SAFETY SIGN MAKERS
There are a number of options for making safety signs. The option you select depends on how the sign will be used. Here are the four most common methods for making safety signs.
 Purchase Pre-Printed Safety Signs
This option is not really making the safety signs, it is directly purchasing the signs you need. Standard pre-printed safety signs are available in hundreds of varieties with commonly used standard messages. This is the easiest way of getting the safety signs you need. Just go to a safety sign catalog and select the signs you need.
Preprinted safety signs are excellent when only a few signs are needed, when the required sign size is small (approximately 10" X 14"), when customization is not required, and when there is not an on-going need for new or replacement signs.
 Signs Made Using A Vinyl Tape Printer
For this option we are talking about thermal transfer printers that print on vinyl tapes. An example of this type of printer is the DuraLabel Pro . These types of printers are available to print on vinyl tapes ranging in width from 1/8" up to 10". The small size machines are really label makers and are not appropriate for making signs. The larger machines are very expensive and use costly supplies. The best option is a machine such as the DuraLabel Pro, which uses vinyl tapes up to four inches wide.
The custom yellow caution sign shown to the right was made using the DuraLabel Pro. It is made using five strips of four inch vinyl tape which were then tiled together to create a larger sign.
Cut Vinyl Lettering and Graphics
 For larger signs a vinyl cutter is the best way to go. The DuraCut Systems series of vinyl cutters are a good example of this type of machine. A safety sign made using the DuraCut 24 is shown to the left.
A vinyl cutter works with larger sheets of vinyl. It cuts text and graphics from self-adhesive vinyl sheets. The text and graphics is then applied to rigid backing material to make the sign. It may also be applied to glass doors and windows, or on the sides of vehicles.
Cut vinyl lettering and graphics offers the advantage of making durable signs that can be very large. Individual letters can be as big as 72" tall. It is also easy to make multiple color signs, such as the example to the right.
Vinyl cutting machines come in a variety of sizes, ranging from small desktop models to the 72 inch wide DuraCut Pro.
Thermal Transfer Poster Printers
This type of machine is commonly called a poster printer. Using a poster printer is just like having a very large printer attached to your PC. The Varitronics ProImage PosterPrinters are an example of this type of machine.
 A poster printer can print posters and signs up to 36 inches in width, and make banners that are up to 100 feet long. They are easy to use... just design your poster, sign or banner on your PC and print it just as you would print anything else.., except in this case use a poster printer to print the sign.
Poster printers have a variety of supplies available. Which supply you choose depends on how the poster or sign will be used. Direct thermal paper produces economical output that is excellent for indoor applications. At the other end of the scale, heavy-duty poly paper is a "paper" made from plastic materials that results in posters and signs that are water, UV and tear resistant.
Poster printer paper comes with the "ink" built into the paper. Posters, signs and banners can be printed in combinations of two colors, such as red printing on a white background. The example to the left shows a sign made using blue and white paper. |
