Vinyl lettering – letters and logos in vinyl, without a background

With vinyl lettering (also called cut vinyl, vinyl letters or plotter lettering), a cutting plotter cuts your letters out of single-colour vinyl. The excess material between the letters is removed by hand («weeding»). All that remains is the lettering – on glass it looks as if it were painted on.

If you need several colours, photos or gradients, a sticker is the right choice. For text, house numbers and single-colour logos, vinyl lettering looks classier and typically lasts several years outdoors.

For shop windows and glass doors you can order the lettering mirrored – at no extra charge. It is then applied to the inside of the glass and reads correctly from the street.

• Mirrored, inside: protected from rain, window cleaners, scrapers and vandalism. The best choice for shops, cafés and practices on the ground floor. From inside you see the back of the letters.
• Normal, outside: slightly more brilliant, because there is no glass reflection in front of it. Necessary if you can’t reach the glass from inside or the lettering is going on wood, metal or paintwork.

The designer shows you the effect in advance on various backgrounds: glass/shop window, white, grey, black and wood. On glass, white or very light lettering has the strongest effect because the inside of the shop is usually darker than the street – as in the «Café Lindenhof» example.

Standard vinyl is fine for interiors, shop windows from the inside and temporary lettering such as promotions or seasonal opening hours. Premium vinyl lasts considerably longer outdoors, stays more dimensionally stable and is recommended for anything permanently exposed to sun, rain and washing: house numbers on the façade, letterboxes, cars and boats. You can see the exact durability guide values in the designer when choosing the material.

• Boat name: vinyl lettering is the classic boat lettering. Use premium vinyl, apply only to smooth, clean hull surfaces above the waterline and, after polishing, wait until all wax and polish residues have been removed. The cantonal shipping office can tell you the size and colour requirements for the official registration mark.
• Car: website on the rear window, company name on the door, rally or race numbers. For complete car lettering with a guide price including fitting, head to vehicle lettering.
• Letterbox, door, bike, tools: names and house numbers in any font, even very small from 5 × 2 cm.

• Not too fine: lines and serifs should be at least about 1 mm thick, otherwise they come loose during weeding or later when cleaning.
• Script fonts with joined-up letters are ideal: the whole word stays in one piece and is easy to apply.
• Think single colour: a logo with a gradient or shadow cannot be plotted – convert it to a single-colour version in the designer.
• Give the right size: the size refers to the area your entire lettering takes up (width × height). Measure on the glass beforehand how much space you have.

All vinyl lettering comes in three layers: backing paper at the bottom, letters in the middle, application tape on top. Here’s how to apply it bubble-free:

1. Clean: make the surface free of grease and dust with glass cleaner or alcohol and let it dry well. Do not apply below about 10 °C.
2. Align: hold the lettering, backing paper and all, in place, level it with a spirit level and fix it along the top with a strip of masking tape as a «hinge».
3. Remove the backing paper: flip the lettering up on its hinge and slowly peel off the backing paper. The letters stay stuck to the application tape.
4. Squeegee on: fold the lettering back down and press it on firmly with the squeegee from the centre outwards, in overlapping strokes.
5. Peel off the application tape: pull it back slowly, flat and almost parallel to the surface. If a letter lifts, lay it back down and press it on again.
6. Finish: press the letters on once more with your thumb. Prick small air bubbles with a needle and smooth them out.

The fitting kit (+CHF 6) contains a squeegee and printed instructions. For large shop windows in the Zurich area we can also do the fitting for you on request – just ask us on 044 525 97 69.