I hate my stencils.

I do the envelope with cardboard backer to hold them flat. Windex spray, right thru the letters or
logo on the stencil, then same with clean water. Probably 25-30 strikes with Ernie'.s before it starts
to "chicken foot". About a 3 back and forth to etch and redeposit on the personalizer plus.
Ken
 
I've been going through a bit of an ongoing battle with stencils for sometime myself. I started with Ernie's stencils, but never got more than maybe 10 or 12 etches per stencil at the most. I think I was burning them, even though I only etched in short bursts. Changing from a steel etch pad to a carbon motor brush has made a huge difference in that regard. I'd probably have stayed with using Ernie's, but they were a bit expensive to begin with, and it looks like he's just about doubled his prices since I first started using them.
I went to TUS next, and they seem to be the most reasonable in cost. I actually just ordered another sheet of 5 images from them this last week. I do also have the curling issues, but I could do better storing them. If I keep them clean and don't burn them, they seem to last longer than anything yet.

I also ordered some supplies from IMG a while back to make my own stencils, but that's been a bit of a nightmare. The first couple turned out decent, but I only get a couple of etches before the resistive film starts peeling off of the micromesh "core", and then the stencil is useless. Seems like after developing the last couple I made, the film was already starting to wrinkle and separate. I keep it stored between cardboard in the mylar bag it came in, but I just haven't had any luck making a lasting stencil lately. I think I'm just gonna stick with TUS for now.
 
JG Custom Metal Works said:
Not to sidetrack the thread at all, but your stencil stickers sound interesting. How expensive is it to get a setup like that, for the vinyl cutter, sticker materials, and/or other materials? I imagine, being computerized, it’s easier to do whatever letters, words, or symbols you want. Am I correct in that assumption?
Click to expand...

Sorry was going to respond that night but my computer crashed lol.

It's about $450 but it's basically a CNC vinyl cutter (Here is what I use). It can get pretty small, here's an idea of what it looks like

i-C6h4qdP-X2.jpg
IMG_20171106_172333-X2.jpg
IMG_20171018_133236-1508351597547-X2.jpg
 
I use IMG. The stencils are holding up and Patricia (the owner) is amazing to work with. Her design instincts and graphic skills created a a perfect logo for me. I have been working with many great vendors this year but IMG and Patricia are standouts out of standouts.
 
There is another way, not popular here as I see. I use foil for making PCB. This way is little bit more complicated and needs use some chemistry but material is cheap and durable. Only "chemicals" You need are washing soda, acetone and saline. Small letters aren't problem. I do etch letters about 2 mm high and graphical motive as in razor edge knives picture but at least 2 times smaller is not problem at all.
 
Kevin, what do you use the whole sheet of letters for?
 
Jesenius said:
There is another way, not popular here as I see. I use foil for making PCB. This way is little bit more complicated and needs use some chemistry but material is cheap and durable. Only "chemicals" You need are washing soda, acetone and saline. Small letters aren't problem. I do etch letters about 2 mm high and graphical motive as in razor edge knives picture but at least 2 times smaller is not problem at all.
Click to expand...

Your etch looks pretty darned good to me. Can you elaborate on the process?
 
i too get mine from IMG i spray them off with water after i use them an latly i have just been settign them on the shef of the bench. only time i have had ay reall problems was when i was getting them tooo hot while marking. shortened the bursts and have not had any real problems getting more then 30 marks per and thats just fine by me
 
kuraki said:
So you etch one letter at a time, or you build a name by taping them together? Thinking about doing either makes me want to turn the knife on myself :eek:
Click to expand...
I currently do them one at a time, but. I may start using a vinyl cutter to do my letters. Fast, cheap, and I can do it at home.
 
I got my first stencils a few months ago (after all these years lol) from TUS Tech and though I do like the stencil material they use, my specific "logo" turned out pretty bad. I sent them an image of my logo (my first initial and last name in a specific font) and when they had processed the image into their software, it was very rough and "pixel-ly" and not even connected in some areas (it's a script font). Communication was pretty frustrating, as it took probably 20 emails back and forth just to get what I wanted and I had to repeat myself over and over. I feel like they didn't even read past the first sentence most the time. I don't want to say anything bad about them, as I'm guessing this isn't a common experience. I have no doubt that others have had a great experience with them and have received quality stencils, but my personal experience was rather frustrating and disappointing. Aside from that, I do want to say that they are nice people.

Since I wasn't happy with the image quality of the stencils from TUS, I decided to try again, but this time I decided to go with IMG. I honestly cannot say enough good things about my experience with Patricia from IMG.

After only a couple of emails, she asked me to call her up and we probably ended up talking for around 30 minutes. During the phone call she emailed me images so I could see what changes she had made and to make sure I was happy with the results. She even ended up sending (along with my stencils) a single sample stencil with VERY slight differences that she made to what I originally asked for, which she thought might possibly turn out a bit better in the final etch; this way I could test both and let her know which one I liked better for the next time I order more. When I received the stencils I was very impressed how smooth and clean the font itself was. It did cost about an extra $20-$30 (I forget exactly how much) for the initial set-up fee, but it was definitely worth the cost with how much she worked with me and cared about making sure I got exactly what I wanted. I can tell she truly cares about creating a quality product and I can't recommend her services highly enough! :thumbsup:

With regard to the quality of the actual stencil material; they've both held up nicely so far while I've been experimenting and practicing my etching technique numerous times to get it the way I want and to get repeatable results, which I'm still in the process of refining. I just need to get a carbon motor brush like Andrew (and Brian Fellhoelter) uses and give that a shot instead of using a q-tip. TUS' stencils seem more like a silk screen material and IMG's seem a bit more like a vinyl material, so they are definitely different materials. I'm not sure which one would last longer because I'm no longer using the ones I got from TUS due to the poor image quality/resolution on them.

Anyway, to clean them I've been spraying them off with water first, then Windex, then some more water, then I put just a few drops of the actual neutralizer on it and rub it all over with my finger, then one final rinse with water and finally I pat it dry. This is all done on both sides of the stencil and with the electrial tape around the edges still on it. I store them in a small tupperware container that I wrapped electrical tape around to keep out any light. It's probably overkill, but it doesn't take much longer and I don't want them drying out like I've read others have experienced. So far it's working great. :thumbsup:

~Paul
My YT Channel
Lsubslimed
... (It's been a few years since my last upload)
 
Last edited:
coldsteelburns said:
I got my first stencils a few months ago (after all these years lol) from TUS Tech and though I do like the stencil material they use, my specific "logo" turned out pretty bad. I sent them an image of my logo (my first initial and last name in a specific font) and when they had processed the image into their software, it was very rough and "pixel-ly" and not even connected in some areas (it's a script font). Communication was pretty frustrating, as it took probably 20 emails just back and forth to get what I wanted and I had to repeat myself over and over. I feel like they didn't even read passed the first sentence most the time. I don't want to say anything bad about them, as I'm guessing this isn't a common experience. I have no doubt that others have had a great experience with them have received quality stencils, but my personal experience was rather frustrating and disappointing. Aside from that, I do want to say that they are nice people.

Since I wasn't happy with the image quality of the stencils from TUS, I decided to try again, but this time I decided to go with IMG. I honestly cannot say enough good things about my experience with Patricia from IMG....
Paul
My YT Channel
Lsubslimed
... (It's been a few years since my last upload)
Click to expand...

No, your experience is not unique. I had the same this last round. I've got an email into IMG. Can't wait!
 
coldsteelburns said:
I got my first stencils a few months ago (after all these years lol) from TUS Tech and though I do like the stencil material they use, my specific "logo" turned out pretty bad. I sent them an image of my logo (my first initial and last name in a specific font) and when they had processed the image into their software, it was very rough and "pixel-ly" and not even connected in some areas (it's a script font). Communication was pretty frustrating, as it took probably 20 emails just back and forth to get what I wanted and I had to repeat myself over and over. I feel like they didn't even read passed the first sentence most the time. I don't want to say anything bad about them, as I'm guessing this isn't a common experience. I have no doubt that others have had a great experience with them have received quality stencils, but my personal experience was rather frustrating and disappointing. Aside from that, I do want to say that they are nice people.
Click to expand...

I had the same problem... I sent them an image of my logo (same as my avatar image), and the image they sent back was very pixelated as well. Any text "images" were perfect, but for some reason, they just couldn't get the same image quality for my logo, and it was the same image I had sent to Ernie with success. I tried to explain in simple terms what the problem was, but never really got anywhere. I seem to recall that they might have finally fixed it, but they ended up charging me a set up fee to send me another sheet. Now I'm only using them for my text etches.

I'll probably give IMG a call and see what I can sort out with my home print materials I've got from them, but it sounds like maybe I ought to give them a call about my logo image too.
 
Just a small note, to stand up for graphic designers of all sorts...

Customers (us) often provide small images that look good on a screen, but scale poorly. This is one of the reasons that things end up pixelated sometimes. At least that's what my buddy who works on phone books tells me...

Get the very best image you can find, or have someone with design experience to draw it up for you. As we all know:garbage in = garbage out.
 
A.McPherson said:
Just a small note, to stand up for graphic designers of all sorts...

Customers (us) often provide small images that look good on a screen, but scale poorly. This is one of the reasons that things end up pixelated sometimes. At least that's what my buddy who works on phone books tells me...

Get the very best image you can find, or have someone with design experience to draw it up for you. As we all know:garbage in = garbage out.
Click to expand...


I hear ya. I guess this was what made the communication so frustrating for me, as I kept asking TUS if they wanted me to send them the largest, highest resolution image possible, or if they wanted me to send it in the exact dimensions I wanted the final stencil to be.

I probably asked this same question in at least 5 of the emails; They never answered the question. They just sent a different stencil proof via a PDF file without ever addressing my questions. This is why is took so many emails to get to the point that I pretty much gave up and ordered what they came up with. Since this was my first time every dealing with a stencil company, I wasn't sure what worked best for them and their software etc.

~Paul
My YT Channel
Lsubslimed
... (It's been a few years since my last upload)
 
Last edited:
If I can add on to that, download Inkscape (free), and search YouTube for "text to vector" and "image to vector" in Inkscape. Very powerful for great artwork for you and your stencil maker. Awesome really.

Thanks again Marc!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top