Getting Control of Your Day Time can easily slip away. When this happens, promises to customers are broken, return phone calls aren’t made, appointments and deadlines are missed and new sales opportunities are lost. Read more »
Traditional Water Gilding
While you might have experience in oil gilding exterior signage or water gilding on glass, you may never have attempted traditional water gilding, or what is also called bole gilding. This technique is used for interior applications, primarily gilding wood picture frames. The process involves coating the wood with several layers of gesso and clay […] Read more »
How Thermoplastics and Thermosets Differ
Thermoplastic and thermoset plastics are both comprised of very large polymer chains. Both have similarly sounding names. Each type of plastic, however, is very unique. Here’s how thermoplastics and thermosets differ. Cast vinyls are thermoplastics, which are very soft and conformable films, suitable for fleet graphics application over rivets and corrugations. Photo courtesy of Nazdar. Read more »
Table Saw Safety
One of the most used and most versatile power tools is the table saw. It is also one of the most dangerous. Each year more than 40,000 table saw accidents occur. Many of these accidents result in the loss of a limb. To prevent becoming a statistic, follow these rules: Read more »
Using Chip Carving Knives in Letter Carving
You can use chip carving knives for more than just carving geometric designs in boxes, plates or furniture. These specialized knives are also great tools when used to carve incised letters. I have also used these knives for carving details in brittle wood prone to tear out. Read more »
Fooling the Optical Sensor
Plotter Cutting Prints on High Gloss and Reflective Media Some printer manufacturers, such as Mutoh, Summa and Mimaki, have systems that utilize a separate plotter to contour cut the printed graphics. To ensure accurate cutting of the printed graphic, the plotters utilize an Optical Positioning System called OPOS. The electric eye or photo sensor of […] Read more »
Laminating Application Tape and HotMask™ Films
Stick It In Reverse How you apply an application tape to a vinyl graphic or a HotMask™ transfer tape to a printed heat transfer applique can affect the appearance of the finished product. If you get wrinkles or bubbles in the paper application tape, I can just about guarantee that you will get wrinkles and […] Read more »
Power Carving with Flexible Shaft Tools
Flexible shaft carving systems are not a necessity for woodcarving, but they sure are nice to have for several reasons. Carving with gouges or knives is generally a slow, thoughtful process. To save time I often will use my high speed flexible shaft tool to rough out a carving. With a coarse carbide burr you […] Read more »
Hands-On Banners
Discover how and when applying vinyl graphics to banners makes good business sense. Vinyl banners are big business indoors and out, from grand openings to pole displays to trade show booths and beyond. Read more »
Stadium Advertising: A Sporty Opportunity
Why do you need to understand the advertising opportunities in stadiums? So you can help to sell it to your client. Discover what you need to know about stadium wrappings sporty opportunity. Read more »
