royal

Royal How-To Guide: Removing Vinyl Decals and Stickers

When I was a kid, I absolutely loved stickers. I loved collecting them, showing them off and well, sticking them. This of course was a nightmare for my parents who would find big, ugly stickers stuck to the furniture, walls, windows and anywhere I thought looked "nice". The solution to this problem? Sticker books! This gave me a new and acceptable place to stick and collect my stickers but did not solve the problem from my previous attempts at "interior decorating". My parents were left to deal with half-ripped stickers, residue and damage to various surfaces around the home. If only they had known what I know now!

Fast-forward to the present and I am the Lead Sign Installer here at Royal Rubber Stamp. As a sign installer, I am tasked with not only the installation of signs and decals, but often the removal. The removal of old signs and decals can at times be one of the trickier parts of the job, particularly when trying to do so while limiting and/or preventing damage. In my nearly nine years of installing and removing signs and decals, I've learned some tricks that make my life a little easier. In the video below, I share some of those tricks so you can learn how to remove vinyl decals and stickers with ease!

For more tips, tricks and inside looks at Royal, be sure to check out our other videos on YouTube!

Connect with Royal. Follow us on Twitter!

Tags:

vinyl

removal

signs

decals

Royal Rubber Stamp & Sign Co.

royal

The Benefits of Dye Sublimation

Back in 2012, Royal Rubber Stamp & Sign Co. set out to manufacture all of Alberta Health Services' employee name tags. The job called for a durable, easy to clean and easy to read tag. Dye sublimation was the manufacturing method of choice for all of the over 8,000 tags! After reading this, it will be easy to see why. These are the benefits of dye sublimation!

What is dye sublimation?

Dye sublimation is the process of applying an image to a medium (specially coated ceramics, metals and plastics) using sublimation ink, heat and pressure. Because sublimation ink is unique in its ability to convert from a solid to a gas without going through a liquid form, it is able to print directly INTO materials rather than sitting on the surface of a material like most inks.

The benefits.

Because dye sublimation prints sub-surface, the end result is a very durable, virtually scratch and water proof print. When done properly, the colours in a dye sublimation print will be rich and vibrant. Photographs, in particular, sublimate quite well.

What can be dye sublimated?

Because dye sublimation is a unique process that requires material with a thin coating of polyester, not just anything can be dye sublimated. With that being said, there are a wide variety of dye sublimatable ceramics, metals and other materials available. Whether you're looking for custom name tags, coasters, small signs, mouse pads, tiles or any other personalized item, Royal Rubber Stamp's customer service staff can help you find what you're looking for.

Below are some samples of dye sublimation:

Interested in seeing more pictures of some of our work? Visit us on Flickr! > http://www.flickr.com/photos/97766255@N05/

Tags:

Glass Etch Vinyl - Modern and Practical Window Covering

Windows are in. If you haven't noticed, modern architecture is all about open spaces and natural lighting. With advances in window technology, buildings are now being built with a lot more glass without compromising the heating and cooling of interior spaces. With the added windows, there has also been a rise in the use of glass etch vinyl. Glass etch vinyl is an affordable and effective way to increase privacy for an office or personal space, add a decorative look, or even advertise or promote your brand on a window without sacrificing natural light. When installed properly, glass etch vinyl can appear as though it is etched directly into the glass effectively giving your windows a high-end look without the high-end cost.

Over the years, Royal has produced and installed glass etch vinyl on hundreds of windows in Edmonton and throughout Alberta. From a single window as an added touch to compliment the decor of a room, to entire office buildings where a little more privacy is needed, Royal can do it all.

Below are some photos of glass etch vinyl installations Royal has done over the past couple of years.

The residents of Southwinds Condominiums wanted a little added privacy for their gym. Here's what we did for them:

One of the windows in the new staff gym here at Royal features glass etch vinyl that not only offers privacy, but also gives an encouraging message:

ATCO's new buildings throughout Alberta feature a lot of glass. Offices within the buildings required some added privacy. Here's what we did for them:

Add a design feature to your windows:

Incorporate your company logo:

Interested in trying your own glass etch vinyl install? Pick up the material from us and watch the instructional video we put together below.

Tags:

Royal Stamp & Sign Co.

Laser Engraving Metal: An Inside Look

Over the years, Royal Rubber Stamp & Sign Co. has engraved plaques, plates and hundreds of thousands of tags for our customers in Edmonton and beyond. From one single award plaque, to over 200,000 deep engraved industrial tags (on one order), there is not much we haven't done. The methods we have used to mark metals in the past have in their own way been both effective, yet limiting. There is rotary engraving, which is effective but can be a little slow and has limitations in terms of artwork. ProPen is extremely fast but only produces an industrial look (we wouldn't want to use this for a plaque commemorating little Billy's first goal in hockey). Then there is laser engraving. Being limited to only stainless steel and having to use a toxic chemical to burn the engraving into the metal were huge drawbacks to the laser method. Enter the FiberMark laser from Epilog. This fantastic piece of machinery now allows us to mark directly to almost any metal you can think of. Whether it is a decorative plate for an award plaque or hundreds of steel tags to mark machine parts, we can do it! We can easily personalize almost any type of metal with a logo, picture, or even a barcode.

Now the fun! Our production manager, Jim, was kind of enough to allow me to place his iPhone inside the FiberMark laser to film close-up video of the machine running. Yes, Jim was a little nervous about what might happen to his precious iPhone but the end result is pretty cool! (especially since his iPhone made it through unscathed) Check out the videos below to see for yourself!

Laser Engraving Brass. (For decorative plates):