Boring part:
Hi, I'm one of the latest newbies to the forum. This post is more of a statement / revelation
, and to find out if I'm on the right track. I'm a crafter / art student / artist. I've been hand crafting vinyl decals for years, and a few months ago I purchased my first plotter. Things have been going fine, have evening been selling small vinyl window decals online - haven't had any problems nor complaints.
But now I'm stressing out a bit
. I found this forum today, and I've learned that there's an entire vinyl world out there that I was not familiar with - including the 'right way' to do things! I had no idea vinyl had different specifications & grades. Most of my vinyl have been scraps or small quantity (up to 5 feet) purchased from my local TAP Plastics store. I've seen AVERY a lot on them, for the most part the scraps seem to have been decent quality. I no longer want to 'trust' that TAP Plastics is selling me good quality vinyl - I want to learn exactly what it is that I am buying and working with, what works best for what I need, and what will satisfy my customers. Glad there's lots of information on here that will help me out
.
Before coming across this forum, I purchased vinyl from eBay - yesterday, and I now have a strong suspicion that I will be receiving horrible vinyl
. At least I didn't pay too much.
Question part:
Looks like Oracal 651 seems to be a popular choice, and AT-60 transfer tape seems to be what I'm leaning towards. Now I just need to find an affordable website (I've been looking at signsupply.com). I make small vinyl decals, about 4 x4 to 5 x 7, they are intended to go on car windows or car bodies, and are usually purchased from people who live all over the U.S., meaning different climates & weather conditions. How do my choices seem so far?
Oh yeah, rolls that say they are perforated, where exactly are they perforated? Just on the sides, or is the roll divided into sections?
Sorry about the long post, but thanks for reading and for any information!
~Michelle T.