Vinyl Creation Services

The origin of vinyl graphics began in the 17th century when French engraver Simon Francois Ravenet immigrated to English. He was one of Hogarth’s assistants, was born at Paris, in 1706. He engraved several portraits after Reynolds, and various historical pieces after Titian, Veronese, Guido, and some others. He invented the decal technique.

A decal consists of the following layers from top to bottom:
1. A paper or film face-stock makes up the top layer of the label stock. The printing is done on the upper side of the facestock.
2. An adhesive layer is applied to the bottom of the face stock.
3. A silicone or release coating layer is applied to the upper side of the backing material.
4. A paper or film liner provides the bottom layer of the label stock.
5. An RFID circuit (chip and antenna) can be included in the paper or film face stock.
Different variations of decals include: water-slide or water-dip; and vinyl peel-and-stick. A water-slide (or water-dip) decal is screen-printed on a layer of water-soluble adhesive on a water-resistant paper, that must first be dipped in water prior to its application.

Upon contact with water, the glue is loosened and the decal can be removed from its backing; overlong exposure, however, dissolves the glue completely causing the decal to fail to adhere.

A peel-and-stick decal is actually not a decal as described above, but a vinyl sticker with adhesive backing, that can be transferred by peeling off its base. The sign industry calls these peel-and-stick vinyl stickers vinyl-cut-decals.

Production of vinyl decals starts with large rolls of vinyl sheet. Vinyl is fed through a cutting plotter or large-format printer/cutter which prints the desired image and cuts out the desired shapes. Designs are typically created using specialized computer software and sent to the machines electronically. After the patterns are cut, excess vinyl on the sheet is removed in a process called weeding.[1][unreliable source?] Finally, a paper pre-mask can be applied to the top of the vinyl design allowing easy application of multiple letters and shapes.