Customized and personalized marketing is the key to every successful business nowadays. If you want people to not only remember your brand but also can refer it to others, customized signage, banners, posters and messaging is very important.
Customized signs and banners can be used for a plethora of purposes from conveying new and happening details, for promoting products, for inviting and luring customers, to make things attractive and also to keep things according to the theme of your brand.
In today’s world designing, decorating, crafting and other artistic works are greatly valued and appreciated. People want to have a personalized touch in about everything they own be it a birthday party or a brand or a new home, you name it. The vinyl cutting and crafting niche is the best way to move forward!
Getting vinyl plotters, cutters, sign making tools and other requirements in order to get customized signs in vinyl is pretty cool. A vinyl cutting machine comes in different types of sizes, shapes and techniques but they all use some kind of blade to cut the material in a specific shape, size and style.
To make it easy to understand, vinyl cutting machines are like a computerized machine that takes in the design and the cutter cuts the pattern in the design fed to the software. But even these expensive and elaborate machines are unable to do everything that involves in making your vinyl crafting project. There are a few more important vinyl tools that also play a pivotal part in getting the desired results.
Vinyl crafting is no one and done process, it goes through various steps and requires different sign making tools to get those gorgeous finished projects. In this article, I will be telling you about some essential sign making tools for beginners who want to venture in the world of vinyl crafting and make it big! All these tools are a must-have in your arsenal as they would allow you to achieve perfection with convenience, so let’s get on with it!
The Essential Sign Making Tools For Beginners
1.Vinyl Cutter/Plotter and Computer Software
Starting with the basics, in order to initiate your vinyl crafting journey, you will need a good quality, high speed vinyl cutter or plotter. There are basically two kinds of vinyl cutting machines- computerized and manual.
The computerized version is obviously more sophisticated, gives more precise designs, flawless finish and the end result is also very good quality. On the other hand, we also find a lot of manual vinyl cutting devices that use a hand crank to operate. This is obviously a much more simpler version and can only do less complicated designs. You will also need computer software for the computerized vinyl cutters as they will give you the best quality images in high resolution.
2.Weeding Tool
One of the most important vinyl tools in vinyl sign making is the weeding tool. This tool makes it possible for the design to look perfect, crisp and so immaculate. When the design is printed and cut from the vinyl plotter, it is far from perfection.
There is a lot of excess vinyl attached to the design which needs to be removed in order to see the design in its true essence. You can understand it better with an example of a garden, if you don’t weed it, you won’t be able to enjoy its beauty, right? There are many options in weeding tools as the vinyl designs are getting more and more complicated, the weeding tools are also getting a makeover.
Some weeding tools are hooked, some are crooked, so have double faces and some are straight. Choose the weeding tool on the basis of comfort, sharp tip but not so sharp that it would tear the vinyl and slim handle so it is ergonomic.
3.Tweezers
Next comes the metal tweezers, the tweezers are different from the weeding tool as the former is ideal for picking small bits and pieces right from the middle of the designs, whereas the former is great for outer corners and bigger bits of vinyl.
Some vinyl crafters find it easier to just use these needle tip tweezers instead of the weeding tools to weed the design due to the comfort they offer and better grip.
4.Squeegees
This is my favorite tool as they push out any unwanted air pockets when placing the design on the vinyl sheets. They offer a steady pressure that allows the adhesive to stick to the surface and the design appears to be perfect as no air bubbles are left.
You may find various kinds of squeegees in order to apply different kinds of graphics. Some of the most common ones are soft plastic, felt, nylon or teflon ones. A vinyl crafter should always have a couple of squeegees in their arsenal!
5.Self Healing Mats
Self healing mats may not directly impact your vinyl sign making or crafting project but if you won’t pay heed, it may impact it in the longer run. There is a lot of cutting, crafting, weeding and snapping involved during the various steps of vinyl crafting.
Your work bench lined with a normal mat will eventually have all kinds of cuts, stresses and uneven surfaces on it which can be detrimental for the crafting project as the uneven surface will hinder proper pasting of the design on the vinyl sheet. A self-healing mat is a great investment as it will take all kinds of cuts, pressures and damage but still remain indestructible!
6.Powerful Magnets
As the vinyl sheets and the vinyl designs are both done on delicate sheets, you need to have strong magnets that will hold everything in place, securely. Magnets will last you forever, unless you misplace them somewhere.
7.Vinyl Rack
As the name suggests, a vinyl rack is for putting your ready-to-go projects in such a way that they remain good as new. You can also keep soon-to-be-used vinyl sheets in the rack!
In the End
If you want to be a pro vinyl crafter and excel in your work, invest in these vinyl sign making tools! These will allow you to churn out perfect vinyl crafts each time! Get the full variety from PerfectCut Vinyl at the best price point!
