posted
Hey Arthur, approach substrate, clean with Rapid Prep, measure & mark area, spray substrate liberally with Rapid Tac or Tac II,peel liner, place & posistion film, squeegee firmly center out in all directions,spray trans tape, peel at 45degree angle, your done !!!!
Just a thought.
Roger
-------------------- Roger Bailey Rapid Tac Incorporated 186 Combs Dr. Merlin Oregon 97532 Posts: 3020 | From: Merlin Oregon | Registered: Dec 1998
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You could also use the magnet of the fridge door the magnetic band which allow the fridge to be closely closed.
Really nice stuff and free.
-------------------- Desire Rusovsky SDG Signs rue du Lac 24 1342 Le Pont Switzerland desire@sdgsigns.com http://www.sdgsigns.com Posts: 218 | From: Le Pont / Switzerland | Registered: Mar 2002
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Easy vinyl removal can be had with a cool little tool I got from Sharpline Converting. Takes the vinyl AND adhesive. I have removed 13 year old vinyl with it. It actually shoots steam through the pours and loosens it. No damaged paint, Goodbye heatgun! Just be sure to have a good lil chizler too. I am a distributor, but there are others too. It costs about $89.
""Good judgment comes from experience; and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" - Will Rogers Posts: 3484 | From: Beautiful Newaygo, Michigan | Registered: Mar 2003
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I've got another one, couldn't resist. Stabbilo pencils aren't cheap, especially factoring in the aquisition hassle. So when they get short, I use a little brass pipe I got from the art store. It's a bit too large, so I crimped the end with a pair of pliars. Now I use them all the way down to a qtr. inch nub. I'm wondering if there's such a thing as a cheap-guy contest anywhere. I've got a shot at all time world's champion! Jim.
-------------------- James Donahue Donahue Sign Arts 1851 E. Union Valley Rd. Seymour TN. (865) 577-3365 brushman@nxs.net
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what's for lunch, Benjamin Franklin Posts: 2057 | From: 1033 W. Union Valley Rd. | Registered: Feb 2003
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See Mike Languein's "Lenny" posts. You'll probably only get second place.
My tip: I had an math challenged employee who could never find the center of anything. I started putting little vertical cut lines in signs cut on the plotter, making sure they did not cut into the letters. When weeding, he found the centers of the lines of copy. That didn't solve his problems of finding centers of substrates, however.
-------------------- David Harding A Sign of Excellence Carrollton, TX Posts: 5084 | From: Carrollton, TX, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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i almost never use a measuring tape to find the middle of things. on a large project (wall or window) i'll use my snap line -- tape down one end, string out to the other end, then fold it in half. the halfway point is the middle.
i find the middle of vinyl graphics by folding the piece in half and making a tiny crease in the top or bottom. (i had assumed everybody did this, but maybe not).
i use the snap-line string as a compass to draw circles (tie the pencil to one end and stick a pin where you want the center). just be sure to keep even tension all the way around. you can wind the pencil up to get inlines and guides for lettering, too.
-------------------- :: Scooter Marriner :: :: Coyote Signs :: :: Oakland, CA :: :: still a beginner :: :: Posts: 1356 | From: Oakland (and San Francisco) | Registered: Mar 2001
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My tip is marry someone who understands you. My first wife didn't have a clue. The trick is to find one. I did (a signperson to boot) Down to basics. We went and found a hardware store going out business and bought the Large shelf brackets (16"), that go on peg board. We spaced them for all our vinyl rolls. You can get about 50 rolls on a 2'x8' peg board. Cost for all was about $20.
-------------------- Tom & Kathy Durham House Springs, MO Posts: 654 | From: House Springs, MO | Registered: Apr 1999
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This is a tip from my brother, Dan. If you are like him (and me), you can never find a tape measure when you need one, even though you find it impossible to leave Home Depot without a brand new impulse-bought 25' Stanley hooked to your belt.
Dan purchased about twenty 1/2" x 12' tape measures at Harbor Freight for something like $1.49 each. He sprinkled them liberally around his plotter, on the dashboards of his vehicles, by his computer, by his saws in his workshop, by his substrate storage, by his weeding and work tables, etc. Now, there is always a tape measure within reach when needed.
-------------------- David Harding A Sign of Excellence Carrollton, TX Posts: 5084 | From: Carrollton, TX, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Anybody think they have too many fonts? Well, you might be right; but not necessarily. While browsing a few font sites on the web, I found an excellent utility on the Letterheadfonts' site called "The Font Thing". Its a free download which makes font group creation simple. It differs from Font Navigator in that it doesn't install the groups. It just loads them into ram memory for current sessions. (Actually, it has the option to install them too. But I find that unnecessary as the load method works fine by itself.) If you shut down the computer you must reload them before opening whichever program you'll use them in. Its a lot easier than loading up the taskbar individually. And when you're done with them TFT can unload them if you don't want them kept open.
So now I'm cleaning out my windows\fonts directory of most decorative (not necessary for basic program operations) fonts & moving them out of windows directory, into another directory on another partition. Incidentally, I think partitioning is the way to go, especially with large HDs. Break'm down into smaller drives & defragging 1 at a time goes a lot faster; especially if you only defrag what needs to be. With the fancy fonts off of c:\windows\fonts, startup is a little quicker.
Here's some advice for using "The Font Thing" (TFT for short). I found this out the long way today (well yesterday now). In order to add fonts to groups, they cannot already be installed. Copy the fonts you want to move out of c\w\f & make sure they're uninstalled. Copying may not be necessary but insures you don't lose them. I tried over & over again yesterday to move 1 font into a group, but windows denied permission. Tried both boots & still wouldn't work. Finally noticed the font still listed in Font Navigator & after deleting from there, it made it into the group. (was already deleted from windows dir - but FN kept track of it anyway - why I don't know)
Another nice feature is the ability to preview fonts in any size by using a slider control to adjust point sizes.
Makes you want to acquire as many nice fonts as you can afford, knowing they don't have to be installed to use them. Works Great! Must go thru current collections first. Toss em in a remote partition & let TFT find em.
PS: For those here who have font creations on that site, really nice work. Also, look in SignCraft for font sites listed within, showing samples.
Just saw that www.letterheadfonts.com has a screensaver honoring Rick Glawson, free to anyone who wants it. A really nice tribute.
[ March 18, 2003, 01:40 PM: Message edited by: Bill Cosharek ]
-------------------- Bill Cosharek Bill Cosharek Signs N.Huntingdon,Pa
bcosharek@juno.com Posts: 703 | From: N.Huntingdon, Pa, USA | Registered: Dec 1999
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this one's only handy if you have someone who sends you roses regularly....
When you get flowers and they have those little plastic tubes (usually containing water) save the tubes and the rubber caps.
If/when you're on a job site, you can fill them with water or a bit of thinner and 'cap' your paintbrushes as a tempoary fix until you can clean the brush properly.
You could also just get some from a friendly florist.
Next tip: create a file or files on your computer for your own collection of clipart. I start all these files with 'ca' and then whatever they contain. for example all the arrows, from corel, sign dna etc are all in one handy file in flexi called 'caarrows', that way whenever I need one I don't have to look 'em up from numerous other sources.I also have 'capanelshapes', 'cabullets' etc.(you get the idea)
-------------------- Shirley Carron Black Sheep Designs 184 John St. N. Arnprior,On.,Canada shirleyc@magma.ca 613-623-7053 Posts: 503 | From: Arnprior, Ontario, Canada | Registered: Nov 2001
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Here’s my tip, which I learned on this site but there is no harm in repeating something like this.
If you are drilling in a location that is awkward to clean up the dust or the dust could fall in a delicate location then just tape up an envelope in the suggested position and it will catch most of the dust.
-------------------- Miles Cullinane, Cork, Ireland.
From the sometimes sunny south of Ireland, Posts: 913 | From: Cork, Ireland | Registered: Jul 1999
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Last night I found out magnetic sheeting only needs to be scored instead of digging in to make a clean swipe through. Once the score is made through the top coat, the magnet "folds" real clean and nicey nice.
Chalk one up for a happy accident!
-------------------- Alan Ackerson LetterWorks Design and Graphics alan@ack2.com Posts: 776 | From: Oak Ridge, NJ | Registered: Aug 2002
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Sometimes, I have a hard time seeing the cut lines when I am weeding or doing a spray fade in vinyl. Try dusting with the appropriate color pounce bag, lighty, then wipe off the excess, some will remain in the cut so you can see it.
If I get some small stuff that's hard to weed, I stop, put it on my dash board of my truck and roll up the windows, or tape it to the inside of a shop window facing the sun. In a while, depending on the weather the vinyl shrinks away and you can see and weed it better. A heat gun works as well.
Cheers
-------------------- Rob Thomas 3410 Ketcham Ct Beautiful Springs FL 34134 Posts: 965 | From: Bonita Springs, Florida USA | Registered: Feb 2000
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Always store your paint cans upside-down. When they skin it will be on the bottom and all of the pigment is at the top and easier to mix in. On painting sandblasted signs, use a dry brush to pull out the puddles. That is a good idea with the lights for heating up vinyl. I will have to pick up a couple soon. Thanks An old trick told to me by a house painter is, after you wash out your brush, tap the ferril on the toe of your shoe. Leave your heel on the ground and pull your toe up. The excess water will go on the ground.This is much easier on your elbow. This works best on bigger brushes, not lettering brushes.
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(a signperson to boot)
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