Hi JB

Thanks for the advice, will give it a try.
Fred

Hi Fred, takes a bit of playing around but once you get the hang of it it can be quite useful. When you are playing with this, try experimenting with 'transparent selection' under 'select' which allows you to move things (a word for eg) without taking anything else with it. (hope I'm not selling snow to eskimos). Also, to save decal paper, -once you have the item done to your satisfaction and ready to print, - print a sample, then sellotape a piece of decal paper slightly larger (allowing for taping) over it exactly (tape left and right ends so head runs smoothly over it, - not top and bottom) then place it back in the printer the same way it came out, and print as normal. This will enable you to use small offcuts and not waste valuable paper. You can spray the decal once ink is dry (I help it with the oven on 50deg C) while still taped to the paper, - makes handling easier.

JB

Hi

Thank you to you all for your advice with regards to vinyl cutters, i have looked at the two that have been suggested, they both seem to have good and bad points, I now feel that as soon as I can I will try finding some suppliers local to me and have a look and give them a try out, before I make my mind up which type of cutter to go for.

Fred

Hi Jbkiwi

Thanks for the info.
So if I have the right I need to get some white transfer paper, then print out the name of the boat in stencil format, back fill in base colour then remove the stencil. I take it that I do all of this in paint.

I will give it a try on some plane paper just to see how it works.

Fred

Hi Fred, you can use waterslide white transfer paper, if you can match the background colour to the part of the boat you are applying it to. I have done this a number of times and it can work quite well, (see lettering on fuselage of plane for eg) I used a stencil type black lettering (you can remove this later) then flood coloured the background red,- once finished, sprayed etc, trimmed closely and applied, (you only need to trim the outside excess, not the individual letters, - although I did do that with the stars as they were easy to cut out).

Takes a bit of mucking around but can be done,- I just used Windows Paint which is pretty basic, - a better system like Corel might be easier. Just make your background colour in a small sample, print and compare etc till it's spot on, (allow for darkening with varnish or lacquer, - test spray your closest sample before printing final decal)

I just did it as a stencil first, but changed it later to the white lettering, as it stood out more. (pics)

JB

Morning Colin

Thank you for your reply.

I have been looking at the Cricut PC2007002 at just under £400 for the cutter and knife cutter.

I will have a more in depth look over the week.

Fred

Good morning Fred, the Cricut machines can go down to 3mm letters in vinyl, the smallest I have done personally is 5mm lettering. And the largest was 500mm.
The Cricut cutting area is 12 inches by 24 inches, so size is only limited by the size of the cutting area.
Cheers Colin.

Morning to you All

Thank you for all your comments.
The thing is I am only looking at doing my own name boards, these are on the small size about 3 - 5mm some need to be in white so for me that means waterslide transfers are a no go.

Bruce 1946 and Scamp I have been to most of my local shops and phoned the rest, most have said that they can not do the size that I am after as it is to small for them in size and number.

Graham93 I have had a look at there site and going on there info the smallest that they do is one inch.

Yorkshire Lass and Colin H will the one's that you have put forward cut down to 3 - 5mm ?

Thank you all for your comments and advice.

Fred

How thick is the vinyl? and how large of piece are you cutting? Any sign shop should be able to do it. A lot cheaper than buying a machine.

I have used the local vehicle sign writer to print vinyl text for my model RAF fire tender.

I’ve got a Brother DX Scan and cut. Choose from hundreds of fonts and designs. Even the Wife can use it for craft designs. Check it out on YouTube. Do lettering and numbers for other club members to help pay its way.

Sorry I cant offer any advice Fred, but I will be following this thread with interest as I have a similar need to be able to make my own stickers/decals.
Bob.

Hi Fred,

I ordered on-line from a company in Thurso. Specified the text, font colour and length of the name plate I wanted. It arrived in a couple of days and fitted exactly.

Graham93

Good morning Fred.
My wife has a range of Sizzix machines that she uses for various crafts, but they are limited to what cutting dies are available.
So wanting a machine that could cut various materials and computer driven I bought a Cricut Maker, which we have used for card, thin ply, thin acrylic and self adhesive vinyl with any problems.
All of the above are available from Hobbycraft stores and on line.
Hope this is is helpful, cheers Colin.