Peeling off a snes cart label

[badinsults]

This might seem like a bit of an odd question, but I wish to peel off snes cart labels so that I can scan them for my website. Previously, I would just scan the front and top of the label independently, and just splice them together with an image manipulation program. However, I found a few labels where the artwork goes onto the top of the label, and using this method leads to issues with perspective and contrast. So, I figure the solution to this problem would be to find a way to peel down the top of the label so that I can place the whole label flat on the scanner bed.

I bought a hair dryer, but after a couple of minutes on high, it was clear that it would not heat the label up enough to loosen the glue's grip. I know of one person who made some scans for me who placed the cart in an oven (obviously taking out the pcb), which worked, but probably leaves little room for error before things start to burn. Does anyone have any other suggestions of taking the label off without damage?

[kupomogli]

Well. You can make the job much easier if you have a copier.

With the copier you can lay the game down the picture and get that part straight. Then put the top down on the copier and get that part. You'd get a perfect picture though.

[badinsults]

Well. You can make the job much easier if you have a copier.

With the copier you can lay the game down the picture and get that part straight. Then put the top down on the copier and get that part. You'd get a perfect picture though.

That is exactly what I do now with my scanner, and I don't see what difference it would make using a copier instead. You still have a problem with the seam between the top and bottom because the edge is curved.

[Bratwurst]

Honestly I think you'd be better off mending the scan of the top and side of the label together using photoshop, anyone competent enough with the airbrush and clone tools, in addition to contrast and brightness adjustment between the two images, can make it look nice.

When you try to remove labels using heat you run the risk of warping the plastic laminate coating, curling the paper or tearing it when the adhesive isn't ready to come off. Then there's the matter of reapplying it, and to be honest with you, in my experience, there's bubbling and wrinkling. It looks like crap, and there's no doing it over.

However, if you're dead set on doing this, I would advise you to run waxed, very fine dental floss underneath the sticker as you warm it up with a hair dryer on a low setting. You have to also consider that if you heat up the cartridge too much you can warp the plastic itself and it won't screw back together right afterwards.

[badinsults]

Honestly I think you'd be better off mending the scan of the top and side of the label together using photoshop, anyone competent enough with the airbrush and clone tools, in addition to contrast and brightness adjustment between the two images, can make it look nice.


I fully intend to continue doing this, but as I stated in the first post, the label artwork crosses over the seam between the front and top of the label on some games, making it a very tricky prospect to simply photoshop them together. I mean, I have done some great things with the image manipulation programs (see the Star Fox 2 box that is floating around on the internet), but if I can peel down the top part of the label so that it is flat with the front part, then this is unnecessary. It doesn't really bother me if the label is damaged a bit when I reapply it, as long as the label isn't damaged before I scan it.

[badinsults]

I tried a strategy of scanning the seam at an angle and splicing it in, but I am still not all that happy with the result.

http://www.snescentral.com/0/2/5/0256/SNS-ABBE-USA.jpg