Frequenty Asked Questions

Why do my PVC letters look bad? They have frayed edges and the surface is dull and has printing on it.

We get customer complaints about letters being cut backwards or the edge quality is horrific. The side with the printing is the top side.    The PVC sheet material we purchase is high quality with a protective poly film on 1 side. This protective mask is intended to protect the PVC surface from scratching during production.  Almost all the PVC letters we cut will still have the protective mask still intact.  To remove simply grab an edge and peel it off to reveal the finished  surface.

How do you mount PVC letters?

Like any other letter material product, PVC requires some special care mounting it

• If you are using screws or nails to attach PVC letters to a substrate predrill the hole. It must be larger than the nail or screw diameter. Do not drive the nail or screw the screw tight to the letter. The PVC must be allowed to shrink and expand. We can create holes by your request. Even if we drill the holes for you, you might have enlarge them if you use nails or screws that are the same size(or larger) as we drilled.
  
• For outdoor letters please consider using 1/4" PVC material. It'll hold it's shape better in direct sun.
• 3M VHB tape works well to attach letters to a smooth background.   

What's an installation template and do I need one?

Templates help with the installation of letter/number strings. They are a full size printout of your lettering. It will give you word and character spacing and assist in proper leveling. If you are ordering 1,2 or even 3 characters please don't waste your money ordering a template. If you are ordering a large phrase that you want exact, please consider ordering a template. 

With the exception of Acrylic Letter Templates, our templates are the “Pounce Pattern” type.   They are made with a pounce tool that punches very small holes through the paper roll.  The series of holes trace the exact size of the letters. To transfer the pounce pattern you'll need a pounce pad (or sock) filled with chalk powder.  Tape the template in the desired place and rub over the pounce holes with the pounce pad(sock).  The chalk dust will pass through the holes and create a dotted line pattern on your surface. Your letters can now be installed in the correct position and spacing.

Acrylic Letter templates are somewhat different. It depends on what type of mounting structure you order. Contact us about more detail on these types of templates.

Why are there extra letters or numbers in my order?

Don't panic about an extra letter or 2 in your box and you getting charged.  You will always get extra punctuation characters and "i" dots(tittles). You only pay for what you ordered. Many times, especially on large orders, we cut extra letters and numbers.  Instead of throwing them away we include them so that you can practice painting, finishing or mounting.