Lumsdonia - Wagon Load Tarpaulin pdf Sheet Prints

[TimberSurf]

The concept

It was mentioned on another forum about making Tarps available, that may not be in the range of the current commercially available, like "Roger Smiths Tarps"

The request was aimed at those that have some skills in desktop publishing, assuming that a graphics or visio type software would be able to reproduce the image and print to a pdf, for distribution to the masses.

I considered that it would involve some work for that individual to create each design as a one off and would require similar effort to produce a second design and so on.

It struck me (being that Excel is my strongpoint) that this could not only be created in a spread sheet just as easily, but could also be programmed to create all the variables that could be specified and automatically update size, proportions, colour, shape, font, etc ,etc by simply typing in instructions

This means that one Excel spreadsheet could be made, that any individual could use to make any variety of different tarps at will.

Having the skills and a website that it could be downloaded from and a need for some special "Lumsdonia" sheets, it seemed obvious that I would have to have a go!

 

The design

Initial population of repeating text was easy. Then a bit of research was needed to learn how to programmatically change the variables with VBA. Most were straight forward and the basic shape and manipulation were done. The biggest problem was to make the 'North' (top) bunch of text to be "upside down". There are sites that can do it as a one off, but I needed it entirely in the spreadsheet. There is no way to do it Excel and no font available either. More by fluke than anything else, as my research on google basically said it was not possible, I remembered a clever trick I had used before (a long time ago when making xmas place cards for the dinner table) and managed to get it to work.

 

 

 

The Basic version

The program now works, it is only basic, but can alter all dimensions, text content, font type, font size and overall colour.

Excel is quite querky when it comes to printing and as such is not good at printing to real scale dimensions, it's designed more easily to fit to a page by scaling. Plotters are equiped with scale correction so that acurate plots can be made at 1:1, but printers usually don't have that feature. This means that although I have set up the spread sheet to be configured in millimeters, the actual print tends not to come out at the same size.

To compensate for this issue and the fact that every printer has different attributes, I have put in a width and height factor in,so that if prints are measured, the error in size can be adjusted by tweaking the factors.

 

 

 

 

The Result

So obviously it works..... and having printed a few off, duly scrunched and fitted, they look remarkably good! (far better than I had hoped for)

I obviously have a good printer, because even the black (although a bit soggy) has full coverage with no lines like you used to get on printers years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

The VB is a little unstable, so I have decided not to release the excel file, its probably beyond most to manipulate it anyway, so I am simply creating tarps as pdf's and releasing those to my website. Its a small range at the momment and still needs a lot of development, as I have little info to go on and the the correct sizes and fonts are unknown.

 

Please please give me feedback, if like them, think they are rubbish or just plain wrong (in which case let me know why so I can fix them.

 

Lumsdonia pdf download shop page

 

Or am I just wasting my time?

 

Does anyone want them/find use?

Edited June 11, 2018 by TimberSurf

[kandc_au]

Hi Timbersurf,

Were the GWR tarps Black?
I have no idea, hence my question.
I know the china clay were Blue.

They look Ok and will be useful to me in the nearer future.
Good luck with this.

 

Khris

[TimberSurf]

Were the GWR tarps Black?

 

You are correct, they probably were not blue! Those 3 are are just experiments, to demonstrate what is possible. I might change Lumsdonia ones to mauve! lol. I do not know what GWR looked like or if they ever existed, I think they were just GW as seen here

Edited January 20, 2018 by TimberSurf

[kandc_au]

Not sure what you meant in your last rresponse.
China Clay ones appeared to be blue but I don't know if all tarps were blue or other colours.

 

Khris

[TimberSurf]

The vast majority of tarps where black, just two exceptions of yellow and light blue for china clay.

The point of the three samples in first post, was to demonstrate that I can achieve any design and colour.

 

My main reference is Goods & Not So Goods

 

If you go to the webpage Lumsdonia pdf download shop page, and click on any tarp, you can see/download the actual pdf's

Edited June 11, 2018 by TimberSurf

[GWR_NZ]

Excellent idea - they look good. Can you please advise what printer you used. Standard ink-jet or something a bit more commercial.  Also what paper - anything special?

[Nearholmer]

Very good idea!

 

If you look at old photos, two things become apparent:

 

- whatever colour they started, tarps seem to have become dark/mid grey. In B&W photos they definitely don't show is dark enough to be 'hard' black;

 

- they were pulled as tight as possible, whether over a sheet rail or simply across the top of the load/wagon, to avoid 'ponding', which as any camper will tell you is a sure way to get water coming in through canvas.

 

Old models/toys, made when the tarps were in regular use, have them in un-dyed fabric, or in the case of French ones, green, but whether that is the colour they started in reality (I suspect it was), or just easy for the manufacturers of models, I don't know.

 

The blue ones on clay hoods I think are 'modern' plastic versions, rather than real tarpaulins.

 

Kevin

[TimberSurf]

Excellent idea - they look good. Can you please advise what printer you used. Standard ink-jet or something a bit more commercial.  Also what paper - anything special?

 

Using a laser printer is a nono! They come out shiney and when scrunched, the ink cracks and shows white!

I use a standard (home) colour inkjet printer (HP) and ordinary paper.

 

Use best print quality, it will put more ink on, so will make the paper '"wet", but it then sinks in, and when scrunched hardly shows any white.

[TimberSurf]

- whatever colour they started, tarps seem to have become dark/mid grey. In B&W photos they definitely don't show is dark enough to be 'hard' black

 

 

The blue ones on clay hoods I think are 'modern' plastic versions, rather than real tarpaulins.

 

I believe canvas is off white/beige if undyed. My research shows that soot is involved with oil to make them black/waterproof!

I can print any RGB colour! What shade of grey would you like Sir?

I will maybe add a complete set later that are dark grey  

 

The ECC tarps really were light blue, way back before the invention of plastic ones! 

[Nearholmer]

I do know that cloth used to be boiled in linseed oil to make it waterproof, to make clothing (even though linseed oil is a pretty good skin irritant!), but I’d never imagined whopping great tarpaulins being oil-treated ......, I learn something every day!

[allan downes]

 What a superb thread, even if I haven't the slightest clue about its content and superbly written by TimberSurf.

 

Great read for when the wife's watching Eastenders !

 

Cheers.

 

Allan.

[TimberSurf]

 What a superb thread, even if I haven't the slightest clue about its content and superbly written by TimberSurf.

 

Great read for when the wife's watching Eastenders !

 

Cheers.

 

Allan.

That's very gracious of you Allen, thank you, but i dont think "Printing tarps" will become a best selling thriller novel!  

[TimberSurf]

Still waiting on some feedback as to if theses are any use?

Has anyone printed any? Found them useful?

I would be happy to configure more if you feed back what you want!

[TheSignalEngineer]

Still waiting on some feedback as to if theses are any use?

Has anyone printed any? Found them useful?

I would be happy to configure more if you feed back what you want!

I tried the links above but they didn't work for me. 

Managed to track down the page from viewing your profile http://www.elotion.co.uk/tarpaulin.html

 

I am about to do a couple more sheeted wagons and have run out of the Roger Smith ones so I will give it a try in the next few days and let you know the results.

[TimberSurf]

I tried the links above but they didn't work for me. 

Managed to track down the page from viewing your profile http://www.elotion.co.uk/tarpaulin.html

 

I am about to do a couple more sheeted wagons and have run out of the Roger Smith ones so I will give it a try in the next few days and let you know the results.

Thanks for pointing out the broken links! I have added packing cases and thus have made a new page called shop for future additions and in the process the page names had changed.

Let me know how you get on.

[Tallpaul69]

Still waiting on some feedback as to if theses are any use?

Has anyone printed any? Found them useful?

I would be happy to configure more if you feed back what you want!

Thanks for all your hard work on this!

 

I think it is very useful.

What is involved in changing the numbers on the tarps? I need about 15!

 

I agree that you need a range of colours, which maybe with some instructions we can do for ourselves rather than giving you a load of work!

Hope you go on to do some other items after the tea chests, maybe crates of various sizes?

 

Many thanks

Paul

[TimberSurf]

Paul 

The numbers can be anything you want, I just type them in the orange box!

Let me know the type you want and the numbers and I will add them

P.S. There are already 12 numbers available per type.

[Tallpaul69]

Paul 

The numbers can be anything you want, I just type them in the orange box!

Let me know the type you want and the numbers and I will add them

P.S. There are already 12 numbers available per type.

Thanks,

I havn't yet worked out what numbers I need as, until I found your thread, they were not a priority!

 

I'll get back to you when I have looked into possible numbers a bit further!

 

Best regards

Paul

[BlackRat]

Very handy, thank you!