Burry Signs and Vinyl Lettering

Burry Signs has a long history with cut vinyl lettering. We were the second company in Toronto to buy the equipment to cut vinyl type. Being a family business - when our father saw the equipment first introduced well over 30 years ago, he was very excited. He could see vinyl lettering replacing his brush and calligraphy pen talents and through this new process he could pass his work down to his children without teaching them the hand skills he acquired over his life time. The introduction of vinyl lettering was a turning point in Burry Signs history. We have been cutting and applying vinyl ever since.

What is Vinyl Lettering?

Vinyl Lettering is a peel and stick graphic cut by a computer that allows the surface it is applied to to remain the background of the finished piece. This process allows the image to appear painted onto the surface. Vinyl lettering, logos or line artwork is contour cut from a computer file in a thin factory-coloured vinyl sheet that has a pressure-sensitive adhesive on the back. The finished image can be applied to a host of different materials indoors and out leaving the surface free of any clear or white carrier. The most common uses of vinyl lettering is on cars, trucks, boats and windows. Cut Vinyl Lettering is very versatile as well as durable and therefore not limited to those common used.  It can be applied to wood, plastic, metal and mirror creating plaques, light boxes and signs of all kinds. You can even letter the inside of a fish tank. 

This technology has replaced hand lettering artists like our father, who used calligraphy pens and brushes to produce lettering for all type of uses, including scrolls, window lettering, storefront signs and sale posters. The end result of vinyl lettering is very similar to old school practices, although the tools, skills and materials have changed. The lettering looks to be painted onto a surface. The surface is free of any clear carrier. Excellent for lettering glass, wood or plastic, or anywhere you want the background surface to remain visible.

Common Uses of Vinyl Lettering...

- Light Box Signs

- Wall and Window Lettering

- Car, Truck and Boat Lettering

- Exterior Signs

How Vinyl Lettering Works

The vinyl material used to create vinyl lettering is a two-part system that includes a carrier sheet and a thin layer of vinyl with pressure sensitive adhesive on the back. The vinyl is cut from a computer, i.e. as the lettering is set on the file: word, paragraph, logo or line art form. Once the vinyl stock is cut, the background or waste vinyl is removed, leaving the required lettering on the carrier sheet in the form it was cut. A transfer sheet is then applied to the full cut area, making the letter a three-part system: carrier sheet, adhesive vinyl and transfer sheet. The transfer sheet allows you to lift the lettering off the carrier and move all the lettering at one time while maintaining letter spacing and position and applying them onto a surface as if they were one piece. Once you have burnished down the letters, the transfer sheet is peeled off, leaving the lettering on the surface. The end result is lettering that appears to be hand painted, except each letter is perfectly shaped. All the “e, s, o” look the same size, thickness and style as designed in the computer.