Custom MS Office road sign lasered on an electronic vinyl cutter

[Peter]

Have you ever had custom road sign letters (only) lasered using any
electronic vinyl cutter (onto sticky peel-off letters only)?
I want to make a road sign from an electronic vinyl cutter, which is how
they make road signs of just all the letters (no background is printed).

I will be using Calibre on Windows and then MS Office on Windows to
customize these PDF->MSOffice->PDF templates provided by the DOT.
https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/shsm_interim/

These electric vinyl cutters cut the letters out of a sheet of vinyl with a
laser and you get one sheet of material that you peel off all the letters
in a single step and place ONLY THOSE LETTERS onto the sign background.

It's not the kind of 1-piece vinyl sign you put on the side of your car.
Or the kind of 1-piece vinyl sign you put on your lawn to promote politics.

You peel the letters off their background in one step, and then you lay
those cutout sticky vinyl letters onto the sign background where the
background is not affected (usually the background is white or red).

The background of the sign remains what it was - as only the letters are
transferred to that sign background - where they peel away from the vinyl.

Anyone know of an Internet printer that uses the vinyl cutter process?

[Char Jackson]

Post by Peter
Have you ever had custom road sign letters (only) lasered using any
electronic vinyl cutter (onto sticky peel-off letters only)?
I want to make a road sign from an electronic vinyl cutter, which is how
they make road signs of just all the letters (no background is printed).
I will be using Calibre on Windows and then MS Office on Windows to
customize these PDF->MSOffice->PDF templates provided by the DOT.
https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/shsm_interim/
These electric vinyl cutters cut the letters out of a sheet of vinyl with a
laser and you get one sheet of material that you peel off all the letters
in a single step and place ONLY THOSE LETTERS onto the sign background.
It's not the kind of 1-piece vinyl sign you put on the side of your car.
Or the kind of 1-piece vinyl sign you put on your lawn to promote politics.
You peel the letters off their background in one step, and then you lay
those cutout sticky vinyl letters onto the sign background where the
background is not affected (usually the background is white or red).
The background of the sign remains what it was - as only the letters are
transferred to that sign background - where they peel away from the vinyl.
Anyone know of an Internet printer that uses the vinyl cutter process?

Internet printer? No, but there have been a slew of Youtube videos lately where
they use a laser engraver/cutter to cut vinyl into various shapes, including
letters.

I'm not sure where I saw the vinyl being cut, but it could have been on the
"Sawdust and Splinters" Youtube channel, or another channel that she referred to
in one of her videos. She's been testing a bunch of laser engraver/cutters
recently. Apparently, they're becoming quite affordable.

Sawdust and Splinters channel
https://www.youtube.com/@woodworkingwithSkyler

[Paul in Houston TX]

Post by Peter
Have you ever had custom road sign letters (only) lasered using any
electronic vinyl cutter (onto sticky peel-off letters only)?
I want to make a road sign from an electronic vinyl cutter, which is how
they make road signs of just all the letters (no background is printed).
I will be using Calibre on Windows and then MS Office on Windows to
customize these PDF->MSOffice->PDF templates provided by the DOT.
https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/shsm_interim/
These electric vinyl cutters cut the letters out of a sheet of vinyl with a
laser and you get one sheet of material that you peel off all the letters
in a single step and place ONLY THOSE LETTERS onto the sign background.
It's not the kind of 1-piece vinyl sign you put on the side of your car.
Or the kind of 1-piece vinyl sign you put on your lawn to promote politics.
You peel the letters off their background in one step, and then you lay
those cutout sticky vinyl letters onto the sign background where the
background is not affected (usually the background is white or red).
The background of the sign remains what it was - as only the letters are
transferred to that sign background - where they peel away from the vinyl.
Anyone know of an Internet printer that uses the vinyl cutter process?

My employer purchases about $3k per month of vinyl letters for
regulatory lettering and signs from 5 or 6 suppliers. AFAIK, all use
knife type cutters. I did not know there was a laser vinyl cutter and
don't think that a laser would work very well with vinyl. There are
lots of knife type vinyl cutters available but I don't know of any that
allow use over the internet.

[Peter]

Post by Paul in Houston TX

Post by Peter
Anyone know of an Internet printer that uses the vinyl cutter process?

My employer purchases about $3k per month of vinyl letters for
regulatory lettering and signs from 5 or 6 suppliers. AFAIK, all use
knife type cutters. I did not know there was a laser vinyl cutter and
don't think that a laser would work very well with vinyl. There are
lots of knife type vinyl cutters available but I don't know of any that
allow use over the internet.

A neighbor's kid, while he was in high school, took graphics arts and made
a bunch of signs for us that were this vinyl letter type you pull off.

I don't know what cut the letters - but I assumed it was a laser as they
were cut perfectly out of the thin layer of vinyl sheeting without error.

I don't know what it's called so I may have used the wrong names for it.
You tell them the color and you give them the PPT of the desired sign.

What comes back is a sheet of three-layers, the middle layer being the
vinyl letters that you pull up all at once from the sticky side and you lay
the entire sheet of letters backward, comprising the entire sign,
(including borders) onto the reflective white metal sign material.

Then you press it all onto that reflective metal sign and pull off the
clear plastic backing and that becomes a custom professional looking sign.

We were told that for legal reasons the main letters had to be 2 inches
tall at least, and the penal code had to be mentioned somewhere and we were
advised to use RoadGeek or Bahnshrift fonts to comply with DOT standards.

I just want to make more of those signs but the kid is in college now.

[Bradley]

Post by Paul in Houston TX
AFAIK, all use
knife type cutters. I did not know there was a laser vinyl cutter and
don't think that a laser would work very well with vinyl.

This says they're all knife cutters but I don't think that matters for the
OP because he just wants them cut any way that they cut adhesive vinyl.

https://ncwoodworker.net/forums/index.php?threads/how-to-laser-cut-self-adhesive-vinyl-letters.51608/

[Grant Taylor]

Post by Peter
Anyone know of an Internet printer that uses the vinyl cutter process?

I'm confident that there are multiple business that do this and make the
service accessible (in a way) over the Internet.

That being said, I don't know that it would appear as a network printer.
Usually you upload a file.

I would expect any decently sized copy / print shop like Kinkos to be
able to do this somewhere in the company, even if not at the local
store. At the very least they should be able to help you find someone
to do it.

I'd also expect any sign company to be able to help you.

P.S. I thought I had sent this reply, but it was sitting as a draft, so
I'm sending it now.

[Peter]

Post by Grant Taylor
I would expect any decently sized copy / print shop like Kinkos to be
able to do this somewhere in the company, even if not at the local
store. At the very least they should be able to help you find someone
to do it.
I'd also expect any sign company to be able to help you.}

Well, if it was that easy, I wouldn't have bothered to ask. :)

My local Federal Express/Kinkos only prints a whole sign for you on
corrugated plastic. Not the letters only. And not on reflectorized metal.

I don't want the kinds of plastic signs people put on their front lawns.
And I don't want those magnetic types that people put on their car doors.

Kinkos won't print onto a standard piece of white reflective metal plate.
But I don't want them to print directly onto the sign material anyway.

I just want the vinyl letters.
They're sticky on one side.

You just peel them off the backing and place them in one step on the metal.
I've done it before but I had the local high school do the printing then.

That's not available to me now as the kid taking the class left long ago.

I'm trying to find an outfit where I can upload the sign PDF & they can
ship the printed letters that peel off a sheet that I stick onto the sign.

[Oscar Mayer]

Post by Peter
I'm trying to find an outfit where I can upload the sign PDF & they can
ship the printed letters that peel off a sheet that I stick onto the sign.

The problem isn't finding it but finding it at a good price.

These guys charge an outrageous price for example.
https://www.printmoz.com/vinyl-lettering

A typical 42-inch by 30-inch rectangular sign letter set is $210.
A typical 30-inch by 30-inch diagonal sign letter set is over $150.
A typical 12-inch by 18-inch rectangular sign letter set is $36.

That's just for the vinyl adhesive letters not counting the sign material.
You could probably get a non-custom sign with the metal plate for that.

What is your vinyl lettering made from?
https://www.printmoz.com/vinyl-lettering

Our custom vinyl lettering is made from 2.5 mil polymeric matte white
calendered vinyl coated with a clear permanent acrylic pressure-sensitive
adhesive laminated to a 90# layflat liner.

What is the process of vinyl cutting?
The CNC machine or vinyl cutter makes small intricate passes on the vinyl
material with a knife or blade during the production process. The unwanted
vinyl material is then weaved or "picked" from the adhesive backing,
leaving the desired graphics, logo, or intended design behind, pre spaced,
and ready for the installation of transfer tape. Transfer tape is then
applied over the face of the sticker, which holds the shape of the design
and allows for a more streamlined installation onto the desired surface in
one piece.

How much does it cost to get vinyl cut?
The cost to get vinyl lettering or letters cut is based on the sqft of the
material for the print job.

[Char Jackson]

Post by Peter

Post by Grant Taylor
I would expect any decently sized copy / print shop like Kinkos to be
able to do this somewhere in the company, even if not at the local
store. At the very least they should be able to help you find someone
to do it.
I'd also expect any sign company to be able to help you.}

Well, if it was that easy, I wouldn't have bothered to ask. :)
My local Federal Express/Kinkos only prints a whole sign for you on
corrugated plastic. Not the letters only. And not on reflectorized metal.
I don't want the kinds of plastic signs people put on their front lawns.
And I don't want those magnetic types that people put on their car doors.
Kinkos won't print onto a standard piece of white reflective metal plate.
But I don't want them to print directly onto the sign material anyway.
I just want the vinyl letters.
They're sticky on one side.
You just peel them off the backing and place them in one step on the metal.
I've done it before but I had the local high school do the printing then.
That's not available to me now as the kid taking the class left long ago.
I'm trying to find an outfit where I can upload the sign PDF & they can
ship the printed letters that peel off a sheet that I stick onto the sign.

Are you still having problems with trespassers up there in the hills where you
live?