Thanks for the advice for types of aluminum. I know what was suggested before, but with all these different types, I was worried I was going to miss something important. It’s a bit daunting, especially with my poor social skills.
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Honestly if I didn’t have the 3D printer I’d probably be doing wood panels. Then labeling them with wood burning (either by hand or with a cheap diode laser) and sealing them with some varnish or lacquer. I’m actually considering doing a few that way anyway just for the look.
Another option is PVC sheet material. It’s REALLY cheap and easy to work with. But it’s also very flexible. You’d have to stiffen it someway to make it suitable as a panel. I’ve had good luck with cutting strips of it and using PVC glue to adhere them to the back as ribs similar to how I do my 3D printed panels. IIRC I paid about $8 for a 18x24" sheet last time I bought some…though looking at the HD/Lowes websites right now they’re showing it as about double that price and not in stock locally…not sure if the price has gone way up or if the website is off. Generally I’ve found their websites to be pretty far from reality so I’m guessing it’s a site issue.
Most metals can be etched for labeling…including Aluminum. And as a bonus the same materials / process can be used to make your own pcb’s. So you can get dual use out of the skills/materials 
You could even pick up some cheap fiberglass cloth and resin from the auto repair isle and laminate something like foam board to make some nice stiff sheets. Or laminate cardboard…or even just some construction paper. Heck…skip the fiberglass and just use the construction paper (I forget what it’s actually called…it’s kind of pink and is sold in a big roll really cheap at the hardware store) with some cheap resin. I know a few people who use that to reinforce foam RC planes. I tired it for making some composite panels…and it’s definitely a good cheap option but was a bit heavy for what I was doing at the time. Cheap dollar store foam sheets make a good center - but may be a bit thick for panels…and you have to use epoxy resin not the cheap polyester resin since the poly will dissolve the foam (learned that the hard way!)
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I build in Eurorack size and have aluminum blanks cut to size 3U 6HP and pay 12 € for 23 pieces including shipping.
I do the lettering with self-adhesive transparent foil (ATTENTION! When buying, make sure that it is for laser or inkjet printer) and this is how it looks like:
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wow.
those look excellent.
great job.
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Thank you very much! And it’s not that difficult and expensive either. The first 3 are a little tricky, but then you get the hang of it. As a very inspiring person always says so beautifully: “DONT BE SCARED TO TRY IT!” 
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will do. I’ll need to find the equivante printable adhesive paper on amazon.
Do you have a laser, or an inkjet printer ?
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The waterslide decal papers are brilliant. on my steel line mixer panel i printed labels on magnetic photo paper and cut them up. Won’t work on aluminium but I hear there are sticky versions for white boards.
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100% agree here.
I’m actually trying to convince the missus to let me buy a prusa 