White cut vinyl for smaller decals

[TotalSign]

I have a customer that uses a lot of indoor/short term white cut vinyl decals. I have used tape technologies 2 mil and 3 mil, and Grimco bright line and find its a lot harder to weed the white than any other color. Is there a film (prefer calendared, they hold up and cheaper) that is easier to weed? I'm only going down to 1/2" letters.

 

[Vinylman]

I have a customer that uses a lot of indoor/short term white cut vinyl decals. I have used tape technologies 2 mil and 3 mil, and Grimco bright line and find its a lot harder to weed the white than any other color. Is there a film (prefer calendared, they hold up and cheaper) that is easier to weed? I'm only going down to 1/2" letters.

Therein lies your problems!

Using HP vinyl on every job that has been produced in my shop in the last 15-17 years, I almost never have weeding problems with san serif style letters, even down to 1/4" or some times smaller. [being penny wise and pound foolish, never really pays off] at least that is what my father used to say.

Another trick I have used on occasion is to put the UNWEEDED vinyl in the freezer for about 15-30 minutes, then let it come back to room temperature before weeding. It causes the vinyl to pull back from the cut lies slightly, and makes the weeding easier.

Another trick used a few times is to cut weed lines horizontally between each line of copy. This lessens the chance of pulling letters from another area when you aren't watching carefully.

 

[Jillbeans]

I love Oracal white (any number) it is on a blue backer paper thus making it much easier to weed/see.
Love....Jill

 

[MikePro]

if weeding is an issue for smaller lettering:
try just weeding out the centers, mask and apply lightly... and then remove the rest of the negative afterwards.

 

[edgette]

For the cheap calendered stuff I like avery a4. It has the blue backing as well and weeds out very nicely for small stuff. I go down in size to 1/4" without much hassle, 1/2" should be no problem at all as long as your cutter is doing it's job.

 

[royster13]

What kind of cutter?....Some cutters just do not keep pressure consistent....Cut a small section, remove all the vinyl and look for marks in the backing paper....They should be close non existent and consistent all over....

How is your blade?.....If it is not sharp you cuts may not be complete......Cut a section and look at the vinyl under magnification....Look to see if your cuts are complete....

How is your cutting strip?.....A bad cutting strip can cause incomplete and inconsistent cuts....

 

[anotherdog]

Therein lies your problems!

Another trick I have used on occasion is to put the UNWEEDED vinyl in the freezer for about 15-30 minutes, then let it come back to room temperature before weeding. It causes the vinyl to pull back from the cut lies slightly, and makes the weeding easier.

Ah?
I shall have to give this one a try.
Hit my target of learning one new thing a day!

 

[TMK Matt]

Ok guys after reading the freezer tip I tried it this evening, I can say that I am impressed how easy it was after being in the freezer for 15-20 minutes and an equal amount of time warming back up!! Thanks for the tip.