One of out favorite customers, Harvest Co-op Markets is in the middle of a brand refresh, and this corkboard header is the next on the list to be replaced. Harvest's new corporate identity has this red to white to yellow fade, and although I could have done it with a roller, a digital print is easier, faster, and gives a much better end product. I really wanted their name to stand out so we called Gemini and ordered some 1/2" black acrylic letters with PMS matched green paint. We sanded the sign down, painted the trim, laid the digital print down and got ready to lay those letters on!
The sign is about 8 inches by 14 feet
The big advantage of using a digital print instead of doing a roller fade is that we laid down the letters at the same time as the background; no raised edges, and sure smooth!
I always lay all of my letters out beforehand; this is more important with stud mounted letters, but a good practice every time.
I put a thin stroke, .05" smaller than my letters on the digital print for registration. Just another advantage of doing it digital.
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The stroke lets you see exactly where the letters go. When you can't see any stroke all the way around, your letters are in the right spot. As a side note, I used to finish all of my own dimensional letters, but I've found that Gemini's finish quality is just unbeatable, and at a reasonable price when you consider the time involved.
I tend to lay letters out left to right, and on more than one occasion I've had to rush back into the spray booth and refinish a letter because my watch hits it. For the price of two paper towels, you too can insure against a ruined letter and possibly a missed deadline.
As you can see here, the seam runs right through a letter (seam opened up for illustration purposes)
The easy solution is to put more tape on one side, attach it to one of the boards, and let the letter hang over. I leave the tape, with the backer on, so that the letter sits flush on the sign.
When the sign is installed, the right half goes down first, and the left half goes down last so that the K fits over perfectly!
I'm really happy with how this sign came out, Thanks again to Harvest Co-op for giving us the opportunity to work with them again!
Up Next: Possibly the most difficult challenge I've ever undertaken, wrapping MY hardhat.
