Interest Check: New "Atari Computers" T-Shirts

[jaybird3rd]

I've wanted to get myself some new Atari shirts for a while, something a little more interesting than the generic Atari logo shirts that everyone seems to be wearing. In particular, I've always kinda liked the "Atari Computers: Serious Business" promotional t-shirts that Atari made, with the Mega ST computer on the front (below is a picture of the Atari original from a recent eBay auction):

 

 

Since B&C ComputerVisions and Best Electronics are apparently sold out of them, and since they don't seem to have been made in a size that is comfortable for me (mine is labeled as an "XL" but it seems a little small; it feels more like a "L" or even an "M" to me), I'm thinking about having a small batch of reproductions made. These would be new, light-gray, screen-printed shirts with an exact copy of Atari's original artwork, but since it's a four-color shirt, there will be some expense involved in setting up the art. The local place I'm ordering them from accepts minimum orders of twenty-four shirts, but since I don't need that many for myself, I'm wondering if anyone would be interested in buying a few of them to help offset the cost.

 

If I get enough of a response to proceed with the order (I'd like to sell at least eighteen of the twenty-four shirts), they'll probably be $12 each for all adult sizes, which is about the same as the closing price of the eBay auction I mentioned earlier. That's basically selling them at my cost, and I'll even throw in free shipping in the continental US. International shipping might be a little more depending on the destination, but that too will be at the exact cost.

 

So, if you're interested, let me know how many shirts you'd like, and I'll add your name to my list! Thanks in advance!

Edited April 3, 2007 by jaybird3rd

[tjlazer]

I would be interested in 1 or 2. I would like to see what they will look like though. Gray is a great color for the shirt!

[ggn]

Funny I see this thread, because just today I made a t-shirt using one of these pics

[+DarkLord]

Put me down for an XL....

[jvas]

I'd like one in the size of XL.

 

I've wanted to get myself some new Atari shirts for a while, something a little more interesting than the generic Atari logo shirts that everyone seems to be wearing. In particular, I've always kinda liked the "Atari Computers: Serious Business" promotional t-shirts that Atari made, with the Mega ST computer on the front (below is a picture of the Atari original from a recent eBay auction):

 

 

Since B&C ComputerVisions and Best Electronics are apparently sold out of them, and since they don't seem to have been made in a size that is comfortable for me (mine is labeled as an "XL" but it seems a little small; it feels more like a "L" or even an "M" to me), I'm thinking about having a small batch of reproductions made. These would be new, light-gray, screen-printed shirts with an exact copy of Atari's original artwork, but since it's a four-color shirt, there will be some expense involved in setting up the art. The local place I'm ordering them from accepts minimum orders of twenty-four shirts, but since I don't need that many for myself, I'm wondering if anyone would be interested in buying a few of them to help offset the cost.

 

If I get enough of a response to proceed with the order (I'd like to sell at least eighteen of the twenty-four shirts), they'll probably be $12 each for all adult sizes, which is about the same as the closing price of the eBay auction I mentioned earlier. That's basically selling them at my cost, and I'll even throw in free shipping in the continental US. International shipping might be a little more depending on the destination, but that too will be at the exact cost.

 

So, if you're interested, let me know how many shirts you'd like, and I'll add your name to my list! Thanks in advance!

[krupkaj]

I definitely want one :-) Put me down for XL size.

[Bripilot]

If you can do 4x, put me down for one. Thanks!

[jaybird3rd]

I'd like to thank everyone here who expressed interest in buying one or more of these shirts. Between AtariAge and a few local sales, I've now gotten enough of a response to proceed with the order!

 

After I get the finished product, I'll post pictures and will get back to everyone who reserved a shirt to make the necessary arrangements. Thanks again!

[Retro Rogue]

I'll take one as well. XL.

Edited April 6, 2007 by wgungfu

[FastRobPlus]

Put me down for an XE or an XEGS

[tjb]

I'd buy a medium and large.

 

tjb

[tjb]

I'd buy a medium and large.

 

tjb

Oops, it seems I posted this already in the 8-bit posting. Sorry

[Retro Rogue]

Put me down for an XE or an XEGS

 

 

Um, XL refered to shirt size not model.

[jaybird3rd]

Okay, I've just had a conversation with the company making these shirts, and it seems that the original Atari design is going to be slightly more difficult to reproduce than I anticipated:

 

 

The main issue is the rainbow-colored "ATARI" logo text, which has multiple colors blended together seamlessly across all five letters. The shirt printers tell me that Atari probably used multiple screens (one for each color) to print the original shirts, but using the same method for a relatively small batch of reproductions would be too cost-prohibitive. The only other option would be to combine all four colors onto one screen, which would lead to an uneven blend of the colors and would leave each shirt looking slightly different (with the shirts printed at the end of the batch being mostly orange and green). I had hoped to remain 100% true to Atari's original design, but I also want to create a product of uniform quality, so it looks like we'll have to make some changes.

 

As I see it, we have a few possible approaches. One would be to make each letter a separate color (with the first "A" being red, the "T" orange-gold, the second "A" gold, the "R" green, and the "I" dark blue). This would avoid the blending issue, but it would still be fairly expensive and still wouldn't give us something identical to the original. Another option would be to simply convert the design to monochrome: make the "ATARI" text solid black like the large fuji, and to make the small fuji in the ST monitor empty instead of a filled blue color.

 

Personally, I'm leaning toward the monochrome option, simply because it would be easier and would greatly reduce the cost of the shirts, and I'd certainly pass that savings on to all of you (I haven't yet figured it out exactly, but it would probably end up being about $9 per shirt instead of $12). I didn't want to proceed with the order until I got some feedback first, so for everyone who expressed interest in buying one or more of these shirts, let me know if monochrome is okay for you or if you'd prefer separate colors (which I'm still willing to do if a majority decide against monochrome), or if you wish to back out of ordering altogether.

 

The good news is that I should be able to get shirts in all the different sizes that you've asked for, and that the shirts themselves will be nice light-ash gray shirts that are actually thicker and heavier than the ones Atari used. For anyone else who might be interested, there's still time to get in on this first order!

 

My apologies for this sudden change of plans, and thanks again to everyone!

Edited April 9, 2007 by jaybird3rd

[+DarkLord]

Okay, I've just had a conversation with the company making these shirts, and it seems that the original Atari design is going to be slightly more difficult to reproduce than I anticipated:

 

<snip>

 

My apologies for this sudden change of plans, and thanks again to everyone!

 

Hi. I've no problem with the monochrome approach, if the original design

is not easily reproduceable.

 

Just my opinion.

[jaybird3rd]

Hi. I've no problem with the monochrome approach, if the original design

is not easily reproduceable.

 

Just my opinion.

Thanks. Based on the feedback I've gotten so far, most of us seem to be agreeable to a monochrome design, so it looks like that's what it will be.

 

I'm planning on placing the order on the 12th (this coming Thursday), so anyone who still wants one should let me know before then. I'll have a final price by then, too.

Edited April 9, 2007 by jaybird3rd

[Bripilot]

Mono works fine for me. =)

[Junosix]

*bump*

 

Sorry if I should have started my own thread about this, but I've just been playing with the artwork from the original ST manual and came up with:

 

Uploaded it to Zazzle which seem alright for doing one-offs and stuff, but of course you can take the .png anywhere you want and print it!

 

Hope you like it, it's nice to see more ST-era specific stuff rather than just the Atari logo which has sort of become a meaningless fashion statement now.

[+DarkLord]

 

Hope you like it, it's nice to see more ST-era specific stuff rather than just the Atari logo which has sort of become a meaningless fashion statement now.

 

Looks good to me - thanks!

Edited January 2, 2010 by DarkLord

[Junosix]

 

Hope you like it, it's nice to see more ST-era specific stuff rather than just the Atari logo which has sort of become a meaningless fashion statement now.

 

Looks good to me - thanks!

Just had an email from Zazzle to say they won't print it as due to the copyright. Anyone know of any other online print services that would do it?

 

I've left the image up in case anyone wants to print their own version.

[Junosix]

Just to say - Zazzle cancelled my order as they don't do copyright stuff, used www.tshirtstudio.com in the end, £15, looks perfect.