|
|
 Posted - December 08 2006 : 11:46:45 AM
|
Hi All,
I wasn't sure where to post this, so I posted here, in hopes the admin will place it. Can anyone tell me, on the Tyco boxes, what the font is that the boxes were stamped with? I have some boxes that do not have the stamp, and wanted to make a label for them, to look more "authentic" and also to know what is in the box without pulling them off my storage shelves (yes I have alot of them). Thanks for your help!
Eric
|
Country:  USA ~
Posts: 140 ~
Member Since: November 29 2006 ~
Last Visit: March 26 2026
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
 Posted - December 08 2006 : 2:50:34 PM
|
Hello Eric...Welcome Aboard!
I am assuming you are talking about the end-flaps of the boxes...which state something like:
Skid Flat With Culvert Pipe
Santa Fe
356A
From the Red Boxed (no label) era...It looks as if they were manually typed by an Underwood or Royal typewriter.
From the early 70's...it looks to be the same, although an IBM Selectric (ball loaded) looks to have replaced the older typewriters. This was THE state-of-the-art typewriter, back in the day. It is still in service. This looks to be the case until '76.
Around the late 70's (1977-1979) I've noticed a burnt orange (hook 'em horns!) label w/Times New Roman font, in all caps. I have seen other colored lables, also...yellow comes to mind.
Tyco used manual labor to box everything...right up 'til the time the Woodbury Heights plant moved operations to Hong Kong. I'm sure they were hand-packed over there, too.
For about 35 years, Diamond Packaging in Pennsylvaina supplied Tyco with the boxes and cello for each item.
I would guess Times New Roman, all caps, and slightly bold for an authentic replication of '77-'80 end flaps.
Hope this helps-
ThOR
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 316 ~
Member Since: June 16 2006 ~
Last Visit: September 02 2017
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 09 2006 : 7:23:44 PM
|
| Interesting info. I've often thought the lettering on white-flap boxes looked too uniform, as if it were stamped, but I never thought about a selectric. For some reason the thought of someone feeding boxes into a typewriter one-by-one just cracks me up. They must have farmed that work down to one of the levels of hell...
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 2175 ~
Member Since: July 15 2006 ~
Last Visit: January 31 2010
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 09 2006 : 7:33:07 PM
|
Oh yeah...I'm certain some were stamped, also. Forgot to mention that.
I am sure as production ramped up exponentially...Tyco geared up the plants to handle more volume. But some of the very early brown boxes look to be typed. I bet there was a larger industrial machine with a ball typer that was programmed (punchcard, perhaps) to type "Jello 300H" 100,000 per run of 100,000 boxes.
I have 3 different Jello boxes...and each have 3 different stamps/fonts.
One definitely looks like a rubber stamp hit it, and one looks to have been typed (it has an indentation).
I am beginning to think that all of the cars that were sold through Sears, Penney's, etc. had the orange labels on the end flaps, with the crisp laser-type print fonts. Just about every orange labeled car I own has a Sears or Penney's price tag on it.
Edited by - theoldreliable on December 09 2006 7:35:26 PM
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 316 ~
Member Since: June 16 2006 ~
Last Visit: September 02 2017
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 09 2006 : 10:39:52 PM
|
Welcome Eric! Interesting question.
Reliable, you are right on! Typewriters were used to imprint the early outlook boxes. And the fonts are as you describe.
And Tony L, while your thoughts of gangs of typists, surrounded by the fires of hell, is humorous, what was used was a labeling machine made by Address O Graph. A film was cut by typing the pertinent information on it. The resulting stencil, used in an AddressOGraph (a really weird looking printing press like machine), was used to imprint the box flaps before they were erected (Diamond shipped the outlook boxes flat). The result was very messy. Later, MultiGraph labelers were used. Multigraphs used offset printing resulting in a neater and more uniform label. As for the late box labels, I have noticed that Avery makes an assortment of pastel colored labels including a yellowish brown close to what was used by Tyco. These come in sheets of various sizes and Avery has software (FREE) to use your handy dandy inkjet printer to make near reproductions.
Disclaimer: There is no truth in the rumor that those involved in writing this thread are involved in counterfeiting toy train boxes.
and so it goes, Loopy
Loopy
If you can't fix it with a hammer, you've got an electrical problem.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 200 ~
Member Since: October 29 2006 ~
Last Visit: August 29 2010
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 09 2006 : 11:03:41 PM
|
OK, I didn't seriously think people spent hours feeding in thousands of boxes by hand. Still, when the word "typewriter" was mentioned, I couldn't help thinking of it...
...especially since I just yesterday glimpsed a 70's Tyco catalog that shows a (staged?) photo of people lovingly gazing over fleets of "Spirit of '76" 430's, with calipers in hand... as if! [:P]
I figured there had to be some sort of automation, as I've seen enough stock footage and Discovery Channel specials to guess as much. I also wondered in the case of Diamond, in the 70's, if they didn't have the means to stamp some of them on the spot.
The hospital I work at has a couple addressographs, but nothing fitted for boxes. Won't be counterfittin' with them... [;)]
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 2175 ~
Member Since: July 15 2006 ~
Last Visit: January 31 2010
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 10 2006 : 08:48:20 AM
|
quote:
Disclaimer: There is no truth in the rumor that those involved in writing this thread are involved in counterfeiting toy train boxes.
Originally posted by LoopnHook - December 09 2006 : 9:39:52 PM
|
I was wondering when somebody would mention that...[:D]
Tony Cook
HO-Scale Trains Resource
http://ho-scaletrains.net
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 1658 ~
Member Since: December 03 2005 ~
Last Visit: February 07 2010
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 12 2006 : 12:38:55 PM
|
Hi Everybody, and Thanks for welcoming me!
Thanks for the info, as I have a number of all of the boxes with either a rubber stamp, typeset, laser-ish (although I do not think they had laser printing back then - I think it was printed with the graphics) and brownish label - I hadn't thought of doing the brownish label, great idea, I'll let you know how it comes out.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 140 ~
Member Since: November 29 2006 ~
Last Visit: March 26 2026
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 13 2006 : 10:05:39 AM
|
Excellent info, LoopNHook!
I wonder if the offset presses were Komori, AB Dick or Heidelberg? All 3 machines are still working at some print shops here in Dallas.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 316 ~
Member Since: June 16 2006 ~
Last Visit: September 02 2017
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 13 2006 : 6:26:01 PM
|
Thor, MultiGraph called thier presses MultiLith... I keep my older stuff in in individual crush proof boxes to protect the cello, etc. For the fun of it I make up labels similar to the original but with a higher degree of clarity. Helps find stuff with these old eyes...
Loopy
If you can't fix it with a hammer, you've got an electrical problem.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 200 ~
Member Since: October 29 2006 ~
Last Visit: August 29 2010
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
Home
Forums
Events Calendar
Forum Admins & Mods
Register
