Wow, this took a long time, with several dead ends. I ended up finding a clear material which I can print on a desk jet printer. ("Octago Inkjet Transparency Paper" available on Amazon.) I tweaked and changed layout repeatedly, using an Excel spreadsheet to keep alignment. The Excel-based layout was converted to a screen shot, saved it as a jpg, reversed in a photo editor, and pasted it into a Word document. From there I could print the picture on the transparency. Now the printing is on the inner side with a protective film.

Notes on what didn't work.
- I have a panel in a non standard size. If there was an easy way to digitize the dimensions I would chase having one watercut and engraved. With no easy path to the right dimension I went old school, hand cutting all the holes.
- Label tapes can't fit good descriptions. Yes, it fits the FAR, but I can do better
- Print shops are able to print any pdf onto Mylar. I found that clear Mylar is opaque, and looks only a little better than label tape
- it should be possible to engrave the image onto the thin, layered plastic used for nameplates. The local shop was unable to give a quote on this job.

I'll keep the alternatives handy if this solution fails.