2 color vinyl decals to be applied by customer

[Dwight9]

Hello everyone,

I need to figure out how to create 2 colored vinyl decals that the customer can apply themselves. It is a word in one color and is underlined in another color. The customer requests that it is ready to apply without having to apply the word then apply the underline. They want both vinyls on the same face tape. What is the best way to achieve this?


Thank you in advance,
Dwight

 

[Reveal1]

Print on clear and laminate instead of cut vinyl? Outsource if you can't print white.

 

[Dwight9]

Print on clear and laminate instead of cut vinyl? Outsource if you can't print white.

Thanks for your reply, but it has to be cut vinyl. Black word ... Red underline

 

[Pixels Are Bad Mmmkay?]

I would use registration marks in at least two corners if not all four corners of each layer and then use a light table to align them. Tape the masked layer with a hinge and squeegee it over the bottom layer which should be firmly held to the light table with tape in all four corners.

 

[chester215]

Cut the text & underline in black.
Cut just the underline in red.
Weed Vinyl.
Remove the black underline from the backing material, leaving the text only.
Your cutter should leave a outline in the backing material where the underline was.
Mask the red underline flush with the top or bottom. (doesn't matter as long as you have a clean edge to align on the paper backer, I would do the top)
Put the masked red underline on the sheet with the black lettering, using the imprint from the cutter on the backing paper as a reference.
Mask the rest of the vinyl.

 

[iPrintStuff]

How big is it? For a one off I’d probably just cut the whole thing out as if it was all the text colour, remove the black underline, then cut your own red one and stick that on. Transfer the whole thing. Naturally there’s a fair bit more wastage that way so it’s only really practical if it’s small.

that or do as others have said, plot some little registration bars where you want the underline to be, transfer the underline over then remove reg marks and transfer the rest as a whole. Easy!

 

[ikarasu]

Put a square registration box around both colors. Weed both - premask the red....align it on your laminator, then apply the red to the black. Much easier with a rolls roller table, but still doable with a laminator.

You use twice as much material, but the customer should be paying if it's the way they want it.

 

[Gino]

According to how many of these you need......

Cut the whole thing out in black and use it as your template, then put in lightbox and place your actual cut black weeded word on template and lay your red line down to fit your template.

Done in about 3 seconds.​

If ya don't have a lightbox, just put a small light upside down on a table with a 2 x 4 top and bottom and put a piece of clear plastic over it. Presto, instant lightbox..

 

[VonsGraphix1969]

Plot each color with a weed border around each one...Put em both on the table, weed both, premask the one color and cut it out using the weed border and apply it to the other color on your work table

 

[eahicks]

Cut the text & underline in black.
Cut just the underline in red.
Weed Vinyl.
Remove the black underline from the backing material, leaving the text only.
Your cutter should leave a outline in the backing material where the underline was.
Mask the red underline flush with the top or bottom. (doesn't matter as long as you have a clean edge to align on the paper backer, I would do the top)
Put the masked red underline on the sheet with the black lettering, using the imprint from the cutter on the backing paper as a reference.
Mask the rest of the vinyl.

This is BASIC vinyl work.....lol.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Plot each color with a weed border around each one...Put em both on the table, weed both, premask the one color and cut it out using the weed border and apply it to the other color on your work table

I have a problem when I "pre-apply" multi-layers of vinyl... I always get tiny little bubbles around the edges of where the two layers meet.

 

[ikarasu]

I have a problem when I "pre-apply" multi-layers of vinyl... I always get tiny little bubbles around the edges of where the two layers meet.

We did a bunch of tow trucks that were 2 color vinyl - The other installer did them 99% of the time...then he went on vacation and I was tasked with them. Same issue as you...tons of bubbles - I tried pressing as hard as I could, tried going slow... tried to squeegee in different directions, eventually I started to wet apply them and be done with it. Once the installer was back on vacation... He showed me a trick... You use your hand instead of a squeegee. You need something soft/flexible to press down where the vinyl meets... Not one bubble. I did 10 more vehicles after that with light pressure from my hand instead of a squeege... they all came out perfect.

So next time you have multi color vinyl, try hand pressure if the graphic is small enough. I wouldn't want to do it on huge graphics as it'd kill your hand... But maybe a soft squeegee / rubber one would work just as well.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

We did a bunch of tow trucks that were 2 color vinyl - The other installer did them 99% of the time...then he went on vacation and I was tasked with them. Same issue as you...tons of bubbles - I tried pressing as hard as I could, tried going slow... tried to squeegee in different directions, eventually I started to wet apply them and be done with it. Once the installer was back on vacation... He showed me a trick... You use your hand instead of a squeegee. You need something soft/flexible to press down where the vinyl meets... Not one bubble. I did 10 more vehicles after that with light pressure from my hand instead of a squeege... they all came out perfect.

So next time you have multi color vinyl, try hand pressure if the graphic is small enough. I wouldn't want to do it on huge graphics as it'd kill your hand... But maybe a soft squeegee / rubber one would work just as well.

Interesting, I'll give it a shot