Who makes stencils?

[Rodney Gold]

Your best bet would be a laser cut stencil , however most smaller lasers wont do a m2. Next option would be to cut the stencil on a cnc Router. Be careful of a few things , the material you use is highly dependant on the paint. The bridges between the inside and outsides of the letters/graphics have to be very robust. The material has to be sort of flexible if on curved surfaces. Make sure you have enough meat on the sides to avoid overspray (the best way to use a stencil is not with thin aerosol sprays but with a stippling brush , ends squared off and dabbed thru the openings)
Make sure graphics etc CAN be made into stencil’s without huge amounts of work.
Make sure that if sprayed vertically , the paint doesnt run down the inside of the stencil. Make sure the stencil can be cleaned with solvents if a solvent based paint is used and that the paint wont destroy it
Our most long lasting stencils are made with thin steel shimstock. You can use brass if you wish , or aluminium (not that flexible) Then we have plastic stencils ranging from Styrenes or ABS to thin polyesters. We have stopped a lot of stencil work as the customers are often unaware that the stencil will not be long lasting or just can’t be made in some cases. In your case , I would make a .9mm aluminium stencil and paint the sacks when flat.

[J. Hulme]

Can’t you make one like Robs demo?

[Mike Rogers]

Hi

I am working part time for an North East engraving/signing company trying to set up a sales branch in Milton Keynes.

They make stencils but are limited one way to about 23″ but the length is no problem. Usually the best stencil is made from zinc (.9mm or something like that) which has a couple of benefits over plastic in that it will bend and will not crack if dropped. Although it can be bent out of shape if mistreated.

It seems a big stencil at 1000m square so you may have difficulty getting one that size unless it is routered. It may also be difficult to work with that size

(edit admin)

Mike