marcelolopez

Hi all,
I am having my first sign job !!
Until now I been heat pressing vinyl on t-shirts, for practice purposes mainly.
Sign making was one of the reason I gave to my wife to buy the GX-24, and now I have to proof I wasn't lying .
I just received a catalog from SignWarehouse, and I think I will be buying what I need from them. Any suggestion to check other places are welcomed.
Now my questions:
What tools are you more often using, like squeegees, cutting tools, etc?, I mean the little, inexpensive ones laying around in the shop.
What good quality sign vinyl are you using for outside?
There is going to be the store sign, and the banner announcing the opening of the store, which is going to be up for a short term.
The store sign is going to have two colors, just text, possible white text, over some other clear color and a black background.
I think I will have to remove the existing vinyl that is now on the black painted sheet metal.
Any product to recommend, to remove it ?
The vinyl to be applied on the banner, should it be calendered vinyl, and the other cast vinyl?
Thank for any hint/help/advice/suggestion.

 

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Vanguard

Hey!

Welcome to the sign biz.

In no specific order:

Calendered vinyl is fine for banners.
I think you should find your local wholesale sign supply shop. They have them everywhere. Find some place you can drive to once a week to pick up supplies. You will save tons on shipping. (vinyl can be heavy, not to mention rolls of magnetic material for car signs)
Plus you'll be able to ask questions and build a relationship with your supplier. You'll also meet other sign peeps you can talk to and learn things from. Some of my best suggestions or helpful hints have come from meeting people at the sign supplier.

Depending on how old the metal sign is, it might be cheaper and faster to get a new sign blank and paint it black. Removing vinyl from pre-existing signs can be a nightmare.
NEVER remove vinyl from a banner, unless it's just a few letters or numbers. Banner blanks are cheap and It's simpler to just re-letter them.

Have fun!

 

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jberte

hi marcelo! elijah has given you some good advice - do a quick search on this forum for 'sign warehouse' and you'll understand just how good!

one thing i might add tho - you won't necessarily need to paint a new blank - most suppliers will have aluminum or alumalite blanks already painted in some basic colors, ready for application. it's a much better surface than you'll be able to get with a spray or roller!

good luck - and post pics when you're done!

ps: depending on if the existing black face was a baked on finish or not, it's entirely possible that the black paint will come off with the old vinyl - it's usually far more time and cost efficient to replace it!

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mystysue

Yup Jan.. I agree with the fact that the black could possibly come off with removal of the vinyl..

We use colored alum blanks all the time or if the letters are just white on a black sign.. you can reverse weed.. and take out the letters on black vinyl and lay it on a white sign blank..

altho for a new signmaker sometimes laying a bigger piece like that can cause problems..
so i too would suggest a new piece of black alum..
We often get customers that think they wanna save a buck by reusing a sign back or banner by having us remove the vinyl and reusing..
we usually qoute them the price of both ways.. and when they see what the labor is gonna be in cleaning up an old sign blank.. they will usually go with a new one..

Always remember Marcelo.. that time is money.. and if they want you to labor to try to save a buck on a new piece of metal .. it will cost them (my shop rate is 85.oo an hour)

 

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marcelolopez

Thank you very much guys for your input.
I've been trying to locate some vinyl suppliers here in central Mass, no luck yet.
And the deadline is April 1st !!!
The main sign is 8' x 30", plus a banner a little bit smaller. I called the owner today, he said he will take it down tomorrow or the day before, which is good, because of my regular job I only have available extra time on weekends.
I think I will stick with SignWarehouse for now, and base my price on their catalog.
Banner, any advice in brand, etc. I had never done one before.
THANK YOU !!

 

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aamy98@mac.com

I get my Banners & Sign blanks from Beacon Graphics along with all my all vinyl. FDC Vinyl - 5 year I use on my signs outside.

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cmyk

i need a CD with european car templates for vinyl graphics, so i don't have to measure every time...any ideea where can i buy such a thing?

thanks!

 

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