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Vinyl lettering for a vehicle

Pideas

New Member
I don't do a lot of vinyl lettering / decals for vehicles. I have a job that requires printing a 4-color flame logo plus white lettering (company name and phone #) and a second job with the same 4-color logo plus black lettering.
What kind of vinyl would you run this on? For lettering by itself, I normally use the Oracal 651 but since I have to print the 4-color logo to go to the left of the lettering, what kind of vinyl would you use to do a job like this?
 

visual800

Active Member
651 sucks so let me get that out of the way, I only use 751 for lettering vehicles... you can go to signs365 and order the HP vinyl or I use georgiaprintco.com for all my hp stuff
 
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Stacey K

I like making signs
DO NOT USE 651, it's calendared and will peel - guaranteed. What Visual said...751 for cut vinyl and order digital prints from signs365...this vinyl. Sounds like a quick money maker job!
1710786351316.png
 

Pideas

New Member
Dumb question. How do you go about lining up this logo next to the wording so it's dummy proof for the client who will be installing it?
The flame logo is to the left and the lettering is to the right.

Normally, I would just give them a full sheet of lettering so they can apply it themselves.
 

Stacey K

I like making signs
Or you can use a couple squares. Print the squares and then also cut with them. The client can then line up the squares and it should get them close. I would make sure to tell them to double check the lettering to make sure it's straight but lining up with the squares will get them super close...just some fine tuning with a tape measure.

1710791722789.png
 

Pideas

New Member
The pounce pattern should do it. Thanks, Gino.

Does the 751 material need laminating?
Also, I was planning on using the 3M IJ35 for the flame portion of the decal.
 

GraphixGirl79

New Member
I don't do a lot of vinyl lettering / decals for vehicles. I have a job that requires printing a 4-color flame logo plus white lettering (company name and phone #) and a second job with the same 4-color logo plus black lettering.
What kind of vinyl would you run this on? For lettering by itself, I normally use the Oracal 651 but since I have to print the 4-color logo to go to the left of the lettering, what kind of vinyl would you use to do a job like this?
we decal vehicles all the time and we use Oracal products. For simple, fleet vehicles or decals that don't require gong over strong curves, 3551 G is what we use with a 215 overlaminate. i would suggest you upgrade to the 751 series. the lifespan is much longer and your customers will be happier when their lettering stays looking newer for longer. 651 is more for a short term application.
 

Stacey K

I like making signs
No, you can't use IJ35 on a vehicle - that's a calendared vinyl, it's going to peel.

You have to use cast vinyl like the one I posted above. The flame gets printed on the vinyl I posted above or something similar that is CAST.

The words get cut out of 751 - you do not laminate.

This is a super simple job, you could have had the flame delivered via Signs365 today and the vinyl today from Grimco or Fellers or wherever you get your vinyl and job done this afternoon.
 

Pideas

New Member
No, you can't use IJ35 on a vehicle - that's a calendared vinyl, it's going to peel.

You have to use cast vinyl like the one I posted above. The flame gets printed on the vinyl I posted above or something similar that is CAST.

The words get cut out of 751 - you do not laminate.

This is a super simple job, you could have had the flame delivered via Signs365 today and the vinyl today from Grimco or Fellers or wherever you get your vinyl and job done this afternoon.
Thanks for the suggestion Stacey. I have cast vinyl here and I can do the flame and cut on the Summa.
I think my worry was mixing the two medias (cast for the flame and 751 for the lettering) and then having to provide them with some kind of alignment sheet like the squares idea that you suggested or the pattern like Gino suggested.

Thanks.
 

petepaz

New Member
normally for something like that i would use 3M IJ180Cv3, that's what we stock for wraps and long term printed vehicle or sign graphics.
if you are printing the logo just print/lam/cut the whole job and supply in one piece for install
i will say for just cut vinyl i use both 651 and 751. obviously the 751 cast is better but i have 651 lettering out there that's been on trucks for 6-8 years with no issue
 

A Signage

New Member
Like everyone else said above, use high performance, intermediate vinyls are poured and stretched so they always want to shrink back to their original size. About a year from now you will see a visible adhesive outline around the letters where the vinyl has shrunk and that outline will collect dirt and look ugly. Often times this is why they peel, cause they are shrinking and loosing adhesive around the edges. High performance vinyls are poured (no stretching) so no shrinking, I like to use Oracal 951, if you look at the actual vinyl bulletins (which are readily available where you purchase online) you will see only black and whites are rated the longest, so I choose to go with the best and feel good about what I'm putting out there. I love seeing stuff come back 10 years later looking good, faded and ready for a refresh, scratched up but no peeling, shrinking, etc, important note, they come back!
To answer on how to make it easy for installers, like said above print, laminate, and contour cut together, or cut everything out of the vinyl, get the flame printed, and apply the flame to the space where the flame was cut out on the vinyl. You can use a stabilo or crayon lightly over the cut marks in the vinyl backer to show where to place. Then transfer tape them together and you have a one piece install. It's definitely worth doing as much in the shop as possible as it is always harder in the field and the labor rate usually much higher as well, plan ahead, save later headaches.

I forgot to mention above, printed products are rated for 3 - 5 years before significant fading with the UV exposure you would expect on vehicle lettering, maybe a little longer when laminated. Depending on your client's expectations sometimes it makes sense to use a combination of colored vinyl and prints for best long term results.
 
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Pideas

New Member
Like everyone else said above, use high performance, intermediate vinyls are poured and stretched so they always want to shrink back to their original size. About a year from now you will see a visible adhesive outline around the letters where the vinyl has shrunk and that outline will collect dirt and look ugly. Often times this is why they peel, cause they are shrinking and loosing adhesive around the edges. High performance vinyls are poured (no stretching) so no shrinking, I like to use Oracal 951, if you look at the actual vinyl bulletins (which are readily available where you purchase online) you will see only black and whites are rated the longest, so I choose to go with the best and feel good about what I'm putting out there. I love seeing stuff come back 10 years later looking good, faded and ready for a refresh, scratched up but no peeling, shrinking, etc, important note, they come back!
To answer on how to make it easy for installers, like said above print, laminate, and contour cut together, or cut everything out of the vinyl, get the flame printed, and apply the flame to the space where the flame was cut out on the vinyl. You can use a stabilo or crayon lightly over the cut marks in the vinyl backer to show where to place. Then transfer tape them together and you have a one piece install. It's definitely worth doing as much in the shop as possible as it is always harder in the field and the labor rate usually much higher as well, plan ahead, save later headaches.

I forgot to mention above, printed products are rated for 3 - 5 years before significant fading with the UV exposure you would expect on vehicle lettering, maybe a little longer when laminated. Depending on your client's expectations sometimes it makes sense to use a combination of colored vinyl and prints for best long term results.
Great advice, thanks.

I appreciate all the advice on this forum. We do a lot of signs and wide format but vehicle decals/lettering are a very small part of what we do. In fact, we may only get a handful of requests for this type of work in a year.
 

Notarealsignguy

Arial - it's almost helvetica
We use 651 on vehicles all the time. The stuff lasts forever. Never saw it shrink, crack, fall off. I don't know about Avery or any other brands but with the life we see out of 651, I can't see spending more for 751.
 

Stacey K

I like making signs
Maybe our cold and hot weather changes up here affect it more? (651) It can be -40 with wind chill and over 100 in summer.
 
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