deth502 39 Posted May 23, 2010 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
Truckntran 0 Posted May 23, 2010 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
boosted 2 Posted May 23, 2010 layered here as well, much more forgiving. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deth502 39 Posted May 23, 2010 Print cheater!! 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
James605 7 Posted May 31, 2010 Print ;D Great minds think alike... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DC Custom 3 Posted September 13, 2015 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
Wildgoose 4,200 Posted September 13, 2015 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