ink.

or use the text option in paint, when done click image and then invert colours and voilà 

[JEP]

What are you looking to put the plates on? It was really only prestige cars that had silver on black. Most family cars, trucks, motorbikes, farm equipment etc had white on black.

White on black shouldn't be too difficult to re-produce with MS Word etc. Personally I prefer to use Excel as it has more features for this sort of thing.

I didn't realise they had white lettering, I have only seen the silver/grey onto black background. I know years ago some of our machines had the silver/lettering, and any pre 68 tractor restoration job always seem to have the silver/black plates.

I was looking at putting these plates on my 60's models (Claas matadors/Fordson P.M/Ford  5000 S.M etc). The reflective black on white/yellow only came in from 1968, & up until 1973 - both types were available. The modern style was compulsory after 73 on new vehicles.

 

[JEP]

Using Excel (or word if you prefer) you can fill rthe background with black and have the font colour as white or silver then print on white paper. 

You  get a better effect than printing on black paper because there are no printers with white ink and grey is really a combination of "nothing" and black ink.

Thank you Sue - sorted, works well (black fill & 20% grey in Excel) 

[Leakeyvale]

Thank you Sue - sorted, works well (black fill & 20% grey in Excel) 

Glad to be of assistance. 

Regarding the old number plates As I remember the very early ones were pressed metal with the letters/numbers painted white or simply bare metal (grey).  The white colour varied possibly because of fade and discolouration but also because there was no "brilliant" white - it was what we now think of as cream - and the colour varied greatly

[Tractorman810]

you can also get silver paper to print the black onto if you really wanted then just make the text clear on the black background box you create

[michael08]

"Old" Irish registrations were bleack backround with the silver border and numbers simply being the exposed aluminium if that what he talking about? 

[JEP]

Probably a case of me confusing the issue with my original request - by "silver", I should have stated aluminium/bare metal. 

Thanks for all the help/responses, now sorted.

Regards,

JEP

[NIGEL FORD]

Pressed aluminium plates came in in the early 60's where the embossed digits (pressed out from behind) were natural colour on black background with natural colour edge to the plate, and we still had new tractors with these on in 1976, so reflective plates must have been compulsory after this.

The earliest plates were flat black tin/aluminium with white digits painted on and no silver perimeter. There were also creme/grey plastic chamfered raised digits on a black background that were heat-swaged on at the rear.

Pleased to be of assistance...

[Lord Ferguson]

I was pretty sure that you can't use a black plate (of any kind) on a road vehicle that is registered after early 1973 though

I had a Triumph GT6 made in 1972 and I recall that only JUST qualified for black plates

Also... Penny the MF35 is a 1960 model.. and she's got pained on plates to the front and rear of her.... above the PTO on the crownwheel & pinion casing to the rear and along the bottom edge of the bonnet (chin) on the front.