Wildgoose

It's also not symmetrical. Maybe it's not supposed to be? just sayin.

What the font is a pretty good source for identifying fonts and there are instructions on how to get the best results on the website. I have mixed success with them to tell the truth. Anything with outlined text as you have posted has a tough time and script fonts are extra hard to get a good read on. I spend a lot of time sorting through my own fonts and over time you can often pick out the font if it's a regular one. I did this with these two. I don't have the exact fonts (if they are both naturals) but the top is probably from the Aachen family. I used my only version Aachen BT and added 3pt stroke and it's awfully close then you will have the offset in yellow. The Customs is also not an exact match but I took Murray Hill Bold BT and threw 30* shear on it and 2pt stroke and that produced something also real close. If I had to bet on it I would say the bottom is Murray Hill Bold Italic but I don't know for sure, could have been done the same way I just faked it in. The top of my C is a little rounder than the one in the pic so it could be something else. Someone may come along who can nail these for you. It's a real challenge sometimes if you need to match exactly. Sometimes you can get close by faking and then modify the last little bit by hand to make it match exactly.

You bet. I don't use it if I can avoid it just because it's one more step and slows you down but I couldn't get by without mine. I have a basic full sized one and a long skinny one about 5"x16" that works great for sweats pant legs and long sleeve shirts. (Those are the worst) I also have a 5"x6" pressing pad that I sometimes use for front crest prints above the R/L beast. Again, PAI extra step getting them in position and all that but priceless when you need them. I have heard that a mouse pad will work great for a press pad. My little one is about twice that thick but was a tad expensive.

Yep, what Jay said. There is no easy button that works very well. Some things will trace real good but most have to be cleaned up afterword to look right. If I have something that I am concerned about (80-90% or more) then I trace it manually. Takes more time but with practice it's not that bad and sometimes you spend just as much time trying to fix a dirty traces as if you had just done it by hand anyway. In the vinyl world, learning to trace (and graphics in general) is like learning to read. You can get by to some extent without those abilities but you will never be able to really excel without learning those skills. It takes a serious amount of time and effort but after you put in the time the rewards are fantastic and you will look back and wonder why it seemed such an obstacle. To mike the OP. You will find that any text that you can re-create rather than try to trace is 10 times better. I will sometimes spend hours finding an exact font and then manipulating it like the original so I can then convert to curves and have a good clean job. Even hand traced text is really hard to get right. For designs, if you can find a single color (B&W) with a good clean white background you stand your best chance at a clean trace. If you decide to learn to trace by hand then import your pic and decrease the opacity of the pic and lock it and then you can draw right over the top. The opacity thing isn't a 'must do' but it helps see your tracing lines. I trace without any fill or stroke and then color after I'm done. i also trace in the order from back colors to front so when i'm done all my layers are already sorted and ready to cut.

Dumb question but where is the center of the g? I vote for stray node too.

I've never had any problems with them. They sometimes have thick seams so you might make sure they aren't holding the platen up. I use a pressing pillow if the seams are going to play a factor.

If you try out a free week of SignCut Pro and use the step-by-step cutting feature you will be fine. You tell the cutter how far to go at a time and it will cut everything in that amount of distance. I wouldn't use it on a whole bunch of text but for long simple stuff it will help your tracking issues. After you push the cut button it takes you to another screen where you can preview and it will run a little demonstration of what it is going to do and you can watch to make sure it's stopping in good spots and make adjustments. I used to have it stop about every 12" on my P-cut and that kept everything nice and tight. Sometimes you can get it to stop right between letters sometimes not but it will help a LOT. One of the best features on the program for budget cutters. I don't use that feature any more with my new cutter but it saved my bacon several times in the old days. If you input the size of your material it will layer it for you too if you need. also has registration marks but I usually make my own for that and with the value cutters I didn't use the weeding lines because the cutter wasn't accurate enough to keep from gouging into the work.

Here's one I have that has a small volleyball in there you might have to remove. Pic is 90* off Hibiscus VB.svg

I had about as much trouble with my teflon developing wrinkles as anything. Maybe I need a better storage spot but my teflon sheet ended up with a lot of small wrinkles that you can see in some colors so I ended up punching holes in the edge and using it for a lower platen cover on my back-up press and just use either parchment paper from the kitchen or Kraft paper I bought from Stahls when I first started up. It lasts a long time and works well.

I think it can be done but I also think you would be better off downloading Inkscape and designing with it. It is a free open source vector program that will work circles around SCALP. Then just use SCALP to cut it. There may even be a SCALP plugin for Inkcsape.

I second the 3M VHB but you won't be getting it off very easy it ever. If it's light weight I would try some banner hem tape. You might consider centering the vertical text.

My day job is roadwork. My current company doesn't pave but I have worked for several paving outfits over the years. Hotmix is usually loaded out around 325deg. It will cool down some while in transit but is usually still in the neighborhood of 290-300, I doubt that the sides of the hopper would get clear up that hot but I bet 200 to 240 would be likely once in a while. I wasn't in the vinyl business back then but I seem to remember vinyl on our paver hoppers that seemed fine. Maybe it was painted but I doubt it.

I don't use wet very often unless it's big or complicated either by the shape of substrate like a curved rear window or complicated as in layered with lots of very precise overlaps. If I think I can handle the size by myself or if I have an extra pair of hands to keep from having an accidental corner touch I do it dry. You can even pop up a small mishap dry if your quick and do it with a good snap. If I have a long run of text that's not script I top hinge and cut it in sections and just do however much I think I can tackle, like two or three letters at a time if they are big. That's my $0.02 anyway. Wet is just a little slower and a little more mess to clean up but it's definitely safer too. (Also don't try it with clear app tape.)

Here is another sort of similar that would be cool to figure out.

I don't take personal checks unless its someone I am comfortable giving the graphic to. I don't have checks either (for the business) I use the card mostly and whenever I have cash I use that too, I want to use it up while it's still worth something!

Wet is definitely safer. I just did a wet app on a two layer graphic that went on a curved surface and I would not have wanted to chance getting good alignment on the curve. There was also some 7/8" wide pinstripe styling going around this curve and wet was about the only way to get it just right. Wet also has the added benefit of giving the customer a more involved performance so sometimes it may impress them more.

I like it!

If it's actually Nylon then you will have to use Easyweed Extra that is specially designed for nylon. If it's polyester then your good with regular Easyweed. Double check because there aren't as many full nylon lines out there as you would think and it's probably polyester.

How is the lag time on the macbooks? I use an imac mostly but have been considering buying an additional macbook pro and was wondering if the processor bogs at all with illustrator? I know even my desktop will slow up sometimes when rendering large tracings or 3D images.

I usually pre-press mine and then work the hat further down on the lower platen. Have not ever had an issue with 5 panel hats though. Do you have different widths for your lower? Looks like maybe the platen is a bit too wide for the 5 panel? I have a smaller platen for lower profile hats that I use most of the time.

I do one layer at a time and rarely wet. Some do a lot of wet but I find it slows the process down too much. Wham Bam thank you mam. If it's something that is real big and I'm worried about accidental touching then that's when I wet app. Once in a while I will build a stacked project in the shop but like mentioned I find I get more bubbles along the layers. Have not tried a wet install of a stack though and might one of these days just to see if it is any better on bubbles. For me the stack ends up similar to using two pieces of app tape to cover a wider job, always end up with some bubbles at the seam.

That must be a new class since I have been around the pulling. I used to go to them a lot. They have a mini class that is not much bigger than those with V8's in them. I had to laugh one year because they had just had the big dogs pulling the big sled and after the last one got done a regular 4x4 John Deere farm tractor came to take it off the track and hooked on and just dragged it off like it was nothing, and it was till setting at the top of the run with the weight all the way up.

Cool idea. If it's not $100 I'd probably try it. Did you notice when he was rolling up the green lettering that the edge was wadding up? LOL it didn't look like that was masked yet either but it could have been the light.

I don't use it that often but Thermo-film is pretty cool stuff. Real rubber texture to it, I have found nothing quite like it.

I would have never thought of that! I'll have to be a little more creative next time I do some blasting I guess. Great idea and thanks for teaching me something new today!