It may be tempting to take a heat gun to glass during the winter time to remove lettering or heat up the surface for application.  **CAUTION** DON’T, just like taking a warm glass and filling it with cold water will cause it to crack the same thing happens with a window!  Odds are you will crack it and make for a bad day.  Our advice, wait for a nice sunny day, even though the outside temperature may be low the surface temperature of the glass will likely be much higher than the ambient temperature, if this is the case you can probably apply your lettering without worry.

How we make parking signs

All of our signs are produced from .080 Aluminum and professionally designed.  We print each sign on a fancy UV flat bed printer directly on the aluminum.  If you ordered reflective aluminum we would do that same thing.  Once the sign has been printed we place an optically clear protective laminate coating on it bringing the life of the sign over 7+ years.  Some types of parking signs we have loaded up include No Parking Signs, Handicap Parking,  and Reserved.

Wet Method 

The wet method is all around a more forgiving method of installing vinyl on any surface.  This can be used on a vehicle, window, or boat.  The wet method creates a liquid barrier preventing the adhesive from bonding to the surface this allows you to slide the vinyl around before final positioning.  Bubbles are easy to work out from under the vinyl since they are able to escape.  The wet method can be difficult to use when you have a sharp contoured surface rather than flat.  This is because the adhesive cannot bond so the vinyl will not stick properly around the surface.  This is where high end wrap vinyl is more appropriate. 

Dry Method

The dry method is the most commonly used method but is less forgiving.  Once you start to make an application with the dry method you usually can’t go back.  Since the vinyl is in direct contact with the surface the adhesive will grab immediately.  Advantages of the dry method include the ability to instantly apply your letters while the wet requires a cure time.  The dry method works great on flat surfaces too.

Hassle Free Sponsor Layout

We deliberately made out our online vinyl sign designer limited in what it can do.  Instead of having to worry about lining up text, making fonts the right size, and generally making sure the sign looks good.  We made it so all you need to worry about is if you have a logo or text, and what color you want it.  At that point you simply type your text just like using microsoft word and the text is automatically sized and centered correctly on the sign for you. 

Upload Your Own Logos

We understand the need to use a company logo on certain signs.  Lets be honest they look better with a logo most of the time.  Our system makes it easy to upload an image directly to the sign.  You see it in real time making the process simple.  Click on the upload button and the image will be placed right on the sign for you to see.

 Fast Shipping

We pride ourselves in meeting your deadline for golf tournaments so we ship all orders in two business days or less with the option of next day overnight delivery if required.  If you call us we may be able to do a rush ship for you the same day.

Lets face it the whole point of getting vinyl lettering is so you can get your message out.  If you are cutting corners by making the size smaller and trying to save money you are only costing yourself money!  The size is one of the most important factors when you are buying lettering.  There are a few key points to consider:

• Filling your entire space on something like a window all the way to the edge can look like a bit much, consider the 80/20 rule.  The vinyl letters should take up about 80% of the window
• When in doubt, go bigger.  Even though letters that may be a tad bit too large may look out of place, it won’t be nearly as bad as not being able to read them

Colors make or break the effectiveness

One common mistake people make it choosing colors that simply don’t work with the surface they have.  Always choose a nice contrasting color.  Keep in mind that windows when viewed from outside are typically a dark gray to black color.  It is quite counter intuitive but that is usually how they appear.  This means that Yellow, White, and light blue can stand out well on a window. 

Outlines save the day

When you have a color that you are either stuck with or can’t change that blends into the surface to much then add an outline to it in a contrasting color.  Outlines are used commonly and look great.  Not to mention when you are stuck in this situation it is a great way to resolve it.

Wet Application method works well for big pieces

Use the wet application method when you have a big piece of vinyl.  Although the transfer paper can be a bit combersome to remove it will give you more flexibility and forgiveness when applying. 

Etched Glass vinyl is cheaper and looks good too

Our etched glass vinyl lettering product is a really great looking and cheap alternative to real sandblast etching.  You can expect the same look as sandblast or acid etching but it’s DIY and is totally removable.  Don’t worry if you can’t design exactly what you want on our site, we can do your own logo or custom file at no extra charge!

What is it for?

When you are looking for vinyl lettering consider what you’re actually going to use it for.  Mainly things to consider is if the lettering will be exposed outdoors, on a vehicle, inside a window, on drywall, or any other special surface. 

If you’re  planning on placing your lettering on a wall a good candidate is a removable class vinyl such as Oracal 631.  It is important that you don’t damage the paint on the dry wall while removing the lettering down the road.  Although it is removable it is still very durable for indoor use.  Another notable difference is the finish of the vinyl.  631 is a matte finish, just like matte paint or canvas it is very dull and not shiny.  This is mainly because of the glare that can be induced from being stuck indoors.

Another popular place to put lettering is on a window.  Things to consider when placing vinyl lettering on a window is will it be on the inside our outside?  If on the inside make sure you have it reverse cut when produced.  Since lettering on the outside of a window like on a business storefront of glass door or similar will be exposed to the weather it is important to choose a class of vinyl that has an appropriate lifespan.  High end vinyls have an 8-10 year lifespan sustained outdoors while low end vinyl can be 3-5 years.  Now we all know how those numbers are, you could get much more or much less out of this depending on the conditions.  A window can be especially harsh though since the suns UV rays are one of the main contributing factors to vinyl degradation including shrinking, cracking, and peeling.  So moral of the story for windows if you’re looking to only get a few years out of your vinyl you can safely purchase a economy cast grade vinyl.  Warning sales pitch: Here at Custom-Vinyl-Lettering.net all we sell is high grade 8 year Oracal 751 premium vinyl so you don’t have to worry about how long your letters will last on a window.

Vehicle lettering really is one the most effective and cheapest ways you can get your word out.  Time after time we see the results of poor quality vinyl on vehicles.  When you get vehicle lettering make sure you are getting the good stuff.  Vehicles time over again are extremely harsh on lettering.  As the rain water drips and runs down the side of the vehicle chemicals and dirt eat away at the edges attacking the adhesive ultimately leading to failure and degrading.  This is where premium cast vinyl is different from calendared.  Peeling, cracking, and more can result from the wrong type of vinyl for the job.  Another advantage of premium cast vinyl is the exceptional ability to handle things such as rivets and compound curves. 

Finally, for the boat owners you are in a similar boat (no pun intended) to the people looking for vehicle lettering.  Similar elements along with exposure to water and even salt water in some cases.  This is where a cast vinyl is superior.  It will last longer, stay brighter, and not peel, crack or fade on your boat.  Everybody knows that cracked a faded lettering on a boat look terrible.

Cast vs. Calendared

You’ve seen us use the buzz word used in this article several times.  Cast and Calendared vinyl represent two different manufacturing processes of making vinyl by the sheet.  In general cast vinyl is superior to calendared

• Vinyl is unstressed during the manufacturing process meaning it does not have the chemical tendency to shrink back to it’s original size
• Cast is significantly more durable due to the UV resistance
• Cast is produced thinner than calendared making it easier to conform around corners and rivets most notably

As most often with anything cost is the driving factor to most people’s purchase.  If you find someone that is able to drastically cut another ones price consider if they are using cast or calendared vinyl.  Based on the paragraphs above if you see you need cast vinyl and they are selling calendared then you may reconsider the purchase.  The reason for the cost difference is that calendared vinyl is on the area of 1/2 the cost of cast.