Vinyl graphics are letters or designs cut from rolls of solid colour vinyl much like the MacTac you might use to line a cupboard shelf.  Vinyl rolls consist of a layer of coloured vinyl plastic that is adhesive on one side and a paper release liner behind.  These rolls are fed through a type of plotter that substitutes a small blade for a pen and uses enough pressure to cut through the vinyl without going through the paper release liner following paths generated from a computer design called a “vector”.

When the plotter has finished scoring the vinyl the next step is to “weed” out the excess pieces that aren’t a part of the image and then apply a transfer tape (like a masking tape) that allows all of the separate pieces to stay together once it is peeled back off the release liner for application.

Once graphic has had the transfer tape applied it’s ready to go.  The transfer tape, and your vinyl graphic, is peeled off the release liner and applied to the surface at which point the transfer tape - which isn’t as sticky as the vinyl adhesive - is removed and thrown away.

Vinyl Graphics, being made of plastic vinyl of course, are not easily degraded by rain and weather elements and, depending on the type used, will last from 3 years up to 9 years.

Generally there are two types of vinyl used: Calendared vinyls are great for flat, vertically mounted signs and cost less than Cast vinyls which are ideal for contoured surfaces like vehicles.

Plotter cut vinyl graphics cannot use raster type image files to cut from and so must either be re-designed or converted to a vector format that the plotter can cut from.  There are commercial programs that can convert raster images to vector but they are notoriously imprecise for straight edges and lettering, and usually require manual work to produce a good result.

Besides being necessary for plotter cutting, vector images are ideal for non-photographic images like logos and lettering because they are resolution independent and will scale to any size without increasing the file size.  The pictures below illustrate what the two types of images would look like if you were to zoom in on them.  The raster image becomes pixilated while the vector image is always crisp no matter how far you zoom in.  Click here for a better explanation of vector graphics.     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vector_graphics

Vinyl media comes in a variety of colours and types which can make for some very creative images.  Apart from the standard solid colours there are also vinyls that have metallic flecks similar to car paints; mirrored chrome & gold; reflectives; brushed aluminum and copper; flourescent; flat finish; patterned vinyls like wood grain, camouflage and gold leaf; etched-glass; and even glow-in-the-dark vinyl!

The possibilities are endless for advertising or artistic expression with the right design.  At Xtreme Inc. we can advise you on the best vinyl graphics for your application as well as design and apply it to your sign or vehicle!  Contact us to find out more.

Although we recommend your vinyl graphic is installed by a professional for best results, a smaller sticker isn’t difficult to apply yourself.  As mentioned earlier, it simply a matter of peeling off the back and sticking it where you want to but what about if it’s going on a curved windshield or you need to make sure it’s as straight as possible?  Remember, you only really get one shot at

applying your sticker!

We’ve put together a couple of quick application guides for smaller stickers so if you are confident in your do-it-yourself abilities check it out, just click on the link below!