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Printable dial cards

Started by winkydink, January 16, 2009, 11:37:23 AM

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WesternElectricBen

I make my own. I use word and make 1.5x.1.5 circles and write area code in the upper left corner. Then I use my typewriter to write the telephone number.
Ben

Dialvintage

Quote from: old_stuff_hound on September 03, 2012, 05:55:16 PM
Quote from: N8N on September 03, 2012, 04:56:15 PM
I can't figure out how to tilt them at all, is the problem, because I'm not really fluent with photo/graphics editing in general or the GIMP in particular.

It's been a while since I did mine, but I did just as you're suggesting -- very slightly off angle, and I moved the numbers very slightly so that they're not on the same baseline (i.e. some are raised very slightly relative to the others. I didn't do it in Gimp, though. I used Open Office. Here's a "phantom" dial card I made:




That looks great. I've got Gimp and am on Linux Mint Libre office. Haven't got a clue how to use Gimp or Libre Office to create such a great cars as yours though!

newman99

#77
I bought my first WD 500 phone last week.  I was looking for a way to print a dial card when I found this thread.

I couldn't find exactly what I wanted so I built one myself:

http://newmanium.net/phone.php  (dead link 10-5-21)

I know that it doesn't match any of the originals exactly - but I wanted a design that used all 10 digits.

If you have suggestions for better fonts or layout, let me know.

Please give it at try.

Thanks,
Matt
newman99

MDK

Clever! Now a higher resolution image might be cool (say 300 dpi?)

Mr. Bones

Quote from: newman99 on May 30, 2013, 09:22:42 PM
I bought my first WD 500 phone last week.  I was looking for a way to print a dial card when I found this thread.

I couldn't find exactly what I wanted so I built one myself: http://newmanium.net/phone.php .

I know that it doesn't match any of the originals exactly - but I wanted a design that used all 10 digits.

If you have suggestions for better fonts or layout, let me know.

Please give it at try.

Thanks,
Matt


Matt,
     First of all, welcome to the forum! I think you'll love it here, based upon my experiences!

     I, personally, love your blending of the older, and newer, on your dial card. A very commendable take, imho.

     Have you run any off on your printer? Just idle curiosity, beacause to my old eyes, on my monitor, based upon your hosting site, it appears slightly elongated in the vertical axis, vs.: the horizontal.
     
     Would you please be so kind as to post the picture to this site, vs. offsite? also, this ensures that you will be remembered, and your post remain clear, long after your hosting site du jour folds.

     Best regards, kick your shoes off, and please stick around the place! Collectively, we gots some stuff goin' on 'round here! ;)

Mr. Bones
Sláinte!
   Mr. Bones
      Rubricollis Ferus

newman99

My dial card printed out nicely (and perfectly round).  However, the card I printed was an SVG and the one on my website is a PNG.  My website host doesn't have the software installed to work with SVG.  I will try to remedy that.
newman99

Greg G.

Quote from: Brinybay on September 04, 2012, 02:54:59 PM
Quote from: Bill on September 04, 2012, 11:21:48 AM

By the way, PowerPoint can do all this quite easily. It's not much of a graphics program, but some things it does very well - and this would be one of them.

Bill

Yeah, but what fun is that?  I'm looking for a vintage working typewriter to customize dial cards.

I finally got one, a near-mint 30s Royal Portable.  It does NOT work well typing dial cards, in fact, it's a PITA and they look terrible.
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

WesternElectricBen

Quote from: Brinybay on May 31, 2013, 10:28:12 PM
Quote from: Brinybay on September 04, 2012, 02:54:59 PM
Quote from: Bill on September 04, 2012, 11:21:48 AM

By the way, PowerPoint can do all this quite easily. It's not much of a graphics program, but some things it does very well - and this would be one of them.

Bill

Yeah, but what fun is that?  I'm looking for a vintage working typewriter to customize dial cards.

I finally got one, a near-mint 30s Royal Portable.  It does NOT work well typing dial cards, in fact, it's a PITA and they look terrible.

I use my Royal typewriters on my dial cards and they come out great...

Greg G.

Quote from: WesternElectricBen on June 01, 2013, 09:49:17 AM
Quote from: Brinybay on May 31, 2013, 10:28:12 PM
Quote from: Brinybay on September 04, 2012, 02:54:59 PM
Quote from: Bill on September 04, 2012, 11:21:48 AM

By the way, PowerPoint can do all this quite easily. It's not much of a graphics program, but some things it does very well - and this would be one of them.

Bill

Yeah, but what fun is that?  I'm looking for a vintage working typewriter to customize dial cards.

I finally got one, a near-mint 30s Royal Portable.  It does NOT work well typing dial cards, in fact, it's a PITA and they look terrible.

I use my Royal typewriters on my dial cards and they come out great...


I think maybe the ribbon isn't a good quality, it seems to have too much ink on it.  Parts of letters come out solid black, like the balloon in "b", "a", and lower case "o" looks like a black dot, and then they smear.
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

twocvbloke

Quote from: Brinybay on June 01, 2013, 12:47:19 PMI think maybe the ribbon isn't a good quality, it seems to have too much ink on it.  Parts of letters come out solid black, like the balloon in "b", "a", and lower case "o" looks like a black dot, and then they smear.

I found that my Olivetti typewriter had to have it's Q, R, O, P, A, D C, and B key hammers cleaning out as they were packed with inky dirt that turned them into solid blocks, might be the same for your typewriter too... :)

Still haven't worked out the double-printing though, I think that might just be my typing as I'm used to a laptop keyboard rather than a typewriter... :D

dsk

 :) I'll try to wake up this thread.. because I got a new dial card. I just scanned it and I hope to be able to enclose a picture.

I'm not shore how to clean up this picture but I'm sure I will try.

dsk

I do not have tools to make it better, this should be printed with a with of 35 mm.
dsk

dsk

#87
I found another one today, it is from an Oslo phone with a strange dial where the last pulse is longer, so long that it will not work at a modern exchange.  The phone is made in 1935.

dsk

AdamAnt316

Here's my (rather cheesy) addition to the discussion:

http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/phone2.html

I based them on the dial cards installed in some of the very first phones I found. Nothing fancy, but I still have them installed in some of my phones. Really should try and update that page at some point...  :-\

By the way, I recently acquired a vintage S. H. Moss, Inc. self-inking stamp which looks like it was meant for use on dial cards of some sort. Has five knobs (two on one side, three on the other) for adjusting the last 5 digits (guessing the first two were set manually), with some selections having characters available. Just need to find an ink pad for it, and figure out how to lubricate its many pivots.
-Adam

persido