Easily make vinyl signs for almost any surface.
Create your own vinyl signs to use on walls, plaques or on any sign surface made of glass, wood, plastic or metal. Purchase an inexpensive vinyl cutter, or make your sign design and send it to a business that specializes in vinyl sign cutting. You can also choose from many pre-made fonts and signs. Write your own sign saying, or use a famous quote or saying.
Instructions
Using a Vinyl Cutter
1. Install the cutting program, drivers and any graphic program plug-ins that come with your vinyl cutter. Insert the CD that came with your vinyl cutter into your computer's CD-ROM drive. Wait for the program to start automatically, and follow the on-screen installation instructions.
2. Create the sign design in the graphics program that came with your vinyl cutter, or use imaging software. If you don't have imaging software installed, download a free software program such as Paint or Gimp (see links in Resources section). Print your sign on regular paper, and make any adjustments to the size. If your sign is large, you may need to print each letter separately.
3. Insert the vinyl into the vinyl cutter using the friction feed rollers and the side adjustment dial. Click the "Cut" icon located in the window of your cutting program, or locate it on the top tool bar of your imaging software. (It will be a new icon placed there by the plug-in you installed.) If you cant find the icon, save your design as a .jpg and open the file in the cutting program. Wait for the vinyl cutter to finish cutting the sign. Remove the vinyl from the cutter using the friction feed rollers and side adjustment dial.
4. Remove all the unwanted vinyl from the sign. Hold a corner of the vinyl, and pull it up from the backing paper, leaving your sign letters on the backing paper. Weed out any excess vinyl from the spaces between the letters using the razor knife or your fingernail to help pick the pieces from between the letters.
5. Unroll the transfer tape, and use scissors to cut a piece large enough to cover your sign letters. (Transfer tape looks like a giant roll of masking tape.) Place the tape over your vinyl sign, and smooth it out using a squeegee applicator until you have fixed it to the sign. Pull the transfer tape from the paper backing, and your sign will be attached to the transfer tape.
6. Spray application fluid on your sign surface to keep the sign from sticking to the surface for 20 to 30 seconds, allowing you to position the letters correctly before they stick into place. Position the transfer tape over the sign surface you plan to use. This can be cardboard, plastic board, plastic, glass, metal or wood. Apply pressure to the back of the transfer tape using your squeegee, and push out any air bubbles. Pull the corner of the application tape up until only the vinyl sign is left on the surface. Adjust the letters quickly before the application fluid dries, if needed.
Purchase Pre-Cut Vinyl Sign
7. Design your vinyl sign using the graphics program on your computer or one of the free graphics programs linked in the Resources section if you want a customized vinyl sign. Print the sign on regular paper to ensure your sign is the size you want. Make the necessary adjustments.
8. Purchase the services of a vinyl lettering retailer, and either send in your own customized design or choose one the retailer provides on its website. Wait for the vinyl sign to arrive.
9. Draw a line with a pencil where you want the vinyl letters to sit. Peel the backing form the letters, and center them on the surface you want to use as the sign. Rub the backing paper of the letters with the edge of a ruler or squeegee. Peel the backing off the letters starting at one corner. Rub the letters with the ruler to remove any air bubbles.
