The Elvis Legacy

I have been using Corel Draw X5 with the CM2 plug in to cut vinyl ever since I got started cutting vinyl (getting close to a year). Im running it on Vista and have had no problems until yesterday. Everytime I try to open up the CM2 plug in, it comes up with a NO ACTIVE DOCUMENT error. I have tried uninstalling CM2 and reinstalling but I have had no success. Has anyone else had this problem? Any known solutions?

What are the best places to get Car tags for sublimation?

This pic is of about 1.5 inch lettering cut on my graphtec CE 5000. Is this indicative of needing to change the blade or perhaps another problem? All the cut lines are smooth and cleanly cut with the exception of at the corners as you can see.... For cutting regular vinyl, is it better to use a 45 or 60 degree blade?

Thanks! I will check that out asap!

I have a customer that contacted me after having replaced some vinyl graphics on his business door. He stated that when there is dew outside that images from the old vinyl show up on the glass. Does anyone know of a way to get these old images to stop appearing when the windows have dew on them?

Thanks for the input, bamafan2277, but there is definitely no glue there. I used a razor blade and alcohol to clean when I applied the new vinyl. The images they are seeing are not visible AT ALL unless it is moist with dew outside. By the way, nice to see a bama fan on here...I live in...A U B U R N myself...lol

Welcome, Ray...from Auburn! War Eagle!

Does anyone know of a USA wholesaler for Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) Tshirts or polos?

https://www.alphabroder.com/cgi-bin/online/webshr/prod-detail.w?sr=N7117L&currentColor=38

Here are a few pics of a door I etched yesterday...

I did it the hard way...lol I did use a compressor with a sandblasting gun...the gun came with a sandblasting cabinet from HF. I just got a disposable painting coveralls with a hood...a dust mask and goggles and blasted it without removing the door. I used sand instead of AO because I didnt want to deal with all the black dust everywhere.

I have been looking into getting an Epson printer for making designs for t shirts. I have a roll of http://www.stahls.com/printable-heat-transfer-material-express-print and was wondering if I can print on this with the Epson or if I need to use eco-solvent ink on it. I was also looking at the Epson WF 7610 mainly for the larger print size (13 x 19). I also see the Epson Artisan 1430 has the same print size. Any suggestions on one or the other?

I have not started sublimating just yet but was interested in doing the cell phone cases and the license plates. I know that Conde sells the License plates for almost $4 each if Im not mistaken. I then saw some for sale on ebay for a little over $1 each. Is this a situation where you get what you pay for? Are there different qualities of substrates?

This is my first order for Tshirts. Im having difficulty trying to decide which way to put the design on. For the white and red flag and text at the bottom, would you use HPV? Should I have screen print transfers made? Should I have the whole thing digitally printed? I am going to have the "Alabama" digitally printed and add after the red and white is applied. Would it be better to have the entire graphic printed off and transfer paper? How much would you charge for 15 shirts to start off with? They want these on gray Beefy Ts. Just to clarify, the Alabama is NOT going to look like it does on this pic...

When printing on vinyl to heat press onto a shirt, you would use ink jet ink or eco solvent ink depending on the printer you have. Sublimation ink would not be used uniess you are using sub paper and pressing on a sub garment.

Looks Great!

Until I make a decision on what printer I am gonna purchase (and round the funds up), I have found several places that I can get digitally printed banners for extremely low cost (1.75 sf and for larger ones as low as .90 sf). I have not found a place that will print vinyl decals for graphics on the side of work vehicle or larger window graphics at a comparable price. Any suggestions?

Has anyone had any previous sales and installs for these bright led lights that outline store front windows? Any suggestions on suppliers and price ranges to sell them at?

Hey Folks! I am eventually gonna be opening my sign shop for real before long. Just retired for the police department and raring to go. I have the opportunity to get a decent job for some lighted cabinets on the front of some strip mall stores. There is a local sign guy that was suppose to give me some tips and walk me thru a project like this in exchange for a similar job that I passed on to him where he made a nice lil profit. I thought it was a fair trade... Well...he took the job...made the money...and left me completely out of the loop. Go figure. I have a manufacturer that I can go to to get the sign made. The only thing holding me back from making this deal is how to get it installed. The local guy was SUPPOSE to introduce me to a 3rd party that installs all of his signs...DIDNT HAPPEN. Can anyone give me any tips on where I might be able to find someone qualified to install signs? The only thing I know to do is contact other sign companies that do it themselves...but I kinda think that is a risky move just in case they want to move in and take the job from me blah blah blah... I just have no idea where to even start...

I am making two outdoor signs that measure 66" ft tall by 78" feet wide. I am using 4x8 sheets of Max metal. By doing this, I have to panel a 48" x 78" piece with a 18" x 78". My idea for doing this would be to lay the two pieces face down...and glue down about a 12" wide strip of max metal on the back over the seam. I was advised by a fellow local sign maker that he uses a silicone for the "glue". If there is anyone that has done this type of thing...can you please tell me how you would do it? and what type of adhesive you would use... These signs are going up in a frame of a pre existing sign cabinet 10 ft off the ground if that may make any difference...

After hitting HF and purchasing several kinds of adheasives, I am happy to report that what worked wonderfully for me was gorilla glue. If you use it though, make sure you cover up the seam with some tape or something due to the fact that the gorilla glue expands some when drying and it may very well seep up into the seam. Other than that issue, it was da bomb and the sign was set and ready to add vinyl to within an hour! As for the silicone? I must not have used the right product because I used that first and even after a full 24 hours, I was not comfortable that it was going to hold.

I just recently purchased a heat press. Will be purchasing a large format printer/cutter in the near future. I was wondering if anyone cared to share their experience with printing tshirt designs on the printable heat press vinyl and how the finished products turn out. Thanks!

Im 45. Will be retiring from the police department in one week from tomorrow after 23 yrs. Mixed feelings but excited about building a profitable sign shop!