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Vinyl and similar products applied without a heat press => Cold Vinyl => Topic started by: mk162 on July 26, 2016, 01:42:57 PM

Title: Stencil?
Post by: mk162 on July 26, 2016, 01:42:57 PM
I have a customer that wants some reusable stencils for marking.  Any idea what I need on a vinyl cutter?  Will sandblast mask work?
Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: Frog on July 26, 2016, 01:56:04 PM
Begs the question, how is he going to use the stencils?
Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: mk162 on July 26, 2016, 01:57:50 PM
Well first frog, he is a she, so don't assume. ;)

They want to spray paint their logo on poured cement and block walls at their worksites.
Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: KevWilso on July 26, 2016, 02:00:32 PM
You could do vinyl...... Not sure how reusable it would be though..  A better option would be just laser cut a piece of ply wood; if you have access to a laser cutter.
Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: mimosatexas on July 26, 2016, 02:19:11 PM
Thats what I would suggest.  Laser cut something thicker, wood or chipboard, then use spray adhesive on the back.
Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: mk162 on July 26, 2016, 02:24:51 PM
I found some mylar that's pretty thick.  I can back it with vinyl for cutting purposes.

Or maybe I'll just break down and get that laser cutter i've been wanting. ;)
Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: Frog on July 26, 2016, 02:32:13 PM
In the old days, we hand cut heavy card stock.
How about sending it through a cutter with a cutting mat?
btw, when I ran campaign posters, the hot stuff was called "milk carton stock". It held up the best.
Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: mk162 on July 26, 2016, 02:34:55 PM
Yeah, I was going to use a couple layers of crappy old vinyl as the cutting matt.  We'll see if it works.  Worst case I will have a roll of mylar floating around, just in case the need arises for semi-rigid plastic sheeting...
Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: royster13 on July 26, 2016, 02:36:22 PM
Do you really want to be in the "paint stencil" business or are you just wasting a lot of time you could be using to market your strengths?....
Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: Frog on July 26, 2016, 02:37:44 PM
Do you really want to be in the "paint stencil" business or are you just wasting a lot of time you could be using to market your strengths?....

Remember that this particular customer has been identified as a "she" so Brad may well be going beyond the normal call of duty.
Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: mimosatexas on July 26, 2016, 02:41:51 PM
Do you really want to be in the "paint stencil" business or are you just wasting a lot of time you could be using to market your strengths?....

Not every job is about squeezing out as much profit as possible in the most efficient way...

I would close up shop immediately if I wasn't allowed to actually be creative and tinker with crap.  That's why I got into this business, not to get rich.
Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: mk162 on July 26, 2016, 02:54:06 PM
They are in our top 5 customers and frankly top 3 favorite customers.  I am not looking to make anything on it, just looking to stay in front of the other suppliers that are banging on their doors weekly.

I'm doing OK on the 2 other orders they have in house right now.

Also, it's a challenge...and sometimes I like something out of my wheelhouse.
Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: royster13 on July 26, 2016, 02:56:40 PM
Do you really want to be in the "paint stencil" business or are you just wasting a lot of time you could be using to market your strengths?....

Not every job is about squeezing out as much profit as possible in the most efficient way...

I would close up shop immediately if I wasn't allowed to actually be creative and tinker with crap.  That's why I got into this business, not to get rich.

I have little or no desire to be creative so I do not veer out of my niches (magnets & stadium cups are over 80% of my sales these days) very often....But great for those who want to.....
Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: Homer on July 26, 2016, 03:01:22 PM
thin styrene, like .020, run it through the plotter on multi pass, 3 or 4 cuts should do it...same blade you use for that cad cut heat press vinyl crap...45 degree I think

spray glue on the back and stick it to the substrate, spray it..peel off slowly.


OR...loose(ish) mesh screen on a screen, coat and expose as usual. spray glue the back of that and have a go. mesh must be loose or it won't stick..so this is where a wood frame gets used... ;D


Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: royster13 on July 26, 2016, 03:02:13 PM
They are in our top 5 customers and frankly top 3 favorite customers.  I am not looking to make anything on it, just looking to stay in front of the other suppliers that are banging on their doors weekly.

I'm doing OK on the 2 other orders they have in house right now.

Also, it's a challenge...and sometimes I like something out of my wheelhouse.

If you are doing a good job of what you are currently selling them, IMO there is little chance saying no to a "specialty item" will get you in trouble.....This is based on my many years in business....And while my local business is not much these days, I have little fear of sending an inquiry to a local competitor....I know my strengths.....Good luck....
Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: mk162 on July 26, 2016, 03:11:14 PM
They are in our top 5 customers and frankly top 3 favorite customers.  I am not looking to make anything on it, just looking to stay in front of the other suppliers that are banging on their doors weekly.

I'm doing OK on the 2 other orders they have in house right now.

Also, it's a challenge...and sometimes I like something out of my wheelhouse.

If you are doing a good job of what you are currently selling them, IMO there is little chance saying no to a "specialty item" will get you in trouble.....This is based on my many years in business....And while my local business is not much these days, I have little fear of sending an inquiry to a local competitor....I know my strengths.....Good luck....

Hey, thanks for the advice, but I don't see in there any tips on making a stencil on a plotter like I had asked for.
Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: Doug S on July 26, 2016, 04:52:19 PM
For our local school, I cut a vinyl decal and applied it to PVC board and then with a stencil knife carefully cut around the vinyl edges making sure to leave little connecting points so it would hold the centers.  It was a pain but the school has been great for our business even though there is several other printers they could choose from so going out of the way a little was a small price to pay.

That being said, I wouldn't want to be in the stencil making business.
Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: mk162 on July 29, 2016, 10:22:29 AM
I went with Homer's tips and it worked well.  It wasn't the easiest thing I've done, but we had fun messing around with it.

I have a couple sheets of mylar shipping in and I think I am going to play around with those as well. 

In the end the customer was happy and I dropped off their stencil with their $2500 order of tees and embroidery. 
Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: balloonguy on February 23, 2021, 09:36:35 AM
thin styrene, like .020, run it through the plotter on multi pass, 3 or 4 cuts should do it...same blade you use for that cad cut heat press vinyl crap...45 degree I think

Any idea if the multi pass feature is an option on the roland gd-24? I have a customer looking for a 7' long stencil. I was thinking of plotting in to card stock but I am open to any ideas...
Thanks,

Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: Homer on February 23, 2021, 01:36:52 PM
thin styrene, like .020, run it through the plotter on multi pass, 3 or 4 cuts should do it...same blade you use for that cad cut heat press vinyl crap...45 degree I think

Any idea if the multi pass feature is an option on the roland gd-24? I have a customer looking for a 7' long stencil. I was thinking of plotting in to card stock but I am open to any ideas...
Thanks,

 ... That info would be in your RIP program, not the cutter itself. I would bet you have that option, that's a very basic feature.
Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: mooseman on February 24, 2021, 09:13:34 AM
my stupid brain says simply go to SIGNS365 but a heavy 15 oz  banner printed with their logo sell tham the banner and throw in a free pair of scissors and an Exacto knife and let her cut it out.
Flexible, reusable and most likely cleanable...................moosegoldberg strikes again
Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: Dottonedan on February 26, 2021, 09:28:15 AM
In the old days, we hand cut heavy card stock.
How about sending it through a cutter with a cutting mat?
btw, when I ran campaign posters, the hot stuff was called "milk carton stock". It held up the best.


I think that Milk carton stuff (Plastic) would be best. After so many sprays of paint on the cement, the paint can peal off of the stencil really easy that way.
Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: Dottonedan on February 26, 2021, 09:29:06 AM
Just realized how old this post was. LOL.. I think it’s taken care of by now.
Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: mk162 on February 26, 2021, 10:25:27 AM
Just realized how old this post was. LOL.. I think it’s taken care of by now.

Yes, yes it was. ;)
Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: Frog on February 26, 2021, 10:31:36 AM
And my milk carton material was not plastic but coated paper.
Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: mk162 on February 26, 2021, 11:13:12 AM
And my milk carton material was not plastic but coated paper.

We had milk cartons in school, my wife had plastic bags of milk.  That sounds like a really bad idea.
Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: balloonguy on February 26, 2021, 11:22:33 AM
It was a dead thread but I revived it. I ended up buying some poster board sized plastic sheets from Micheal's. I never did figure out multiple passes on the gs-24 but it worked with about 3x the pressure that I use for htv. The customer is happy and I made a few bucks... All good. I thank you all again for the all the help.
Have a great weekend.
Title: Re: Stencil?
Post by: Frog on February 26, 2021, 11:41:37 AM
And my milk carton material was not plastic but coated paper.

We had milk cartons in school, my wife had plastic bags of milk.  That sounds like a really bad idea.

Major stray from the original subject, but the advent of large plastic bags of milk for dispensers, was a big deal for restaurants. I also seem to remember really old milk cartons as "waxy" but eventually, a coating that though waterproof (and weatherproof), allowed printing with standard inks. A real break-though in the campaign sign game. At the time, mid-seventies, one particular Bay Area company, COGS (Campaign Outdoor Graphics Service) had the market cornered on this material, and used various flat stock printers throughout the area to print, two of which I worked at in my former life.