Pre Vinyl...

As a sign writer, I have a shop full of tools (never enough however). One of the tools that I have, is a vinyl plotter. Having said that, the vast majority of work that I do, has nothing to do with this tool. Hand lettering is what sets my business apart, from every other in the area. There are times where the plotter goes unused for weeks, and I have to dust the vinyl rolls of before feeding them into the plotter. Yesterday I was offered a unique choice. A CEO of a new bank going into town, asked me, if it would be better to hand letter their logo and hours on the entrance window. This is not a fancy place, by any means, and their project budget reflects this. So after thinking for a second, the answer was clear. Vinyl was the answer for this job, and that's fine. To me it is very important to keep this plotter as a tool on the shelf, that gets used when needed. Every other sign shop around, has this as their only tool, and these franchise sign shops (fast signs) don't even understand layout. They are cheap, but that's how the finished job looks. I stay busy by offering paint work, but there is a place for vinyl. I think it's just how the medium is used. With proper design, a vinyl sign can work very well, and sell the job. But you don't want it to take over. I know several older sign writers, who never touch a brush anymore, and use only vinyl. They always give me a hard time, but too me the hand lettered sign will always prevail, and if pressed, they will say the same.