The Five Basics for Ordering Cut Vinyl Letters.

Stream-lining your custom vinyl lettering ordering process.

For those of you that do not have "print-ready" (or cut-ready) files at your disposal, but are in the market for purchasing custom vinyl lettering, the next few paragraphs are for you. Cut vinyl lettering is a very popular permanent, yet temporary, form of sign and decal making. Cut vinyl letters can be applied to just about any smooth, non-porous surface that will last for years indoors and outdoors. Cut vinyl lettering is an easy and cost-effective way to advertise on cars, windows, walls, floors and much more without having to invest in a custom paint job. But to effectively purchase cut vinyl lettering, you'll need to have a basic idea of a few different key components, that will make your ordering process easy and less time consuming.

For the average Joe (or Jane) ordering cut vinyl lettering can be a bit confusing when you get down to it, especially when you don't have your own personal graphic designer, that can produce a "print-ready" or "cut-ready" file. When ordering cut vinyl lettering all our customers are asked a few quick questions to help us determine what will best fit their lettering needs. The five key components listed below will give you better insight as to why we ask these questions and will hopefully help in streamlining your ordering experience.

1) SIZE - Pick a size for your letters.

Cut vinyl lettering is priced two ways, the first being, by the height of the lettering you need. To determine the size of your lettering you will need to know the dimensions of the area on which you are placing the lettering. You will also need to know from how far away you want your lettering seen. For every inch in height, lettering can be seen, from about 30 ft. away. So if your lettering needs to be seen from at least 60 feet away, you'd need at least 2 inch tall letters. And keep in mind that all lettering is roughly as wide as it is tall. Read more...

2) CHARACTERS - Count up all the letters of the words you need.

You'll need to know exactly what your lettering needs to say, since it will be priced not only on size, but on the amount of characters needed. You'll have to keep in mind the size of your lettering and also the area that it needs to fit in. If the lettering is too tall you may have difficulty fitting all your words in properly and might have to reduce the size or amount of the letters. Read more...

3) FONT - Choose a font style.

Choosing a font for your lettering is very important as well. There are script fonts and block fonts and while script fonts look nice, they may not read well, especially at smaller sizes. If you are unsure of what type of font you would prefer, we have compiled a small list of fonts that we carry, to help our customers decide on a font for their lettering. We have over 3,000 fonts available to our customers, but the list can help give ideas, for a particular font style. Read more...

4) COLOR - Choose your color.

You'll need to have a color choice in mind for your vinyl letters. We carry a good variety of standard and custom colors as well as reflective lettering options. Choosing colors is pretty straightforward and is completely the customers choice. The only exception would be for window lettering. Dark colors do not read well on windows, especially at night. For all window vinyl applications, we suggest white or another light color, that is the most visible during day and evening hours. See our vinyl color chart for lettering color choices. Read more...

5) VINYL - What will the lettering be applied to? And how long does it need to last?

Choosing your vinyl material is pretty easy when you know what type of surface or substrate it will be adhered too. Most all lettering is ordered using our Standard (Intermediate) vinyl which works great on any smooth non-porous surface and will last for at least 3 - 5 years. If the letters will be installed on a slightly textured surface or on a vehicle, we suggest our Premium (High Performance) vinyl, that will typically last about 5 - 7 years. Read more...

If you have all these key elements figured out before you call around for pricing, you will be able to get the most accurate pricing, as well as make the pricing process simple and easy. If you'd like to place an order, or receive a quote, for cut vinyl letters give us a quick call at (714) 573-9313 or request an quote online.