Blog
October 17, 2026
Control Panel Overlays: Three Ways We Make Them, From Crane Remotes to Water Purifiers
The printed face of a keypad looks simple until you make one. Four control panel jobs from our workshop in Pune, and the three ways we build them.
What is a control panel overlay?
Not your everyday print
Look at any machine with buttons: a crane remote, a water purifier, a test instrument. The printed sheet on top, with the key symbols, the logo and the little windows for the lights, is the control panel overlay. You may also hear it called a graphic overlay, a keypad fascia or a membrane overlay.
It does a lot for a thin sheet. It shows the brand in sharp colour, lets LEDs and displays shine through, lets the switches underneath work when you press, and stays stuck on for years, often outdoors. Makers of instruments and appliances often import these. We make them here in Pune.
Four jobs
Tele Radio, ATROS, Calyx and a 2023 batch
Three builds
Flexible overlay, thick polycarbonate, film on acrylic
Time
Typically 2-3 days once the artwork is approved
Price
On request: every overlay is custom
What I’m holding in my hand are not your everyday prints. (Mitesh, in our video on the Tele Radio overlays)
Way 1 · Tele Radio crane remotes · February 2025
Flexible, reverse-printed polycarbonate for handheld remotes
Tele Radio, the Swedish maker of industrial radio remote controls, was bringing the keypad overlays for its handheld crane remotes in from abroad. Nilesh of Tele Radio India asked us to make them in Pune, from the artwork sent by their parent company.
Each overlay carries the Tele Radio logo and the name of the crane maker it was made for, K2 Cranes & Components. Here is how we built them.
1
Print from the back
A 200-micron polycarbonate sheet goes through our Mimaki UCJV 300 UV printer: the colour artwork first, then an opaque white layer behind it. The print sits safely behind the sheet.
2
Give it a matte face
A matte lamination on the front takes the daily rubbing of fingers and gloves.
3
Cut the LED windows
Our laser machine cuts out the five windows, so the status lights shine straight through.
4
Glue only where it belongs
3M double-sided tape goes on the back, but first we laser-cut openings in the tape where the switches sit. Those spots stay free of glue, so pressing a key on the front works the switch underneath.
5
Cut to shape
Finally the laser cuts each overlay to the outline of the remote.
Look closely
Laser-cut, not just printed clear
The five LED windows are openings, cut by the laser. Hold the overlay over a table and you see the table through them; stick it on steel and you see the steel.
Built to be pressed
It bends a little, and it holds on
The sheet flexes slightly, so the keys can be pressed again and again without the print cracking. The material is weatherproof and outdoor grade, and the tape grips very strongly. The keys are flat: we don’t emboss or dome them.
Flex test
The overlay bends between two hands and springs back.
Stick test
Pressed down on a brushed steel surface with its 3M tape.
Real photos from the job, only light and colour corrected.
Watch
The Tele Radio overlays on video
Mitesh walks through the overlay in his hands: the clear windows, the glue-free switch spots, the tape and the bend. Every photo of this job is on the Tele Radio job page.
Way 2 · ATROS water filter · January 2025
Thick polycarbonate, reverse-printed for a glossy face
For the control panel of an ATROS water filter (a “Health Device”, as the panel says), we printed on a thick polycarbonate sheet, again from the back. Seen from the front, the print sits under a smooth layer of clear plastic, which gives the panel its glossy look.
The window for the LCD display is left clear, and the button areas are printed as marked zones on the same sheet.
Way 3 · Calyx water purifier · January 2025
Printed film on laser-cut acrylic
The Calyx water purifier panel is built in two parts. We print the artwork on a reverse-gumming film, a film whose glue is on the printed face, and paste it onto an acrylic sheet that our laser has already cut to shape.
The acrylic has holes for the LEDs and a cut-out for the digital readout, so the result is a rigid, glossy panel with clear spots where the lights shine through. We use the same idea of printing behind clear acrylic in our reverse-printed acrylic photo panels.
Where it started · December 2023
UV print on clear polycarbonate or acrylic
Our first control panel video shows a sheet of blue panels for electrical equipment, with current settings (2A, 5A, 10A) and clear windows for the display.
The artwork is UV-printed on a clear polycarbonate or acrylic sheet for a back-painted-glass look, laser-cut to shape and backed with strong double-sided tape, so each panel peels and pastes in place.
Compare
Which build suits your device?
Flexible polycarbonate overlay
Thin and flexes with the keys. Reverse UV print + white, matte front, laser-cut LED windows, 3M tape with glue-free switch areas. For keypads pressed all day, indoors or outdoors (Tele Radio).
Thick polycarbonate
Rigid, with a glossy front. Reverse print, clear LCD window, double-sided tape. For appliance fronts and display panels (ATROS).
Film on laser-cut acrylic
Rigid and glossy, with real depth. Printed film on acrylic with LED holes and a readout cut-out. For panels that need cut-outs and thickness (Calyx).
Every build
Cut to the outline of your device on our own laser machine.
Planning overlays for your device?
Price, time and what to send us
Every overlay is custom: the size, the number of layers, the windows and the cutting change the price, so we quote each job.
Control panel overlays
price on request
Minimum order
₹3,000 + GST
Time
typically 2-3 days once the artwork is approved
Good to know
Your artwork, our build
You send the panel artwork (we don’t design it); we set it up for printing, the white layer and cutting.
Keys
Flat. We don’t emboss or dome buttons.
Materials
Industrial grade, weatherproof and outdoor grade. If anything goes wrong with an overlay, we look at it with you.
Delivery
Free in Pune on orders of ₹3,000 + GST and above.
Making a device and tired of importing its overlays? Send us the artwork and tell us about the device, and we’ll suggest the build that fits. See the machines we use.
Made in Pune
From one remote to your whole range
Overlays are small, but they are the part of a machine that people touch every day. That’s why we print them from the back, cut every window on the laser and put the glue only where it belongs.
See more
Our work
Tele Radio crane remote overlays
Every photo of the overlays we made for Tele Radio, with the job facts.
See the job →Guide
What is white ink printing?
Why a white layer behind the colours makes a print on clear material read bright.
Read the guide →Your turn
Need overlays for your device?
Send us the artwork and a few details on WhatsApp. We’ll suggest the build and quote it.
Looking for any specific product?
Drop us a line. Send us your query. And we’ll get back to you with solutions and answers.
Mitesh Sanghani
Mitesh lives, mostly for Saturdays.
But when forced to work, you’ll find him heading Orchid Digitals – a printing press in Pune.
If it’s an emergency, try looking for him in the hills behind his house. You’ll almost certainly find him… lazing under a tree, with a book in hand.
