Sign Supplies Continued...

Sign-Making Software

You'll need sign-making software in order to design the graphics and send the information to the cutter. When determining which software to purchase, you need to consider a number of things. First, what types of graphic products do you want to produce? Do you want to make vinyl stickers, or full-color signs and banners, auto graphics, etc? Next, do you want to deal large-volume or large-format graphics? Finally, what type of market will you be working in? Do you have a market you already sell in consistently, or do you want to bring your current graphic manufacturing in-house? Once you've determined these things, it will give you a better idea of what type of software you'll need.

Shop Supplies

Shop supplies include rolls of vinyl from which to make signs, a corner rounder, for rounding substrate corners (see below for more about substrates), a roller, which is used to roll down vinyl graphics, a rivet brush, which smoothes down vinyl or truck rivets, an edge seal pen, which seals the edges of vinyl lettering so they won't curl off, even if excessively washed and polished, premask tape and a squeegee to help remove bubbles from the vinyl as you prepare to apply it.

Substrates

Substrates are any solid, non-porous surface, such as a glass door, an automobile door or primed and painted wood. You can purchase precut, specially manufactured substrates, which are called blanks. Bright-colored corrugated plastic is often used. Banners are very popular, as are real estate signs and license plates.

By Margaret Evans