posted
ok....spent last night with customer at his house hashin this out with one of employees....i lettered van, using roof line and bottom body grove on truck for alignment of letters....well all the employee can see is the damn belt line, ther is a 3" rise to it from front of truck to back...and this guy(with beer in hand)is tellin me to line it up on the beltline....ok? need input here, got one truck done and got another to do....i even did a print(with pen in plotter on paper) to show him how it would look lined up with beltline....one of the other people walked up to it and said", that end needs to comeup to make it straight...
------------------ joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-944-5060 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND
Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
I cringe when someone brings in a newer for van, seems no matter where you put the signs it looks crooked to someone! Idealy I like to make them close to level with the floor as that is what you compare it to when you see it goin' down the road.
------------------ Greg Gulliford aka MetroDude Metro Signs and Banners 1403 N. Greene St. #1 Spokane, WA 99202 509-536-9452
posted
Hey Paint... I like to combinethe whole graphic into a group and then distort it like a wedge. I do this on the sides of boats too.EWe have a lot of charter boats here,the captains like big advertising.Boats are notorious for not having any straight lines... I always use my eye instead of a ruler to check my work..and anyone who would critique you would use a trained eye as well. Pleasing your own eye will please youyr customer.
posted
Hey Michael...I am glad to hear that there is someone else who distorts lettering on boats...When I have to do names on the sides of sailboats and they are going towards the rear quarter there is usually a lot of "undercut" to the shape and to view the boat in the water and see the name as being the same height from front to rear it is necessary to "wedge" the lettering so it is taller at the rear than the front.
------------------ Dave Grundy AKA "applicator" on mIRC "stickin' sticky stuff to valuable vessels and vehicles!" in Granton, Ontario, Canada 1-519-225-2634 dave.grundy@quadro.net www.quadro.net/~shirley
posted
Hi, OP et al, These Ford vans have been a pain since 91 when they came out with that "coke-bottle" shape. IMHO the way to go is to use the beltline as your reference, especially if your layout is more or less straight-line. I've seen one around here that had the upper line of copy referenced to the roofline, and the next line referenced to the beltline, and it looks like hell. Customer-applied vinyl, and thank God it wasn't mine. The beltline is about the only straight line on these things, and even it pitches downward as you get towards the front, even as it crosses the doors. Chevy and GMC pickups line formed by the lower edge of the window glass do the same thing. Put your letters on using the bottom edge of the door as something to measure up from, and the letters look like they are running uphill towards the front. Short of wedging, which I really can't see, I haven't figured out a good solution. And, don't get me started on Dodges-- biggest damn doors in the world, and no place to play. The notion of levelling to the floor is OK as far as it goes, if the floor is dead level, and the truck doesn't have a soft tire or a weak spring. Dave G's idea on tapering on boats is good, but on trucks I don't think the "tuck-under" is enough to warrant this. Just my .02 for 1.98--- inflation you know.
------------------ Bill Preston Fly Creek, N.Y. USA wpreston2@stny.rr.com
Posts: 943 | From: Fly Creek, N.Y. USA | Registered: Jan 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
I have always stuck with the center line on any vehicle. If it does not have a visible line like some mini vans then I run tape down the side to make my own then measure from that.
------------------ Brian Stoddard Expressions Signs A few puddles east of Seattle
Posts: 790 | From: Monroe, WA | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
got one on my web page www.asignmint.atfreeweb.com ABLE MEDICAL, did it lined up with that bottom groove on the truck......looks perfect to me....level to the ground.....ill get a pic of this one tomarrow..
------------------ joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-944-5060 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND
Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
I stay with the beltline, and leave at least 8"from the top. Any closer, and its evident the vans have chopped tops. So out of the 24" avail, I use only 16". for any graphic
------------------ Mike Duncan Lettercraft Signs Alexandria VA
From here on down, its all up hill.
Posts: 1328 | From: Centreville, VA | Registered: Oct 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
Hey Joe ... I use the "belt line" too but I do it a little differently I go to the center and measure out 24 inches each side then run a straight line down the truckend to end about 4" up from that line ... and don't follow the curve at each end... works great (especially if you have a 6' magnetic straight edge).
------------------ Monte Jumper SIGNLanguage/Norman.Okla.
Printer-friendly view of this topic