Soylent Green can label replica

Markus

Sr Member
It's Friday - and Friday is ... yes, right:
soylent-green-advance-sm.jpg

Yes, I know, there have been quite a few posts of the "Soylent Green" label in these forums. And most of these are great. So, why would I make another one? Because I can and I want to. :) I just love playing with typography, so I wanted to give this a try, and maybe I am able to make some minor improvements.
I posted this on my blog - and I'm sharing this below.

In another forum, Cmd.Kerner just gave me some advice on the fonts, which I use as a starting point.
As a reference, I used this link to an old auction.
740770.png
I have read that the original can was 4 3/4" high by 2 1/2" wide, and some people use a Nestle Nutriment can, which had these sizes. I still had a Rumford Baking Power can that is also 2 1/2" wide, but only 3 3/4" high. This is what I will use - and for which I will make the label.
Rumford.jpg
On the fonts:
For "NEW!", I used Future Press, which is not perfect, but it comes rather close to the reference.

NEW.jpg
For "delicious", I used Monotype Baskerville Bold Italic (as suggested by Cmdr.Kerner - thanks again!) which is perfect.
For "soylent green", the "Haettenschweiler" font is pretty good when the height is scaled to 83%. There is just one detail that bothered me: the "t". In the original prop, the top of the "t" is tilted. But I was not able to find any font with such a "t" that looks close enough. So I decided to fix this by hand (by overlaying a box over the top).
SoylentGreen-t.jpg

The lower part on the blue background is set in a "Times-like" roman typeface. However, there is one detail, that no other replica has captured: the tilt in the "M". Here are the words "Miracle food" for four different fonts (all bold or semi-bold):
fonts.jpg

In Bitstream Charter and Time New Roman, the outer lines of the "M" are vertical - and different from the original prop. While searching for a better font, I found "Junicode" (which was already installed on my Linux system), but some of its letters looked a little different (e.g. the "a"). After some searching, I found the Semi-Bold version of "New Alster", which is overall closest to the original.

Here is the final result: a png file at 300dpi for printing on letter-size.
SoylentGreen-label.png
 
Looks mighty fine! Makes me happy to see my yellow and red labels being put to good use!
It's Friday - and Friday is ... yes, right:
View attachment 1304241

Yes, I know, there have been quite a few posts of the "Soylent Green" label in these forums. And most of these are great. So, why would I make another one? Because I can and I want to. :) I just love playing with typography, so I wanted to give this a try, and maybe I am able to make some minor improvements.
I posted this on my blog - and I'm sharing this below.

In another forum, Cmd.Kerner just gave me some advice on the fonts, which I use as a starting point.
As a reference, I used this link to an old auction.
View attachment 1304234
I have read that the original can was 4 3/4" high by 2 1/2" wide, and some people use a Nestle Nutriment can, which had these sizes. I still had a Rumford Baking Power can that is also 2 1/2" wide, but only 3 3/4" high. This is what I will use - and for which I will make the label.
View attachment 1304235
On the fonts:
For "NEW!", I used Future Press, which is not perfect, but it comes rather close to the reference.

View attachment 1304236
For "delicious", I used Monotype Baskerville Bold Italic (as suggested by Cmdr.Kerner - thanks again!) which is perfect.
For "soylent green", the "Haettenschweiler" font is pretty good when the height is scaled to 83%. There is just one detail that bothered me: the "t". In the original prop, the top of the "t" is tilted. But I was not able to find any font with such a "t" that looks close enough. So I decided to fix this by hand (by overlaying a box over the top).
View attachment 1304237

The lower part on the blue background is set in a "Times-like" roman typeface. However, there is one detail, that no other replica has captured: the tilt in the "M". Here are the words "Miracle food" for four different fonts (all bold or semi-bold):
View attachment 1304238

In Bitstream Charter and Time New Roman, the outer lines of the "M" are vertical - and different from the original prop. While searching for a better font, I found "Junicode" (which was already installed on my Linux system), but some of its letters looked a little different (e.g. the "a"). After some searching, I found the Semi-Bold version of "New Alster", which is overall closest to the original.

Here is the final result: a png file at 300dpi for printing on letter-size.
View attachment 1304240
Nice work on the updated text! I really recommend the Nutrament cans for accurate sizing. I love that you were able to find a white lid to fit the can so easily. I can't use up my baking powder fast enough!
 
I love it. I think some of these should be in every pantry!

Have you done a label scaled for the original size cans too, or just the baking powder cans?
 
I love it. I think some of these should be in every pantry!

Have you done a label scaled for the original size cans too, or just the baking powder cans?
Thank you! I only made the version for the baking powder cans.
These are about 3 3/4" tall and have a circumference of somewhere between 9" and 9 1/4".
If you know the size of the original cans (I assume, you are referring to the Nutrament cans), I could probably scale them to make them fit. Please let me know.
 
Well I don’t know where to find one yet, but I’ll for sure make a baking powder one in the meantime.

But I guess it just needs to be the right size; not necessarily the exact same can.

Thank you for your work on this!

I need to watch it again. I remember the movie box cover- the dumpster loader with the bucket full of bodies... Awesome!!!
 
Well I don’t know where to find one yet, but I’ll for sure make a baking powder one in the meantime.

But I guess it just needs to be the right size; not necessarily the exact same can.

Thank you for your work on this!

I need to watch it again. I remember the movie box cover- the dumpster loader with the bucket full of bodies... Awesome!!!
You know what? I just saw that I had mentioned the size of the Nutriment can in my very first post in this thread. Same diameter, but 4 3/4" tall (as compared to the 3 3/4" Baking Powder). So,I need to stretch it by 1". The first quarter is easily gained by not cutting the existing image too close. So, I need additional stretching by 3/4" - let's see...
 

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.
Back
Top