Copying and Printing License Plates

[NOBLNG]

I would like to copy my custom plate. I have downsized and printed a photo of it, but it is dark and the definition is poor. Has anyone tried putting an actual LP on the printer/scanner? Or any other ideas? Thx.

[Beans]

I use this site: http://platesmania.com/us/informer

 

Lets you pick the state and add whatever text you want.  Has a good selection of the various plates available for each state as well.

[Bainford]

The Acme Plate Maker is another site ACME License Maker . They do Canadian provinces too, though the font is not perfect for some places.

[Tom Geiger]

I have found photos of plates on the Internet, especially eBay is a good source for odd plates like trailer and commercial versions. I’ve had decent luck resizing these for model use. You just need to find a bright enough image, I’ve had those that get darker as you shrink them.

I've also scanned 1:1 items. Here you need to be concerned with how muddled they get as they reduce. For instance I own 1:1 Valiant emblems, and tried to scan my 1966 Valiant 100 piece.  The lettering width shrunk down to unreadable. I finally found a Valiant script photo, but had to print and trace the lettering wider so it appeared readable.

[iamsuperdan]

I've had better luck with the Acme site. I find it's more accurate. At least for Canadian plates it seems to be.

[DRIPTROIT 71]

I have taken a picture of a plate from the web and pulled into a work file to get it the right size, printed it on regular white printer paper (highest resolution on printer), then covered each side with clear box tape to protect it, and glue on with white glue.

 

[Jim B]

Never thought about the clear tape.  Seems like a good idea.

I've gotten several plates from The Plate Shack: http://www.plateshack.com/ and from Jim Moini's License Plates: http://moini.net/index.html.  Then I just basically do the same thing Brian does: download, resize & print on paper.  Can't do custom from these sites, though.

[Tom Geiger]

Guys, I’ve used the Acme site but these others are new to me. Do any of them have specialty plates like Commercial, Trailer, Taxi etc. ?

[Jim B]

The Plate Shack has just about every type of plate you can think of (including commercial, apportioned, antique, etc.) for all US States & Canadian Provinces from the 1920s through today.

[Bainford]

2 hours ago, Jim B said:

Never thought about the clear tape.  Seems like a good idea.

I've gotten several plates from The Plate Shack: http://www.plateshack.com/ and from Jim Moini's License Plates: http://moini.net/index.html.  Then I just basically do the same thing Brian does: download, resize & print on paper.  Can't do custom from these sites, though.

Thanks for the Plate Shack link. I had this years ago and lost it. The Jim Moini site is interesting, too.

[NOBLNG]

Thanks All! I took another pic of it with the flash on and it looks a lot brighter...in fact I can tell how dirty it is now.? I’m going to wash it off and give it one more try. If I can’t get a decent facsimile, I will try the Plate Shack next.

[89AKurt]

I had the copy shop scan the real plate, reduced using PhotoShop, printed on high quality paper (not just normal, but glossy sheen, and a little thicker, prints better).

[Bills72sj]

I used the ACME site and printed them on decal paper. I then applied them to real aluminum. Just like the real thing but not embossed.