David Shinn
Forum Replies Created
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Dear Peter and David,
They are simply great, thanks. I will use the simpler of the two, as it is a freebee job for the local cricket club. Thankyou for taking the trouble.
Regards,
David
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For most customers I usually wear my painting overalls. In my industry I am sure it helps to go looking like the man who actually does the job rather than the man who tells someone else to do it. Having said that, if visiting a big company, I would wear a suit and tie. So it depends entirely upon the customer, and I try to dress to be the person they feel most comfortable dealing with….psychology eh!
David
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I have found that it is best to keep the tape in a box away from the light-I am sure that UV affects the glue and dries out the ends. Also, I sometimes put a scrap piece of app tape over the end of the roll to try and keep the air away from the exposed end.
I have had this problem of the tape tearing away from the ends, and it is very frustrating. It does help if you have a proper dispenser- I bought a lovely one from Germany that glides the tape out beautifully.
Regards,
David
Leeds -
We had 15 employees at one stage. Never ever again. Amongst that number, you always at least one awkward/moody/uncooperative one who upsets yourself and the rest of the staff. Also, you have to spend your own time looking after the staff whilst still doing the most difficult jobs that no-one else wants to do and working when no-one else wants to.
These days we are down to one employee. The reduction in pressure and stress is wonderful. The best bit is that we are now better off than before. It is all too easy to be a busy fool, when in fact all you are doing is running a business to pay other people’s wages whilst piling the responsibility and stress upon yourself. Also, our business can tick over with a small baseline of work. With lots of staff, there is always the anxiety of having enough work, maintaining quality and chasing all those bills. Wages have to be paid at the end of every week regardless of the fact that customers can take 90 days plus to settle accounts.
Employing a big staff is a mugs game.
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Hi there,
I last got some through City Electrical Factors, and they cost around the £30 mark. Manufacturers seem very reluctant to supply this sort of thing directly, but CEF will deal at their trade counters.
Regards,
David
PS. I have some tips for fitting if anyone is interested. I can post later.
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Hi Ali,
I did a couple of transits about two years back, and had to make a paint mask to spray through. The customer wanted it to stay on, and there was some really small lettering. Too small for stickers, but too expensive for me to get just a few screen printed.
Here is the cut file I used in ai. and signlab V5 format. I hope that this helps you, but PLEASE check that the design has not changed since I did mine!
Good luck!
David
Leeds -
Hi Nigel,
Here you are. I hope that you can read this. I’ve saved it down as .ai and .eps
Best wishes,
David
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Hi,
I am thinking of buying some A boards, lettering them up and then placing them at good spots around industrial estates. Trouble is, I am too busy at the moment to do it!
Regards,
David
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Hi Nigel,
Sorry, don’t know how to PM you!
I have this as a .vef font if that is any use. Or I can convert a character set to graphics and send you as an ai. file if you are only putting a few words together (you’d have to assemble and space manually).
Either way, if I can help, please let me know.
David
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An amusing incident relating to working on boats:-
A signwriter I once worked with got the job of lettering the sides of a boat that was moored at Scarborough. When he arrived, it was not in dry dock, but shallow water, so he put his ladder into the water and got going. The first problem was the fact that he was still, but the boat was bobbing up and down. It was only moving slightly, but it was a real pain when trying to signwrite to chalklines. WORSE WAS YET TO COME! He did not notice as he worked, but his ladder was sinking very slowly into the seabed. When the time came to move his ladder down the boat, it was well and truly stuck in. Some nearby workmen saw him in trouble and came with the best intentions to help him waggle it free, but they broke the ladder in the process!
Not a good day, but he was able to relate the incident (much better than I can) years later, and had us all in stitches one tea break!
Regards,
David
Leeds
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Hi Rich,
I certainly know what you mean, but I find signwork and spray painting very difficult to combine. I am sure you know what I mean- you really have to be there yourself in the paintshop, and that leaves little time to do the more profitable sign stuff. Nevertheless, I do try to though!
Yes, commercial vehicle refinishing is a very poorly paid business. I have to go like crazy some days, steamcleaning (you know what second hand tractor chassis are like!), blastcleaning, rubbing down, masking, priming and painting. In the end, I earn my wage, but not much more. Customers are so demanding in terms of the price they are prepared to pay, the turnaround time and the high standard of finish they expect. But I still enjoy spraying, and our little family firm has done this since 1953.
What does get to me is the fact that customers send in an expensive chassis cab in with a nice body on, but shortage of time and price means I have to more or less do what you say- one coat up and one coat down of poly. It would be nice to give a price for top quality workmanship and materials and stick to it, but over the years we have seen so many coachpainters set up and then go bust. In the end, you have to do the best job that is possible within the constraints of what the market will pay. I do a lot of the painting myself, so I can put that bit extra in and produce an adequate standard of work.
Thankyou for your comments. It is nice to hear that we are not alone in our frustration. Good luck with your signs!
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Hi Marek,
What you say certainly strikes a chord. Most people think that spraying is just a manual skill, but in fact it is as much a mental process as a physical one. It is difficult to explain, but as you work your way around a job, you receive all sorts of feedback (the sound of the gun, the appearance of the paint as it hits, the temperature, the quality of the reflection as you recoat and try to get that perfect shine). Time seems to become suspended, and your instinct takes over- sometimes I have almost “felt” that something was not right with a job, and known instinctively to, for example, put another coat on a door and the like. Like you, I have also had some of my best ideas and inspiration about all manner of things whilst in the spraybooth.
I still cannot wait to get back to work in the morning to see how the job I sprayed the previous day looks. I hope that this gives my work a little extra something over my competitors.
Regards,
David
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Thanks Neil,
As you know, the real work is in the preparation. Actually spraying the paint on is the easy bit. Commercial refinishing is so competitive, the key is to reduce labour time as much as possible whilst still producing a reasonable standard of work. On this particular job, we saved a lot of time by putting the orange and blue on at the same time. Looks impossible, but we did it! Customers want perfection, but I have yet to meet one who will pay for it!
The lorry is going to run anonymously for a while, and will be stickered up later. I think that a simple design with this sort of colour scheme looks best.
Paints have changed so much over the years, and I find that we are constantly having to adapt our techniques to suit them. The good quality old fashioned coach enamels (Tornol/Tekaloid and the like) are simply not available any more. Primers have certainly improved, but topcoats (in my opinion) are not as good as they used to be.
Cheers,
David
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Hi Simon,
Welcome! I am only a few minutes away from you at Barwick-in-Elmet.
I hope all goes well with your business.
David
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Hello again,
I managed it! I put the perspex on top of a black background and then took various digital photos to try and get a nice clean shot. One turned out fine, so I converted it to greyscale, then to black and white, imported into signlab and traced around. After only a little cleaning up, I have this lovely classical sun image!
I am posting the Signlab and Illustrator file here in case anyone else might find it useful.
Regards,
David
Leeds
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Hello and thankyou for your replies.
Firstly, Jillbeans, you simply don’t want to see me without my mask, I promise you!
John, I work next door to a screen printer, so having some white reflective flood coated with a transparent ink is something I will consider if I can’t get a ready made colour. In the meantime, I will get hold of an Avery colour card and see if they have anything suitable.
Excellent advice. Thankyou.
Regards,
David
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Hi,
On this topic, the trouble I have had applying dry is that I always seem to get some squeegee marks showing after I remove the application tape. This is despite trying gentle squeegeeing, hard squeegeeing and different squeegees. I tried wet application once, but that gave me a lot of trouble with the etch film lifting as I removed the application tape. I would be interested to know where I might be going wrong, as I have a little job to do in York next week.
Are some films better than others? Maybe there is some difference in the adhesives that make some vinyls more prone to show squeegee marks.
Incidentally, the best type of squeegee I have found for this and all my other work is the felt one made by X-FILM. I gave up with plastic squeegees ages ago.
Regards,
David
Leeds.
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Hi Freddie,
The day cost £200, but this cost is deducted from any equipment you buy, so I suppose that is the same as saying that the machines come with free training.
Regards,
David
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You are my inspiration!
OK, I’ll have another go. Thanks! David -
Ah, but if you look closely the lines are of different thicknesses, and some even are tapered. Not easy!
I am running Signlab 5.Regards,
David
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Hello again…….my report on screen print training…….
Well, I attended the one day screen printing course on Saturday. It was aimed at absolute beginners such as myself, and I had a really enjoyable time.
The venue was a small industrial unit in Chelmsford. It was nothing fancy, but entirely adequate for the purpose of training a small group of people. There were five of us doing the training; I understand that the course is popular whenever it is held.
The first thing we covered was positive production, doing the design on the computer and various ways of outputting positives using home inkjet printers and laser printers. Also, when to use repro services, and how much to expect to pay. We then went onto screens and meshes and the basics of stencil making. Everyone crowded into the room where the stencils were made, and we had a go at preparing and coating the screens with emulsion. At this point, various exposure options were outlined, from professional units to simple home made lightsources constructed out of an ordinary halogen light (from B&Q)! Our tutor demonstrated using the simplest option (the B&Q halogen!) and then showed us how to wash out the exposed screen using a plain water jet. Unbelievably fine result! He explained about masking, screen filling and some basic info about the various inks available and the appropriate applications.
On then to printing! Surprisingly, this was the smallest part of the course. We had a go on textiles and on glass. I think that the emphasis on screen production was due to the fact that our tutor wanted us to go away with a basic knowledge of the pre press process and then experiment ourselves actually print making. I think that this division of time was a good idea, since stencil making requires the uptake of a lot of new knowledge, without which it is impossible to move on to the printing stage. Out tutor said we were welcome to go back and join the course again free of charge if we wanted, and we could ring him whenever we wanted for advice or help with problems.
The other people on the course (a really nice bunch) were really concerned with textile printing, whereas I was interested more in stickers and the like.The company running the course are manufacturers of printing machines, but at no stage were we given the hard sell.
A thoroughly enjoyable day. Can’t wait to have a go!
Regards to all,
David
Leeds, West Yorkshire -
Hi John,
Here is a snowflake I used a few years ago. I cut it huge in tiles and applied it to some 40′ refrigerated trailers. This one is a bit more bulky, but looks more effective from a distance than some of the more intricate ones.
Hope it helps.
David.
Leeds, West Yorks -
Hi Becky,
Thankyou for your comments and thoughts. Yes, RD it is!
I know that there is only a limited amount that can be picked up in a day, but I really want to learn, and everyone has to start somewhere.
Your suggestion to look in “Printware and Promotion” magazine is a good one, and I shall look on the web to see where I can get hold of a copy.
All good wishes,
David
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Hello again everyone!
Thankyou for posting that file in Terry. I showed it to the customer, and we used it as a basis to draw up exactly what he wanted. I have cut and stickered the lorry today, and it looks brilliant! The mobile toilet is used on various film locations such as “The Royal” and “Heartbeat”, so I am sure that my customer will get lots more work when they see the new livery.
Just in case my artwork might be of use to anyone else on the board, I am attaching it in the form of an ai and cdl file. Please feel free to use it if you wish.
Kind regards and thanks for the help.
David
Leeds. West Yorkshire -
Hi Terry,
That really is so kind of you. I can spray, cut and apply letters, but can I draw??? Nope! Thankyou for taking so much trouble.
Perhaps you could e-mail the file to me?
happydavid13@hotmail.comIf I can do anything in return, do not hesitate to ask.
Regards,
David
Leeds, West Yorkshire -
Hello everyone,
Well, I do feel just a little daunted reporting to a forum occupied by so many people with so much more experience than me! I am a commercial vehicle spray painter who does some signwork and lettering as an add on to our business. Anyway, here goes…..
I went to the Roland showroom to accompany my signwriter friend who was very enthusiastic about the Versa Camm. He is getting more and more requests for printed work on small vans and menu boards. The last demo we went to was for the PC600, which seemed to be too expensive to run and prone to banding.
The machine we saw was not actually the Versa Camm, but its bigger brother the Soljet (latest model). Apparently there are no Versa Camms in the UK yet, but it is just a smaller version of the Soljet.
It was very impressive. The quality of print was brilliant, both on banner vinyl and sticker vinyl and paper. The printed media passes over a heated area on the front of the machine, but it was still a little wet for a few minutes. The ink is loaded in four large cartridges at the side of the machine. Unfortunately we did not take any samples of our own to print, but I can say that the output is simply fantastic. There is no visible dot pattern and no banding. Once the machine has finished printing, the printhead disappears and the cutter performs at the same speed as any other modern plotter. Then another blade flies across and cuts off the entire piece of vinyl! The maximum print speed is 6m per hour, and consumables cost about £3 to £4 per sq m.
Well, my friend has ordered one for delivery in November. He has paid £10,350, which includes the machine, a spare set of inks, spare media, a Roland Pentium PC and setup with a days training at his workshop.
I am going to see how his setup performs and then I will consider purchasing one myself. My neighbour is a screenprinter, and he is also considering one!
Maintenance is not the same issue that it was with the PC600. The inks have been formulated to not damage the printhead, and it doesn’t block up after a period of inactivity loike some other inkjets.
I really feel that my skills as a reviewer are somewhat lacking, and I appologise for the lack of technical detail (ask me something about painting lorries!). The Versa Camm seems to be an excellent machine.
Regards,
David
(Leeds) -
Dear Jonny,
That is a brilliant site, and I am sure I can use the logo for my customer.
Many thanks for your kind help.
David