Interest Check: New "Atari Computers" T-Shirts

[jaybird3rd]

I originally posted this in the "16-Bit Computers" forum, but I thought it might get more notice if I posted it here as well ...

 

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

[mimo]

mimo for an XL please

[puppetmark]

put me down for 2 large please

 

Puppetmark

[Dave Neuman]

One XL for Dave Neuman please

[dinosaur]

One XL for Dinosaur,please.

Edited April 4, 2007 by dinosaur

[+orpheuswaking]

If these are redone into regular US sizes I'll take a medium, if they go more like the originals that would be one large

[DigitalDaredevil]

I would take 3 of them. 1 2XL and 2 3XL's. Ill even prepay for those babies!!!

[charliecron]

I'd like 2 please, XL...

[tjb]

Put me down for 1 medium and 1 large.

 

Thanks,

tjb

[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!

[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

[puppetmark]

I think monochrome would be the way to go. I don't want to add more complexity to the choices but what about the whole design being Mono and just the fuji in the monitor being blue? Just a thought. I still want a couple of shirts and I appreciate the effort you are going through. It's a great idea how ever it can work.

 

-puppetmark

Edited April 9, 2007 by puppetmark

[jaybird3rd]

I don't want to add more complexity to the choices but what about the whole design being Mono and just the fuji in the monitor being blue?

I considered that, but I started thinking more about monochrome mainly because it costs something like $40 extra per color to set up the artwork, and the particular shade of blue that Atari used for the small Fuji would have to be a combination of at least two colors. I'd hate to make everyone pay that much more just to add color to a relatively small part of the shirt.

 

I suppose we could choose a single color and then use it for the "ATARI" text and the small Fuji, but then we'd have to come up with a color that would please everybody, and that would just be a lot of debate and extra work.

[puppetmark]

I don't want to add more complexity to the choices but what about the whole design being Mono and just the fuji in the monitor being blue?

I considered that, but I started thinking more about monochrome mainly because it costs something like $40 extra per color to set up the artwork, and the particular shade of blue that Atari used for the small Fuji would have to be a combination of at least two colors. I'd hate to make everyone pay that much more just to add color to a relatively small part of the shirt.

 

I suppose we could choose a single color and then use it for the "ATARI" text and the small Fuji, but then we'd have to come up with a color that would please everybody, and that would just be a lot of debate and extra work.

 

I understand. I think that makes sense. Like I said, what ever you decide will be fine with me.

 

-puppetmark

[jaybird3rd]

I understand. I think that makes sense. Like I said, what ever you decide will be fine with me.

Thanks. Even in monochrome, I'm sure they'll turn out great.

 

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.

[+orpheuswaking]

Whatever happened to this?

[jaybird3rd]

Oops ... I guess I let it slip, didn't I? I ended up getting busy during the summer months with school and some other projects, but I would like to get this back on track.

 

I decided to try to prepare the artwork and convert it to monochrome myself instead of relying on the printers to do it. I scanned directly from my t-shirt and started the cleanup, which turned out to be a pretty extensive process, but I think I'm just about done with it. Here's what it looks like so far (scaled to 15%):

 

 

The Atari logo in that graphic is not the original that I scanned from the shirt; it's a cleaner monochrome replacement that I obtained from another source. The biggest problem I'm having now is the "COMPUTERS" and "SERIOUS BUSINESS" text, which is the only part I haven't started on yet. It's too rough and jagged to be printed as-is, and I'd love to replace it instead of going through the trouble of cleaning up the original text, but I'm having trouble finding an exact match for the original font.

 

One way or another, I'm going to get it finished and off to the printers before long. I hate leaving projects unfinished.

[+orpheuswaking]

Oops ... I guess I let it slip, didn't I? I ended up getting busy during the summer months with school and some other projects, but I would like to get this back on track.

 

I decided to try to prepare the artwork and convert it to monochrome myself instead of relying on the printers to do it. I scanned directly from my t-shirt and started the cleanup, which turned out to be a pretty extensive process, but I think I'm just about done with it. Here's what it looks like so far (scaled to 15%):

 

 

The Atari logo in that graphic is not the original that I scanned from the shirt; it's a cleaner monochrome replacement that I obtained from another source. The biggest problem I'm having now is the "COMPUTERS" and "SERIOUS BUSINESS" text, which is the only part I haven't started on yet. It's too rough and jagged to be printed as-is, and I'd love to replace it instead of going through the trouble of cleaning up the original text, but I'm having trouble finding an exact match for the original font.

 

One way or another, I'm going to get it finished and off to the printers before long. I hate leaving projects unfinished.

 

Neato I was at a computer show the other day and the only think that I saw that was cool was an original one of these, unfortunately the guy was wearing it and I don't think he would have sold it LOL

 

Are you going for a white shirt? Because the one I saw was on a kind of light beige/tan shirt and it was cool

[jaybird3rd]

Are you going for a white shirt? Because the one I saw was on a kind of light beige/tan shirt and it was cool

That's something I'm still debating. I mentioned earlier that I had thought of using a light ash-gray color, since that seemed to be the closest match that I could get to the original light-tan. But I'm going to try to find out if they have anything even closer because I still like the original color the best. A white shirt would give the best contrast now that the design is all black, but I was concerned that it would be too much of a deviation from the original. There are so many potential options, each one being just as valid as any other, so I might simply put together a list of available colors and allow people to choose their favorite for their shirt (which would also conveniently let me know if anyone is still interested after all this time!) Edited July 16, 2007 by jaybird3rd

[+orpheuswaking]

Neato !

 

I would have completely forgotten about it if I hadn't seen that shirt at the show

[puppetmark]

Are you going for a white shirt? Because the one I saw was on a kind of light beige/tan shirt and it was cool

That's something I'm still debating. I mentioned earlier that I had thought of using a light ash-gray color, since that seemed to be the closest match that I could get to the original light-tan. But I'm going to try to find out if they have anything even closer because I still like the original color the best. A white shirt would give the best contrast now that the design is all black, but I was concerned that it would be too much of a deviation from the original. There are so many potential options, each one being just as valid as any other, so I might simply put together a list of available colors and allow people to choose their favorite for their shirt (which would also conveniently let me know if anyone is still interested after all this time!)

 

 

I know I am still interested in a couple of shirts! I think light grey is a good choice.

[+orpheuswaking]

if we are talking numbers I'll probably take two

[Martin72]

I am interested in one shirt size L! Light-grey is a good choise for me.

Edited July 17, 2007 by Martin72