[Karen White]

i wipe my panels down with a damp cloth and ISO if it has a film residue left behind from stripping the protective layer.

i have never heard of teknek before.

[Karen White]

That is lovely kevin, i really like that. ❤

[Karen White]

when i saw this i thought it was a very nice effect. but what’s annoying me is the blend does not go completely clear. so gives a sharp stop on the gradient. most irratating. 🤨

[Karen White]

Does anyone else know where I can buy this vinyl, other than Europoint?
Does anyone use or know of a good alternative to this reflective?

TIA ❤

[Karen White]

love the video Hugh. i am going to try to elevate my dispenser and see if it improves how i use it. thank you! 😊

[Karen White]

i have one of those roller dispenser things that sits at the end of the bench. i am fine using that but i have used the laminator on occasion if there are lots. but i tend to find it quicker and less hassle setting up, so just use the dispenser.

[Karen White]

if i am messed around for over 30+ minutes i will add an hourly rate. i tend to tolerate up to 30 minutes and then i lose it! 🤨🤣

[Karen White]

Hi Wayne

I didn’t know you could get a heat press that big!
I cannot help with the settings and so on. But i am curious because i thought that a wide format sublimation printer printed directly to the likes of polyester flag material and was dry when it came out of the printer and just needed to be trimmed or whatever you were going to do with it?

[Karen White]

I looked at the BN20s years ago and i thought they looked like great machines, which i am sure they are, but you really should take into consideration the speed they print in comparison to the likes of an entry level wide Roland printer. there were other things but i forget.
i think the attraction was the price and that they did so much in a small machine. but in a real world business situation, i think i would have pulled my hair out. but then again i am sure they are great for many folk. 🤔

[Karen White]

i know what you mean Peter. I feel that i am also missing out on potential business these days but i cant be everywhere at once. i am pretty much on my own here with occasional help. but people, in general, are simply shopping around and going for the cheapest regardless.
you may find that you have NOT lost out, but the customer has already had some rough quotes and thought “bugger that, it’s too expensive!”
next thing is, you call and they just tell you they have got it elsewhere to save some face. i say that because i think this has been the case for me on at least two occasions over the past few months. i pass both the companies now and again and neither have the new signs that they enquired about.

it is maybe just a sign of the times we are heading into, though i hope i am wrong. (pardon the pun) 😀

[Karen White]

i would use vinyl and install it in sections if one, three metre section was going to be difficult. nobody will care or see a tile join up there. that must be the easy cheap option, surely?

[Karen White]

Maybe i am missing something here? 🤔
I will supply stickers, vinyl graphics and prints to anyone that asks.
if someone wants to install them or give them to a shop hand to do it, then so be it. but if they come back saying it fell off, creased, squint or anything. then that has nothing to do with me, i did not install it. if they need another one, then i will happily sell them another.

if i walk into asda and buy a chicken. pop it in the oven and burn it. do i go back to asda demanding a new one and blame them for my stupidity?

[Karen White]

Lots of very nice work Jason. I like the Garden Centre box van the best. 🤩

[Karen White]

Lovely, what a blank canvas to be given to create a wrap from! ❤

How long would something like this take to wrap?

[Karen White]

As always Kevin, great work!

[Karen White]

I love this. surely that would not be difficult to do!
I just spotted that the windows are cut out on the phone box too. ❤

[Karen White]

I am sure the BBC will have their own in-house artwork department that could have altered this in five minutes. This is silly and beyond a joke!

[Karen White]

I have a Volkswagen Passat estate. i had graphics on the rear window until it was cracked recently. i think i will switch to VW polo type van. undecided at the moment.

Rob, i love the toy van. i think my customers would love something like this on their desk. you have me thinking now!

[Karen White]

I would also be interested in knowing what they cost Patrick?

[Karen White]

The clear tape is definitely not as user friendly as the paper tape but the paper tape makes laying up a bit more difficult and never as accurate on multi-layer vinyl work than what the clear tape is.
i tend to use paper tape more now, but always keep the clear tape in stock for difficult jobs.
I haven’t used it during the hot days so I cant say I have noticed it being a lot worse.

[Karen White]

i am looking at this and the different machines and I am thinking. the biggest hassle for me is putting the male and female eyelets on the machine, then holding the banner in place.
some of these machines show a foot pedal to punch and press the banner which is great, but surely the ones that load the eyelets themselves is the better option, and by the looks of it they are the cheaper option?

[Karen White]

everyone loves sprinkles on top! 😃 I like that.

Where do you find your artwork for this type of thing Tim. does the customer provide it or do you find it online or something else? I find i can spend so much time finding something nice only for them to say “but i would like a green background and not the blue!” 😏 because the artwork is a jpg file and flat, so we cant do very much as way of editing whatever they doing like.

[Karen White]

finally, another female! welcome Leslie. 😃

[Karen White]

excellent work Chris, you have been busy!
Lots of it is out my league or stuff i cant do, but great to look at and the vehicles are lovely. ❤

[Karen White]

its a shame you had a problem with this Tim. i am not sure if it is an advert or not, but it is really fun and nice looking,

[Karen White]

I use signlab and i am far from a whizz at tracing artwork. but I don’t have a problem tracing some basic logos or text and applying £10 or so for my time. I just offer the extra service when I tell them I cant use their poor quality artwork file. it is up to them at that point if they want to go back and forth for the sake of a tenner or so.

[Karen White]

Thanks very much for everyone’s replies. It is good to see I am not alone in the way I think but it is also worth giving more consideration to suppliers time and their costs. ❤

[Karen White]

I have to agree. if the price of the material is the biggest concern, he should be looking at his pricing as his primary route of the problem. not something he will want to hear, but true! 😬

[Karen White]

could it not be that you should never drift off as much as 10mm or your lamination would be worthy of the bin? so there shouldn’t be a need for a machine roller more than 50mm over the size of the maximum width of the vinyl?

[Karen White]

i have seen the sort of 3D plates and i have been asked if i do them, which i don’t. but i thought that regardless to how the plate looks, the only way you can supply a plate is by being an authorised plate manufacturer, which has an annual fee also. I understand why a car garage would benefit from the machine investment and licence costs, but not a sign company as the margins must be so small and we don’t have the demand, or am i being very naive?

[Karen White]

@GrahamScanlan
Are blackburns, righton and amari not all the same company?

[Karen White]

maybe i am missing the obvious, but why would anyone in our industry want to start spraying cars? i understand that the paint peels off, but I thought the whole point in a wrap was to get away from spraying and all the process that goes with it?

[Karen White]

Printmax has been very helpful with me on any enquiries i have made with them.

[Karen White]

I would love something like this as i wouldn’t need to buy in letters and shaped panels. but i am not keen on the price tag and i think i would still manage to mess things up! 🙄

[Karen White]

I honestly would not know where to start applying vinyl to something with all those lumps and bumps. seems a shame to put it on one of those big tractor things!
Love the puppet walking too. must be sort of intimidating to see.

[Karen White]

nice topic. i do this to Dan.

company name
vehicle or sign etc.
photos
vector files
Notes

they vary a little but all in a similar format.

[Karen White]

Very nice Kevin. i wouldn’t know where to start, but like that! ❤

[Karen White]

I understand this is probably part of the design they are looking for and cost them an absolute fortune to design, but am I the only one to hate this over-kerned lettering? (if thats how to describe it)

[Karen White]

Sorry I missed your reply David.

Have you settled in your new place now?

I must admit I am guilty of hoarding stuff hoping it will be great for a rainy day and that day never comes!

[Karen White]

Hi Myriam

I am not the best to advise here but i would say for long term work i would use cast. not easy to apply though!

[Karen White]

I have never seen this type of thing before. is this something I can do or do I have to buy it in?

[Karen White]

Hi Wayne

I am no expert but i do offer various sublimation products.
I tend to think it is a combination of quality t-shirts and the ink type that dictates the life of the garment prints.
i am sure others here will have more knowledge than me but I use various garment sources like xpres, fruit of the loom with Sawgrass ink.

https://www.xpres.co.uk
https://www.themagictouch.co.uk

[Karen White]

Sorry to sound silly but what is Clay bar Rob?

an impressive list of tools to have guys.

I don’t have anything like this and I think I my squeegee have seen better days. which reminds me I must order some! I do like the idea of the monkey strips. i assume you just keep one squeegee and change the strip?

[Karen White]

Just to add, I have also had a few customers that had me stressing out over them. I thought it was the whole pressuring a women scenario because they have left things so late to order their signs but sounds like I am not alone in getting this sort of treatment. phew! 😳

[Karen White]

WOW. Thank you for the replies. 😍
love to hear everyone’s views and opinions. especially on this subject as I think it is something we are all in together?
I too would love to have a place where I live and work, maybe one day!

I haven’t promoted covid signs but I have done them. like some has said, it is existing customers requesting them. they are easy enough and another product to be able to offer I guess. that is what I want to have. a place my customers can come to for a die range of things, large or small. ❤

[Karen White]

I cant add to this but very impressive. I wouldnt know where to start!

[Karen White]

@RobertLambie wow, I do not have a great shaped “car” like that! 😳🤣🤣

Thank you very much to everyone that has replied to my questions.

I will be honest, I still dont grasp exactly why this happens other than a greater build up of heat in the dark areas to lighter areas or areas with no vinyl, that causes a stress line causing a crack.

would i be right in saying this to my customer?

I have never worried about this, now i think i will constantly be paranoid doing window graphics. 🤨

[Karen White]

i love this stuff, but im not good with electrical type things.

i would actually like “something” at home done with this stuff.

[Karen White]

i havent given it a thought in all my days but the past 12 months I read it either here or someplace else and it now has me questioning myself.

this is a big window and several of them. they want either full coverage digital prints or text and blocked out with vinyl panels.
if it is a colour thing, I would just advise them on the issue and another colour would be used. but the uncertain side of it is concerning because I would really like this job due to the size of the company and the work that could follow. but no way could I cover the costs of the glass if anything happened.

Thanks for the reply david.

[Karen White]

cut the shape in vinyl and stick it to the magnetic and then cut the magnetic using sharp scissors. 🤓

[Karen White]

Jean, that’s a great idea! I might make one of those and wrap some coloured vinyl around each tube. 👍😍

Rob, another great idea. I just need to work out where I will put this and how to assemble the tubes as I don’t have a space like that. 🤔👍

[Karen White]

No problem John, glad to help someone. I seem to be the one asking all the time. makes a change! 😂

[Karen White]

This is in my messages, looks like he has been banned.

[Karen White]

Me too!

Still hoping it’s real though, I could do with a windfall just now. 💸🤑

[Karen White]

My Impact software is pretty old but it is the same one Jeff posted.

[Karen White]

That is lovely, really nice. I would love that for my own van! 😍

I really like the gloss pink and matt black. works great.

[Karen White]

Not that I would require it much at all, but I like the idea of the head-lamp!
God knows how many big garages I have been in that are badly lit and I struggle to see my pen marks, never mind anything else.

That one looks pretty bulky and powerful. I think something a bit smaller and lighter would do me fine.

[Karen White]

I think most if not all vinyl brands will hold those colours, as standard.
Probably just send those images to your supplier and ask them to choose the closest if you do not hold colour cards of your own.

[Karen White]

Very smart, nice and professional looking job. well done Craig!

[Karen White]

Sorry, one more question. How long should I expect to take to do something like this?
I know I will take much longer than you, I’m just thinking on how I would price my time once I get a feel for doing big sections like this?

[Karen White]

I think the best way is if I practice doing something similar using my own van and see how I get on. I don’t need to do one just now, so it’s probably the best time when I have no customer pressure! 🙂

[Karen White]

@Phill Fenton

Thanks Phil, I think my worry is that over that length or size of shape that the tape might fail or cut wobbly or something and the whole thing is wasted. maybe i am over thinking it. 😣

[Karen White]

@RobertLambie

Sore one! 😳

[Karen White]

Thank you for the replies so far guys. So I am not out of the loop on my current choice of scalpel, by the looks of it! 🙂

@KevinMahoney

Thanks Kevin. I looked that gun up and it comes in at about £90.00 is it really worth that?
What does it do different that makes you want to stick with that one?

[Karen White]

That looks great Phil!
Had you been using the tape a long time before trying something like this?

[Karen White]

I have been asked for this type of thing a few times now but I haven’t done any yet.
I can use knifeless tape but I can’t make it do this type of thing and even if I could, I think the time it would take me. would far out-weigh what I could charge! 😳
I did try finding a template online but there does seem to be lots looking but none successful.

[Karen White]

There is a post about this reflective, somewhere else on this website mentioning this stuff.
You can buy it from Europoint, but be aware it is VERY sticky when it comes to installing it.

[Karen White]

These are great! 😍

Knowing how demanding my customers are, typically. How long would you tell your customer they need to wait for this type of sign work?

[Karen White]

Amazing work Beej. You are so talented!
I will need to come back to this, or I won’t get any work done today! 😀

[Karen White]

surely a different type of blade and function on the machine would be required to cut something like this? If not, I would be interested in knowing too!

[Karen White]

Impressive work Craig. I love seeing everyone’s work!
I am hoping to step-up my offerings very soon. seeing this and others work here gives a lot of inspiration.

[Karen White]

I too have noticed some vinyl price increases just recently. Not 18% though, crikey!

[Karen White]

Kevin those vans look excellent. you appear to do lots of interesting work!

I am still a bit stuck in imagining how this is done. is the vinyl heat shrunk into the recess in one piece or cut and bits laid in?

[Karen White]

Where do you even start with a recess like this?

Surely that is not possible?

[Karen White]

I will do everything possible to comply with government guidelines. But I must work or I will not only lose potential new customers. I will lose my existing ones also!
I am bored of being bored. 🙄

[Karen White]

I am sure signwaves sell the parts for their pavement signs. water bases are part of the big ones.

https://www.signwaves.co.uk

[Karen White]

Have you tried Granthams?
https://www.granthams.co.uk

[Karen White]

I could be doing with something to easily cut composite.
I don’t like the Stanley blade cutters. and not a big fan of power tools like bench saws and that kind of thing. however, if there was something, as you say, with a setup to easily cut things I would be interested to.

i saw the Stanley cutters at the sign show. work great but hard going if longer than 2-3ft and i imagine you would go through lots of Stanley blades.

[Karen White]

That is very nice Rob. i would not know where to start with something like that!
I have made some desktop ones for a nail bar but were very “home-made” looking, i thought anyway. these look posh.

[Karen White]

Nice work Declan. I seem to get a lot of christening and birthday banners these days.
They are a nice way to sell to the general public but do you find they can be over time consuming with all the changes and photos wanting added?

[Karen White]

Well, here I am and bored already, as expected!
Christmas was not the same, slow and no real spark to it. Am i the only one thinking that?

I have been doing the rounds of the internet, youtube facebook twitter and there is little to no ideas of inspiration for 2021. I feel for the Americans, at least we have some sort of financial cushion but that is going to go too and i don’t want to have wasted all this time doing nothing!

[Karen White]

Thank you for the responses guys.
Having read everyone’s replies, I think I will keep my prices the same but give a limited time offer. A “COVID 19% off” deal for the bare basic signs. then once i have an enquiry i will try and upsell to include pictures and stuff like that to bring the prices back up in-line with what i originally charge.

I dont know if it is just me, but i feel uneasy going back down on my prices. 🙄

Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas!

[Karen White]

I have never tried a vehicle window or anything with a shape, other than flat.
Fair play, I wouldn’t know where to start doing something that shape.

[Karen White]

Again, lots of lovely work David. Really nice to see other peoples work on here.
The food one is very posh, very nice.

[Karen White]

Lasi estate car. I would charge about £150+vat

Vuokraa Van. £350+vat

[Karen White]

Thanks for all the replies guys, this is very helpful.

Sorry, but I have more questions which I will reply again here on shortly. 😇

[Karen White]

Wow, now that is a big sign. I would not know where to start with something that size. Very impressive!

The White letters are so much better than the ones in the “before” photo. What were they thinking of putting red letters on red bricks?

[Karen White]

Although I am far from being a wrapper. I have a glove too and find it very helpful.

glides nicely as you say but I think my hands are a bit small for it as it drags a bit and becomes loose!

[Karen White]

That is horrific Shane. I have never seen anything like that before. I normally can’t get the vinyl off!!

[Karen White]

I would be interested in this too David. There is always something I forget and then there is the customer that takes your artwork to the guy along the road. There should be a law against that alone!

[Karen White]

brilliant. love it!

Where do you get artwork like that Kevin?

[Karen White]

Ohhh I like that. very fresh and clean looking. Nice!

[Karen White]

Love that design, Pane. that is sure to stand-out and be remembered! 😍

[Karen White]

The problem is the cost when it comes to the larger ones. You can buy them easily online and very reasonable but once you try and get an 8x4ft the price shoots up!

Correx board is a good temporary option and glass is great, but again it’s expensive.

[Karen White]

Metamark does one and I think Image Perfect also.

[Karen White]

All lovely work. 😍

Are these wallpaper or vinyl, Shane?

[Karen White]

These are all super impressive Shane. Great work! 😍

[Karen White]

Very sad news indeed. ☹

I did not know him but I saw many of his posts and always appeared to help others.

[Karen White]

🤣

[Karen White]

I agree they are great and very comfortable, Kevin. It is more about the wear and tear aspect i am thinking about as it is on one of those lease type agreements. the cracked window was when i was closing the boot and i had steps in the back. 😣 time will tell, i just think having something more robust in the back and to be able to carry larger signs and things for delivery will help.