Vinyl vs. Printing

[NY Mark]

Hello All, I started my journey in sign making in about 2000, back then vehicle graphics were easier due to the many flat panels available, now it's a nightmare.....Printing for "wraps" was in the infant stages as the UV inks were not something I would advise for long term fade.

I left the Biz for a while to go back to school for Engineering, re-entering signage from a more Electrical and Pylon design angle. I noticed that inks had come ALONG way in a short time.

Now that I am retired, and have a lucrative side hustle, I am finding that a lot of the vehicle graphics I quote for I get solely because I can Design, Produce, and Install in Half the time it takes for a Printed Wrap.

Don't get me wrong, Wraps are COOL and if the client can afford it I will gladly refer them to a shop in my area, but I would say that 7/10 will give me the work.

I think Photoshop and any program that can produce awesome gradients and shadows to produce AMAZING results has it's place. What I think is missing is the skill set for vinyl.

I see the lost art of Outlines, drop shadows, and correct color choices all the time, and don't get me started on Font usage!

I admire a good Wrap, and applaud you people that can and do turn a profit, but I also still see Hand painted and lettered signs that invoke a memory of days gone. They still inspire me when I get out the old books and see there work. Those books are still available online.

In closing, I have to say that after 24 years I still see 95% of the signs I have made still looking Good, with Oracal 751.....(Yes Tomato Red too)....

 

[Gino]

Upstate new york is most likely the reason.

When painting was the only vehicle for lettering, our stuff and most everyone else's would last between 15 & 20 years, but I had some that lasted 25 years quite easily. In fact there's one I was part of painting that's been up since late 1980s and still looks pretty good. However, most paint today is like painting with snot.

 

[unclebun]

I too use a lot more cut vinyl than wraps. Unfortunately nowadays customers seemed to have picked up the lingo of calling everything a wrap, so often they will call or come in saying they want a wrap on their vehicle. But if you take the time to explain to them the difference between a wrap and lettering and show them examples of both, they will admit that what they really wanted was lettering, particularly when you show them how lettering usually can provide better, more cost-effective advertising for them that will last far longer. In addition so many wraps are designed to where $3500 later people seeing the vehicle will have no idea what was being advertised--but it looks cool.

What really kills me is the shops that only have one tool, so no matter whether they have a screw, a nail, or a bolt, they hammer it in. Solid colored cut lettering with that 1/8" white outline around everything. SMH.

 

[Gino]

I too use a lot more cut vinyl than wraps. Unfortunately nowadays customers seemed to have picked up the lingo of calling everything a wrap, so often they will call or come in saying they want a wrap on their vehicle. But if you take the time to explain to them the difference between a wrap and lettering and show them examples of both, they will admit that what they really wanted was lettering, particularly when you show them how lettering usually can provide better, more cost-effective advertising for them that will last far longer. In addition so many wraps are designed to where $3500 later people seeing the vehicle will have no idea what was being advertised--but it looks cool.

What really kills me is the shops that only have one tool, so no matter whether they have a screw, a nail, or a bolt, they hammer it in. Solid colored cut lettering with that 1/8" white outline around everything. SMH.

All fasteners are meant to be hammered in........ but to remove, you screw them out.

 

[Billct2]

I agree. We still do lots of cut vinyl graphics. And a bunch of out printed stuff is still Gerber Edge with a clear coat. Holds up really well

 

[netsol]

say

I agree. We still do lots of cut vinyl graphics. And a bunch of out printed stuff is still Gerber Edge with a clear coat. Holds up really well

Nothing lasts like edge graphics