TyrantDesigner
Art! Hot and fresh.
This isn't aimed at everyone ... just ... you know who you are if it is.
Now I really can't remember how many times in the last year alone I've had to replace or fix or correct others shops graphics but COME ON! This last week alone I've had 3 rigs come in who had graphics done by their "local guy" that was digitally printed but now the lettering faded to nothing but a big blob of white because they took it through a truck wash and they used acid on it .... but NOOOO ... the sign shop never mentioned a damn thing about laminated to protect that lettering OR about how they shouldn't use truck washes that RECYCLE THEIR ACID FILLED WATER that will kill their lettering. Thank you SOOO much. I also had 6 trucks come in that someone with a print/cut system got a VIN wrong asking if I could make what they had exactly ... but correctly ... couldn't because of no solvent printer in the shop and not having time to send it to the wholesaler. but come on ... it's a fricken VIN ... it's in the door, it takes 5 seconds for you to say "hey driver, is this information correct" or 30 seconds to run out there, open their door and check their plate. Don't be lazy.
NOW FOR (lack of) DESIGN WORK. If you have a $20k+ investment in equipment ... please learn design 101 ... spend $1k more and learn to do more than an outline and bevel on lettering ... also learn to avoid turning signage schizophrenic with 3 or 4 typefaces on one company name ... and for the love of all that is unholy why the crap would you use 3 drop shadows all in different directions ON THE SAME ITEM. And lastly on that subject, if you DO have a print and cut system ... make sure you know how to align your print ... I'm completely tired of seeing graphics cut with an 1/8" misalignment to the border.
NOW to all you vinyl monkeys out there ... I hope you do read this ... I know your chinese plotter was a good starting point but here are a few things to consider when someone ELSE has to re-do your crappy job since you don't know how to do more than just use arial, cut, weed, mask and ... obviously must not know how to use a ruler.
1. INTERMEDIATE VINYL IS NOT DESIGNED FOR VEHICLES ... High performance costs a tiny bit more and won't DIE in a year. Please do realize this or QUIT your 'job' and go work at mc donalds ... they have pretty little pictures for everything so you don't need to read or think.
2. TAPE MEASURES ARE ESSENTIAL, NOT OPTIONAL. If you can not make a graphic be in the same place from one side of a vehicle to the other ... see fix to number one. I hate you the most for this.
3. Just because someone says they have one thing on the vehicle (a vin, a 'fire extinguisher inside', whatever) doesn't mean it will match what you put on (both in color or typeface) it is your job to convince them that it will look BETTER not to leave that 10 year old 'chrome' vin on the truck. And can you NOT use brush script AND comic sans on the same truck ... If I find out who exactly does this ... I swear I might snap and track that person down to beat that person with their keyboard.
4. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT INFORMATION. I already addressed this above, but I think this one goes double. The most errors I see in the form of incorrect numbers, names, colors, signs, whatever ... is from people who just do cut vinyl. I Despise this. It takes more time to match sizing, vinyl and typefaces than it does to cut/weed/mask/install one or two numbers that someone couldn't be bothered with to ask the person "is this all correct" If you can't be bothered with this simple task ... see fix to number one.
In all this week I alone took care of 19 rigs that had all these issues ... I would like to say this is not average, BUT IT IS. I know that not every job can be an exciting opportunity for amazing signage, but what the frak people. We are not the cheapest around ... by far ... but when most shops take 2 weeks to do simple lettering you would think they wouldn't have some of the most basic of issues. I do your jobs in an hour (two if I have to remove your crappy lettering)
I do thank you so much for the work ... you do such a crappy job that my basic lettering jobs seem amazing to them and I get more work and referrals than I can shake a stick at sometimes. But make no mistake ... you belong in a job that doesn't require brain power since little to no effort is made in the use of that department. And I wish I had the equipment and the room for said equipment that most shops do not seem to know how to use to the machines fullest. I would be more than happy to take your equipment and actually use it effectively.
Again, this isn't at everyone ... I see some great signs come across my front door every week that I'm sad to remove, but people change companies or trucks so they can't stay. I also know some people want vehicle graphics and don't want to pay ... or replace everything. But week after week I see these same issues and it's no wonder that people see our work as not worth the money.
Now I really can't remember how many times in the last year alone I've had to replace or fix or correct others shops graphics but COME ON! This last week alone I've had 3 rigs come in who had graphics done by their "local guy" that was digitally printed but now the lettering faded to nothing but a big blob of white because they took it through a truck wash and they used acid on it .... but NOOOO ... the sign shop never mentioned a damn thing about laminated to protect that lettering OR about how they shouldn't use truck washes that RECYCLE THEIR ACID FILLED WATER that will kill their lettering. Thank you SOOO much. I also had 6 trucks come in that someone with a print/cut system got a VIN wrong asking if I could make what they had exactly ... but correctly ... couldn't because of no solvent printer in the shop and not having time to send it to the wholesaler. but come on ... it's a fricken VIN ... it's in the door, it takes 5 seconds for you to say "hey driver, is this information correct" or 30 seconds to run out there, open their door and check their plate. Don't be lazy.
NOW FOR (lack of) DESIGN WORK. If you have a $20k+ investment in equipment ... please learn design 101 ... spend $1k more and learn to do more than an outline and bevel on lettering ... also learn to avoid turning signage schizophrenic with 3 or 4 typefaces on one company name ... and for the love of all that is unholy why the crap would you use 3 drop shadows all in different directions ON THE SAME ITEM. And lastly on that subject, if you DO have a print and cut system ... make sure you know how to align your print ... I'm completely tired of seeing graphics cut with an 1/8" misalignment to the border.
NOW to all you vinyl monkeys out there ... I hope you do read this ... I know your chinese plotter was a good starting point but here are a few things to consider when someone ELSE has to re-do your crappy job since you don't know how to do more than just use arial, cut, weed, mask and ... obviously must not know how to use a ruler.
1. INTERMEDIATE VINYL IS NOT DESIGNED FOR VEHICLES ... High performance costs a tiny bit more and won't DIE in a year. Please do realize this or QUIT your 'job' and go work at mc donalds ... they have pretty little pictures for everything so you don't need to read or think.
2. TAPE MEASURES ARE ESSENTIAL, NOT OPTIONAL. If you can not make a graphic be in the same place from one side of a vehicle to the other ... see fix to number one. I hate you the most for this.
3. Just because someone says they have one thing on the vehicle (a vin, a 'fire extinguisher inside', whatever) doesn't mean it will match what you put on (both in color or typeface) it is your job to convince them that it will look BETTER not to leave that 10 year old 'chrome' vin on the truck. And can you NOT use brush script AND comic sans on the same truck ... If I find out who exactly does this ... I swear I might snap and track that person down to beat that person with their keyboard.
4. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT INFORMATION. I already addressed this above, but I think this one goes double. The most errors I see in the form of incorrect numbers, names, colors, signs, whatever ... is from people who just do cut vinyl. I Despise this. It takes more time to match sizing, vinyl and typefaces than it does to cut/weed/mask/install one or two numbers that someone couldn't be bothered with to ask the person "is this all correct" If you can't be bothered with this simple task ... see fix to number one.
In all this week I alone took care of 19 rigs that had all these issues ... I would like to say this is not average, BUT IT IS. I know that not every job can be an exciting opportunity for amazing signage, but what the frak people. We are not the cheapest around ... by far ... but when most shops take 2 weeks to do simple lettering you would think they wouldn't have some of the most basic of issues. I do your jobs in an hour (two if I have to remove your crappy lettering)
I do thank you so much for the work ... you do such a crappy job that my basic lettering jobs seem amazing to them and I get more work and referrals than I can shake a stick at sometimes. But make no mistake ... you belong in a job that doesn't require brain power since little to no effort is made in the use of that department. And I wish I had the equipment and the room for said equipment that most shops do not seem to know how to use to the machines fullest. I would be more than happy to take your equipment and actually use it effectively.
Again, this isn't at everyone ... I see some great signs come across my front door every week that I'm sad to remove, but people change companies or trucks so they can't stay. I also know some people want vehicle graphics and don't want to pay ... or replace everything. But week after week I see these same issues and it's no wonder that people see our work as not worth the money.
