Any good books to read?

[J. Hulme]

Hi,
as most of it is controlled by software the manual for the software will explain the basics etc, buy the best software you can afford, the very basic stuff is very limited and as you progress you’ll find yourself demanding more of your software only finding you should have bought the upgraded version in the first place.

The other part is the skill of fitting and installation of the cut and layered graphics, that part of the tuition is all here, don’t be afraid to ask there’s a wealth of talented signmakers here and they’ll be willing to share the trade secrets, but this will be only a part of the trial and error and a few metres of vinyl to play with a few years to perfect it all and that’s about it 😉

[Robert Lambie]

i have an old link some place. it has a list of books, but im not sure if it is what your after steve.
outline advice is good, just ask mate. we are listening. 😉

[Gordon Forbes]

I’ll say what a lot say buy Signlab expensive Yes easier to work with almost does it all for you once you get the hang of it I plumped for it E6 full bifta and I don’t regret it one bit.

The only people that seem to moan about it don’t use it.

(That could be a can of worms opened I feel)

Goop.

[Robert Lambie]

i second that forbie 😉

ok, lets run mate.. i hear the pelt of rotten tomatoes! 😆

[Lorraine Buchan]

Or is it the other way round??? You think Signlab is the best thing since sliced bread, becuse thats what you’ve always used!!

One of those things really, the sofwear is expensive so you can’t afford the luxury of having them all.

I am a FlexiSign user and i think it’s brilliant – but the majority of people in the sign industry in the UK use Signlab, So i am embarking on ‘a give signlab a go’ and learn what i can of it (so i have some experience in it, which will hopefully help me find a new job).

But for anyone starting out i really must recommend http://www.signgo.co.uk

[Henry Barker]

I guess it depends on what you want to use it for, some signmaking software has training cd’s like Signlab, which are really useful, if you use Corel and a cut program there are many publications on Corel (I think you can cut direct from Corel with Roland plotters…not sure as I dont use Roland).

I had a quick peek at your website…are you going to use it to help out with the racing? Logos, text, numbers etc….if so learning software is all you need to do, import cut and apply. You should be up and running doing that pretty fast.

If you are going to work in the signbusiness there are many great books on layout and design, and techniques for improving those and magazines showing lots of tips and tricks and of course help from sites like this.

You asked about a dummy’s guide 🙂 there are plenty of dummies with plotters….that’s the easy bit 🙂

I posted somewhere else here, about loads of books to do with signmaking, I have lots here…if thats what your after I can go through the list again, if its just help setting up the plotter, etc let us know what plotter you get and I’m sure someone here can help you get it set up right.

Convincing the other half……your on your own there….I’d put off the back door until the summer….the plotter will earn you money to buy the backdoor of her dreams 🙂

[Ian Stewart-Koster]

Steve, there are some good comments here. Unfortunately, there’s more to vinyl than vinyl. There is a learning curve in setting up the plotter, knife/blade depth, vinyl types (reflective, cast, calendered, masking, & banner vinyl & how well each cuts & weeds & when to use it), a learning curve in the design of signage, a learning curve in the types of application tape to use (low-tac, medium, high-tac, paper based, plastic-based etc), as well as in applying the app.tape as wrinkle-free as possible, (and numerous gadgets to help here), as well as learning to apply the vinyl cutouts to the substrate, and another learning curve in bubble removal!
Most of this has to be learnt by some amount of trial and error, or at least by hands-on experience. There are a few books ( & a few videos) on vinyl application, but no one I know with any has reccommended them to me so far.
Best wishes, (& sorry I can’t be more positive!)
Ian

PS We like Flexi here. Corel & Vinyl Master Pro are probably the cheapest plotting programs- Corel will drive Roland plotters.

PPS Dummie’s Guide: any sign forum!!! 😀

[Steve Smith]

Thanks for the answers, it seems I’m going to have a lot of learning to do. The first thing, will be to learn how to ask for advice, from you good people. 😀 I suppose it would be worth me investing in a full access package to this board as well. Then I can read and study all the demo’s tips and tricks etc.

Henry. The bike will be my main test bed for graphics etc, along with my van as well. It’s a long wheelbase Transit, so I’ve got lots of room to play with 😛 . As for the back door, waiting till summer may not work, she’s already been waiting since last summer as it is.

[Gordon Forbes]

Summa ploters instal a link into corel and you can cut directly from there

(Well it has done on my system anyway).

Goop.

[Jill Marie Welsh]

Steve,
Not trying to be a smart-aleck, but the first book you buy should be
“Mastering Layout” by the late great Mike Stevens.
I know yer a newbie. That is the perfect reason to learn some design skills.
There is a place up the street from me who used to buy decals from another place. He got sick of spending $$ and got himself a Gerber Edge. Needless to say, his stuff looks like crap. It is like giving a Cadillac to a acne-studded teenager. He is sure to wreck.
Even if you are just doing racing stickers, you want them to look GREAT. A little design & color know-how will go a long way.
Also look at magazines that feature race cars. Think about what you like about the ones that go “pop”.
It isn’t as easy as just buying a plotter.
You can cut something out of the most expensive trick vinyl going, but if it is a poor design, even the fanciest glitter is not going to make it look good.
Love…”Miss Know It All” 😉

[Catalin Dretcanu]

First of all you don’t said what type of machine do you have. Second what did you want to know? Please be more specifically.