HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR LETTERED VEHICLE

All vehicles are cleaned and prepped for vinyl application prior to applying any graphics. This insures that there is no residue, dirt, wax, etc… on the vehicle when the vinyl is applied.

The vehicle should not be washed and or waxed for one (1) week after vinyl is applied. This gives the vinyl time to cure to the vehicle.

VEHICLE WASHING INSTRUCTIONS

All vehicles need to be hand washed. CAUTION: DO NOT take vehicle through any full service car wash or self service car wash where power or pressure washing will be used. When hand washing the vehicle always use a shammy, lightly wash around any vinyl, and avoid applying pressure around all edges of the vinyl.

Use care in washing your vehicle to promote longevity from the vinyl graphics. This will limit the vinyl from peeling or curling.

GraphiCal Creations, Inc. does not guarantee any vehicle lettering that has been subjected to power or pressure washing or any other method aside from the recommended method above.

HOW TO USE AND CARE FOR YOUR NEW MAGNETIC VEHICLE SIGN

The vehicle surface and the brown magnetic side of the sign should be clean, dry and waxed prior to applying.

INSTALLATION

Make contact of one edge of the sign to the vehicle surface in desired location and then let the adjacent part of the sign contact the vehicle surface until the entire sign is held magnetically to the vehicle. If the sign is not in desired position, remove sign and repeat above. (Do not try to straighten sign by pulling when it is held magnetically to the vehicle. It may stretch the material, especially when hot.) Avoid placing your sign over chrome trim or surface protrusions of any kind. The temperature of the sign should be at least 60 degrees F. during installation. (The temperature of the vehicle surface does not matter.)

REMOVAL

Always remove the sign by lifting from the center of the two opposite sides...Never start at the corners. This precaution will avoid bent corners and reduced adhesion.

CAUTION

Magnetic vehicle signs will not adhere to areas on your car where plastic or lead body fillers have been used. Use caution in applying vehicle signs to areas of your car that have been damaged and repaired in order to avoid losing your signs. New Paint jobs take time to cure properly. We suggest you wait 60 days before positioning a sign on a freshly painted car.

MAINTENANCE

Your signs should be periodically removed...once a week minimum. Wipe dry both the vehicle and the back of the signs. Trapped moisture, dirt or chemicals may harm your vehicle finish. Clean your sign with plain water or warm water and a mild detergent.

STORAGE

To avoid cracking or breaking, do not fold or crease. Store your magnetic sign flat.

GUIDELINES FOR MONUMENT FACES AND COLUMN INSERTS

If a brick or stone monument or column has a sign insert, it is best for GraphiCal Creations, Inc. to provide the mason contractor with a template. The template will be marked as to horizontal or vertical layout. The template needs to be used by the mason to build from. The mason can butt up against the template (they do not need to create extra room for the reveal – we will do that with the sign size). Once mason work is complete, the mason can remove the template.

GraphiCal Creations, Inc. will then create the sign face ¼” to no more than a ½” smaller all the way around the sign face. This will ensure the correct room needed to insert the face via stud mount. The studs will be placed when face is poured (i.e. concrete face).

1.  Column: The entire column can be finished prior to inserting the face.

2.  Monument: The monument should be built up to the bottom of the face. The face needs to be installed at that time on the monument shelf. The mason can then finish his work up and around the face. This will ensure a cleaner finish from the mason instead of coming back and trying to fill in.

• Example: concrete face for the monument entrance. The mason will still use a template. However, instead of finishing the monument and inserting the large face last, the mason must stop production to set the face on the monument. The mason can finish building up around the face. It is extremely difficult to install a 1000 pound piece of concrete from the front with only a ¼” reveal around the edges without damaging the face. This will also minimize the damage if there are planter boxes, plantings and irrigation in the front due to equipment and will create an easier logistics issue while inserting the sign face.

Please contact GraphiCal Creations, Inc. if you have any questions. 704-888-8870

Vector vs. Bitmap

There are two major types of graphics: bitmap and vector images. When sending artwork for output on signage or other medium, it is important to understand the difference between the 2 types of graphics and their intended use.

Bitmap images are composed of pixels of color which come together to form the images you see. The quality of bitmap images is dependant upon its resolution which is determined by the number of pixels in an image. This is usually referred to as dpi (dots per inch) or ppi (pixels per inch). Since bitmaps are dependent on their resolution, it is difficult to increase their size without losing the quality of the image. A low resolution bitmap image can not be increased to the size needed for a sign or large format graphic without losing a great deal of quality and perhaps legibility.

Bitmap file formats include:
• jpeg, jpg
• tiff
• gif
• bmp
• psd
• pict

Scanned images, photos from digital cameras, and images from websites are bitmaps.
Bitmap images can only be printed. Any other output method requires vector artwork.
Vector images are composed of individual, sizeable objects. Vector images are defined by mathematical equations rather than pixels, so their size can always be increased or decreased without losing any quality. The images consist of curves, shapes, and lines, all of which are editable.

Another major advantage of vector images is that they're not restricted to a rectangular shape like bitmaps. Vector objects can be placed over other objects, and the object below will show through.

Vector images are created in illustration software. You cannot scan an image and save it as a vector file. But, vector images can be converted to bitmaps or “rasterized”. When you convert a vector image to a bitmap, you can specify the output resolution of the final bitmap for whatever size you need. However, it is ALWAYS important to save a copy of your original vector artwork in its original format before converting it to a bitmap; once it has been converted to a bitmap, it can not be converted back into vector artwork without using special conversion software which isn’t always reliable.

Vector file formats include:
• eps
• ai
• cdr

Feel free to contact us with any questions regarding artwork submission. 704-888-8870