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What do you mean by "limited"? My Type 1 fonts are working the same within graphics apps running under Win 7 as they would under WinXP or earlier versions of Windows. You can't install any Type 1 fonts that are missing the PFM file. That file contains all the metrics of the font data. None of...

You can install Postscript Type 1 fonts in Windows 7, even the 64-bit version. The first attached image shows a Type 1 version of Insignia A installed in Win 7. The only fonts that won't work are the Type 1 Multiple Master variety since Adobe Type Manager Lite won't operate under Windows...

There is zero substitute for measuring the actual opening. The best thing to do, as a couple of others have stated, is measuring all the aspects of the opening (not just a couple of measurements and eye-balling the rest I've gotten that nonsense from a couple former co-workers). Measure the...

Cut contour options depend on the printing/cutting software you're using. We use Roland VersaWorks for our 54" VersaCAMM printer/cutter. Roland has a couple of color swatches that can be dropped into Illustrator CS4: Roland Color System Library.ai Roland VersaWorks.ai On Windows, the two files...

I'm guessing the "Royal" letters are custom drawn, but they appear inspired a bit by ITC Highlander.

The lettering in the FS logo is not from a stock typeface. It is customized lettering. If you're needing a vector-based version of it there are two alternatives: find something like a PDF at the Florida State website (or elsewhere) containing the brand mark or re-create it via scanning and...

Which applications are giving you problems with Postscript Type 1 fonts? I don't have any problems using Type 1 fonts in CorelDRAW or various Adobe applications. Crossfont isn't perfect at converting Mac-based Type 1 fonts over for use in Microsoft Windows and vice versa. Font editors like...

We prefer to use the 3M Scotchcal dual color perforated vinyl for black-day/white-night channel letter faces. It just works better. We tried some of the other types of solutions out there in the past, be it certain kinds of black/white acrylics or other kinds of vinyl. The black perforated...

BTW, the cost of LED-based electronic variable message centers has come way down over the past decade. Starting costs of a message center are well under the previously mentioned $20,000 price, especially if the customer is interested in monochrome rather than RGB full color.

I just saw this at the Under Consideration/Brand New website. While I admire the effort to reduce the "hp" logo down to its most simplistic visual denominator, the end result goes too far. The problem: I can read those slanted lines as "bp" or "lip" just as easily as seeing it as "hp". I doubt...

We have tried a number of different vendors of electronic variable message centers over the past 20 or so years. I strongly caution any sign company or customer if they're considering a LED-based message center sold by any of the dozens of Asian companies that haven't been around for long...

The Ford logo is custom lettering, not really something from a typeface. On the bright side, the Ford emblem is quite easy to grab out of a Ford Motor Company annual report PDF, at least it's easy to grab if you're using a recent version of Adobe Illustrator.

FWIW, the Dynamic Guides feature in Corel can be pretty annoying too. I usually work in Corel with that feature turned off. Illustrator has had at least some snap-to behavior for a long time. To me it felt as though it has varied from older versions like AI4 and AI7 compared to the CS series...

I wish the various bevel filters in different vector and raster based graphics programs could properly control how the bevel reacts to corners and grows to the center of the stroke. The attached example, "RIBS," shows some of the problems that occur -especially in the letter "B". The lettering...

The examples I posted weren't meant to be "best of" material, just enough to show I really do design signs for a living and do a professional job at it. If I was posting my best work I wouldn't be able to maintain the relative anonymity I have here and the freedom of speech that comes with it.

I'll add the parallel extrusion effect to certain channel letter jobs so the customer can clearly see the return and trim cap color in relation to the letter faces with the letter faces still kept in proper scale. Sometimes this works better than just showing a flat side view of the letter...

You're talking about creative work that is done by hand. Not many people approach that casually, whether it's drawing, painting, carving, sculpting, glass blowing, etc. Most people know it takes talent and quite a bit of practice to become good at doing any of those activities. It's not so easy...

Basically it sounds like the customer is asking for a custom illustration. Clip art often works okay if the customer's image request is for something basic or open to interpretation. For example, he could request "a horse" or "some happy looking people" in the layout. Clip art and stock...

You might want to underscore that "been around awhile" part. There's lots of people trying to do sign design work who don't have years of previous experience doing graphics work and have no formal training whatsoever. The wannabes come and go in and out of the sign business, but without...

OK, I seem to have found a strange, inconsistent behavior in Photoshop. Yesterday, I tested out this issue by opening a color image, adding an alpha channel, renaming it Spot White and changing the channel properties to Spot Color (double click the channel to bring up the Channel Properties...