Boat Registration Numbers Complaint...for real???

[Stacey K]

When you make boat registration numbers using Impact font do you single out each letter/number and individually make each letter and number 3" tall or do you just type it and make the whole thing 3" tall as one unit? Got a complaint that the W and V in this font are just short of 3" and wants them redone - oh, by the way, they gave me the wrong number too. I would prefer to stick them where the sun doesn't shine.

Some fonts have clearly different sizes for certain letters and numbers but I never thought of Impact as being a problem font. I'm pretty sure no DNR guy is going to measure each individual number and letter and fine you anyone if the V or W is a hair shorter than the number. I've made hundreds of these and never ONCE have I had a complaint.

Tell me if I'm wrong please.

 

[mfatty500]

Sounds like this schmuck wants something for nothing, if he gave you the wrong number it's on him, he's nit picking the size issue to cover his mistake

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

You can replace them for free and charge out the ass for the incorrect number

 

[Bradley Signs]

Your at fault! The customer is always right! Bwaaaaaaahahahahahahaaa...

 

[iPrintStuff]

Replace as-is or charge more for the new number. Easy peasy!

I can’t tell you how many times customers have made mistakes and asked for free reprints, some are a lot more brazen than others. Had one come back about 10 hoodies recently because 8 of the names were spelled wrong, which I copy and pasted out of her supplied spreadsheet .

They always word it so carefully, was something like “as these have been spelled wrong, can you rectify and send me out the new hoodies with the correct spelling”. So I sent her a copy of her spreadsheet and kindly said I’d love to, if she puts another order in!

 

[Johnny Best]

Some people won't admit they made a mistake. Remake them at 3" tall with right numbers and let it go.
See, size does matter even though women say it does not.

 

[player]

Premask, then pull the vinyl off, stick it on and off your sweater a few times, then put it back on on the backer.

 

[ikarasu]

Tell him you can re cut it. But if he wants the numbers changed you.have to re set up the art to make it compatible with your cutter and there will be an artwork fee - and sadly 90% of the cost of boat decals is artwork labor.... The material is cheap. Tell him you can easily resize it so it's all 3"... The choice is his.


I'd do it out of spite. It's not about saving $2 in material.... It's about people owning up to their mistakes

 

[Gino]

Technically, the height goes off the flat letters. If they were 3", then the rounds would be slightly larger. What he wants is not the way any style is executed.

I wouldn't play games. How much did you charge ?? Enough to have this ahole badmouth ya ??

Replace it and keep his number very close. Next time you can sock it to him.

 

[decalman]

It's easy enough to do it again, although this does sound pretty petty.
I usually do boat numbers in a thick cool looking cursive, from Sign painters font.

 

[GAC05]

We got into this doing tail numbers on a fleet of small tuna spotting helicopters.
The inspectors wanted each letter/number to be the exact same height and width - regardless of the character.
So the '1's were really fat and the 'M's were compressed into solid blocks of color.
A different inspector checked the install - 'WTF is this?'. We changed all of them making sure all the letters made the minimum height requirements and left the width alone.

 

[James Burke]

I would prefer to stick them where the sun doesn't shine.

Then they would no longer be sticky....but then again, maybe they would be. It sounds like a win / win situation to me.

JB

 

[Notarealsignguy]

Remake it with a smile on your face. These are the types that will go leaving bad reviews everywhere they can when they don’t get their way.
We lettered a tow truck a few weeks ago. They got inspected for rotation and failed because the company name was 2.75” and were supposed to be 3”. On the impound sign, they were 2.9” and had to remake that too. Neither of us knew and he never questioned paying for it again. Some people are just d-wads. They are the same everywhere they go.

 

[unclebun]

Gino is correct. The height of letters is defined by the flat letters (like I, T, W, V--unless the W and V have points on the bottom). The round letters will always be taller, going below the baseline and higher than the flat letters. So when you make 3" letters, the flat letters should be 3" tall and the round letters taller. If you size the license number by the height of all characters together, you will make the license number a tiny fraction of an inch shorter than it should be. In our sign software we specify the letter height at 3" and the round letters will be 3.06" or whatever.

You are correct that the water patrol or whoever administers boat laws in your state will not get a ruler out and measure the letters and write a ticket for a sixteenth of an inch. With age, they may shrink more than that.

However, the guy gave you the wrong license number. In my shop he'd pay again because the mistake was his.

 

[Joseph44708]

Just smile and redo the job at no charge.
But when he comes to pick it up ask him for the first set back so that you can put it back in Inventory and when he says WTF you smile and say gotcha.
You will make a new friend and a life time customer that will refer you to all his boat buddy's.

 

[Stacey K]

Thanks everyone, I re-cut the numbers and sized them all individually. He also ordered 3' vinyl sponsor decals which I made. I didn't charge him again for the numbers. I've worked with him a little in the past and he's a jerk. I keep hoping he will make good on his numerous threats and go to XXX but they won't return his calls LOL - I wonder why...

Also - I charged double for the vinyl sponsor decals and he didn't bat an eyelash.

 

[Joseph44708]

Thanks everyone, I re-cut the numbers and sized them all individually. He also ordered 3' vinyl sponsor decals which I made. I didn't charge him again for the numbers. I've worked with him a little in the past and he's a jerk. I keep hoping he will make good on his numerous threats and go to XXX but they won't return his calls LOL - I wonder why...

Also - I charged double for the vinyl sponsor decals and he didn't bat an eyelash.

YOU WIN

 

[John Miller]

Thanks everyone, I re-cut the numbers and sized them all individually. He also ordered 3' vinyl sponsor decals which I made. I didn't charge him again for the numbers. I've worked with him a little in the past and he's a jerk. I keep hoping he will make good on his numerous threats and go to XXX but they won't return his calls LOL - I wonder why...

Also - I charged double for the vinyl sponsor decals and he didn't bat an eyelash.

Way to go Stacy

 

[Chriswagner92]

When you make boat registration numbers using Impact font do you single out each letter/number and individually make each letter and number 3" tall or do you just type it and make the whole thing 3" tall as one unit? Got a complaint that the W and V in this font are just short of 3" and wants them redone - oh, by the way, they gave me the wrong number too. I would prefer to stick them where the sun doesn't shine.

Some fonts have clearly different sizes for certain letters and numbers but I never thought of Impact as being a problem font. I'm pretty sure no DNR guy is going to measure each individual number and letter and fine you anyone if the V or W is a hair shorter than the number. I've made hundreds of these and never ONCE have I had a complaint.

Tell me if I'm wrong please.

I'm sure it's not enough of a difference that will cause any issue for them on the water. However every time I set up any font, I never use the overall size, I base the sizing on the X-height of the letter, and let the customer know that the round letters will go above and below that. We've run into that issue on a set of channel letters (not my setup) that showed like 12", but that was the overall height, not the X height. Customer ended up measuring a flat letter and of course they're going to be about 1/4" shorter than the round ones. That was enough of a difference for them to not pay. We have since included that language in our sign-offs.

 

[rjssigns]

Only remade registrations a couple times. Not because anything was wrong but because the clients were causing "issues" on the water. Ooops.

Truth to tell most of the registrations I make are technically illegal by DNR standards. S'posed to be 3" tall, block letters and black in color. IIRC minimum stroke width is 0.250"

20 years ago I used to airbrush the vinyl for trick effects. Today it's digital prints.