Vinyl lettering for vehicles

[David Rogers]

Good mid range – Upgrade to Ritrama ‘O’ series or 3M 50 series. Both well priced & better than that ‘temporary’ grade LM!

[Brian Carey]

thanks for that.
BC

[Robert Lambie]

There are a great many variations in vinyl type/brand that come into play when trying to find what best suits your needs.

many purchase on their budget which i think is just wrong.
buy the best you can afford, a good brand of calendar vinyl 5 year plus or a cast 7 year and up is the way to go. at least that is what i keep to when it comes to cut vinyl graphics.

its not just about "will it stick". various vinyls fade due to the sun, they can shrink, crack, curl back… poor for weeding. easily snap in cool weather and more… many different characteristics come into play. one of the reasons posts on this site about buying random vinyls from china in bulk bugs me personally. so many things to take into consideration…

as you are new, just keep in mind…
e.g.
white vinyl from one supplier at a £1 per metre, is not necessarily a better deal than white vinyl at £3 per metre from another supplier.

I personally have not used Ritrama for any type of application, but i know WmSmiths sell it. ide give them a call, tell them your concern and ask if they can recommend what best suits your needs.

is there a reason you are questioning your vinyl?

[Brian Carey]

no reason, just wondering will it last for long out doors, its graded 3 years plus i think!
BC.

[David Rogers]

quote Brian Carey:

no reason, just wondering will it last for long out doors, its graded 3 years plus i think!
BC.

3yrs on a flat board – In my opinion it’s not to be used for vehicle lettering except ‘forecourt/dealer’ advertising.

[Martin Pearson]

Like the others have said a lot of different options to think about, not always best to buy on price alone, especially as the actual vinyl cost is normally a small part of the actual job.
Best thing to do would be to get some samples from different suppliers and have a play about, find a vinyl that you feel the most comfortable working with and then use that.

Trouble with most 3 year vinyls is that they tend to shrink quite a bit which looks really bad once all the graphics get a nasty dirty line around them. Like Dave I won’t use any 3 year vinyl on vehicles, others will tell you it is fine so obviously opinions vary.

[Jill Marie Welsh]

The way I’ve always done it is to suit the quality of the material to the price of your substrate.
Vehicles-Cast only (such as Oracal 951)
Metal signs/painted MDO signs-cast (Oracal 751-951)
Correx-calendered (such as Oracal 651)
I will occasionally use 651 for window lettering.
This is for cut vinyl stuff not wraps.
never use cheap crap, it costs more when you have to re-do it when the customer complains.
Love…..Jill

[Neil Davey]

I stick with 5/7 year on just about everything.
We have a good well stocked colour range and 90%
of the time I buy 50m rolls.
I find this works best for us but is probably cost prohibitive when
just starting out.
In the past for odd colours I’ve rolled a coat of paint on the vinyl, works great.

[Gwaredd Steele]

quote Neil Davey:

I stick with 5/7 year on just about everything.

Same here. Even 90% of vehicle graphics don’t warrant cast vinyl IME & putting cast on a sign board is like giving a pig a strawberry unless it most definitely has to 100% last 10 years +

Never touched the 3-5 year stuff personally. For the price difference, it’s just not worth taking up the space to stock it over the 5-7.

[Michael Szwacki]

If it’s just vehicle lettering or small logos on the vehicles I’m always use Avery 700 series (7 years) – never failed so I’m keep going.

Never ever used any 3 or 5 years – it’s just not worth it. Even if you have to come down with price to customer (still with profit – obviously 🙂 )use 7 years because it’s miles better to work with (cutting, weeding, applying…)

Mike

[Bob Clarkson]

I’ve used a few different things, but the Ritrama samples I received didn’t do much for me, so they went in the bin, the actual finish was enough to put me off.

I like 3m cast, but it’s a bit dear for some jobs, when on vehicles they’ll be sold within 3-4yrs.

Avery is nice, but it’s a little slower for me to work, not sure if that’s just me, but I can’t work it so fast.

I now use Ultramark, for pretty much everything, think it’s a 5yr, but it lasts far longer than that, I’ve got stuff out there nearly 10yrs that’s still ok. I use the expression ok, as it’s not perfect after all that time.

But for price, workability and quality plus the fact I’ve never had any problems with it, I’m happy.