deth502

shadowed letters, how do YOU do it?

Recommended Posts

just curious.

the few times ive tried it, i cut the full shadow and laid the letters on it. imo, makes it much more forgiving.

recently ive seen a few signs made up and noticed that the shadows are punched out for the letter, and the letters sit inside. again, imo, this is making alignment needlessly more difficult.

so, sound off,  how do you do shadowed letters, and is there any advantages of punching the letters out?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I just tried to do the cutout method on a 18 wheeler hood, using the "punch out" feature of SBE.....but when layering I found there were mismatches between the top and bottom layer  where the hood would show thru... So I just layered shadow under the numbers without punching out the bottom shadow where the top number overlapped.  It was applied in 84  degree sun in Texas last week, still is on the truck this week thru a snowstorm in Wyoming, so I think I can have faith in its durability.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Print ;):thumbsup:;D

cheater!!  :rolleyes:

so it looks like im good layering them then.

the thing is, i, BY NO MEANS, even come close to thinking im a pro, but i see these signs made up, and i ASSUME that the person in the business of doing it is a "professional" so it makes me wonder if they know something im missing.

now, idk what made me assume that they were pros, imo, it was not a very good job, i could tell right away that they were punched out, as there was far from a perfect fit. i just didnt know if that method was preferable or not.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Bringing up an old thread since I had a similar question. I want the shadow butted up with the top lettering. How do I go about doing this. Laying seems kind of awkward because you can see the entire letter behind the top layer.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

IMO it depends on how you want the design to look at final completion. Of the final look has the lettering touching the shadow then layering works fine and is easier. If you are going to do the knock out method then I always create an empty space between the top image. This is tougher to do alignment on and a budget cutter will struggle cutting that accurately AND if the application isn't on a flat surface you have to align/layer them prior to application but it looks nice if done properly. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now