Royal Stamp Blog

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.

 

Posted on November 6, 2013 - 12:46pm by Stefan.

What is Standard?

Sometimes when some of our customers are a bit apprehensive with all the different colors and materials that are available to them they ask us “What is standard?” or “What do other people get?” This blog will talk about the different types of signs that we make on a regular basis and the most popular sizes and colors.

Nametags – The standard size is 3” x 1” and the 2 most popular colors are silver with black text and gold with black text.

Nameplates or office door signs - The most common sizes are 8” x 2” and 10” x 2”. The vast majority are either silver with black text, gold with black text, or black with white text. We have wall and desk holders to match all the common sizes and colors for nameplates.

Handicap signs for parking stalls – Usually are 12” x 18”, blue with white text

Video Surveillance signs – Typically are 12” x 18”, landscape orientation, white with red text

Muster Point signs - The standard is becoming 24” x 24” green background with white graphics.

Vinyl address numbers – For customers that are applying vinyl address numbers to the outside of the building onto glass we recommend white vinyl text. Character height is usually 4” to 6” depending on the size of the window.

Reception signs – When corporate colors are not used, brushed aluminum lettering and logo is most commonly ordered because of the high visual impact.

Cautionary signs – depending on the warning they are usually yellow with black text.

Of course sometimes people want something that makes them stand out. We can help with that too.

Posted on October 25, 2013 - 8:37am by Yung.

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):

Laser Engraving Steel (Tools, plates, etc.):

Laser Engraving an iPad (Personalize for clients, gifts, etc.):

 

Laser Engraving in the Dark (We did this just for fun. My personal favourite of all the videos):

If you'd like to see more videos from Royal, make sure to bookmark our YouTube page. We'll be posting more videos in the coming weeks!

What we can mark with our new FiberMark laser:

Posted on October 8, 2013 - 2:35pm by Stefan.

A Home Away From Home

If you have been to our downtown showroom in the past few months you most likely have heard lots of noise coming from upstairs because of the renovations.  The goal was to create a new lunchroom space, office space, and much needed production space. To say the change has been dramatic is an understatement.  The old lunch room area has been expanded to about double the original size and has the look and feel of a posh personal living space as opposed to a work cafeteria. A new gym and shower area has been added so that staff can engage in activities to stay fit as well as  a Wii and TV (donated by staff) to help relax. 

 

 

 

We have all been looking forward to these changes ever since they were announced a few months back.  An article in the Harvard Business Review blog (owned by Havard University) titled “The Twelve Attributes of a Truly Great Place to Work” outlines how to most actively engage your employees “by addressing their four core needs – physical, emotional, mental and spiritual – so they’re freed, fueled and inspired to bring the best of themselves to work every day”.

 

 

 

Our company hits 8 of the 12 attributes, (the author states only Google comes close to all 12). Two of these attributes are a comfortable and appealing work environment and a well equipped gym. How does this benefit our customers? Studies have shown that employees that are most engaged drive higher customer satisfaction than their less engaged counterparts.

Our company has always had a family feel which was fostered from the very beginning by our founder Ray Hopkins. He always believed that if you take care of your employees they will take care of you. His daughter Lynn has taken on the torch and is continuing the philosophy.

Posted on September 27, 2013 - 11:36am by Yung.

Royal How-To Guide: Vinyl Decal Installation

Vinyl graphics, decals and stickers have a wide variety of applications and can be installed on several different surfaces. Big or small, vinyl graphics are perfect for anything from posting office hours on a glass door, to decorating a vehicle with a company's logo and colours. When purchasing vinyl from Royal, it is important to know whether you would like our professional installers to apply the graphics for you, or if you'd like to tackle the installation process yourself. We recommend professional help with vinyl installations that are larger and more detailed. If you have something small and you'd like to do it yourself, the following guide will help!

How To Install Vinyl Decals

In order for your vinyl installation to go as smoothly as possible, you will require the following tools: masking tape, scissors (or a sharp knife), measuring tape, squeegee. If you do not have a squeegee, a small piece of hard plastic will also work (eg. bank card, ID, etc.)

Step 1: Thoroughly clean and dry the area where the vinyl decal is to be installed.  Using masking tape, tack the decal up in the approximate location it is to be installed. Once it is up, step back and make sure the placement looks correct. Make any necessary adjustments and repeat. Once you have the correct placement, use a tape measure to ensure the decal is level. You can do this by measuring both sides of the decal with a square surface (eg. door frame) adjusting up or down on either side until they both measure the same.

Step 2: Once your decal is in position and level, run a strip of masking tape along one edge. Usually with smaller decals, the top edge works best.

Step 3: Using your scissors or a sharp knife, cut the vinyl into smaller, more manageable pieces BETWEEN the characters. If your decal is one solid piece, this method will not work and you should continue to step 4. CAUTION: If you are using a knife, be aware of the surface you are cutting on. For example, a window may have a layer of tint which the knife could damage.

Step 4: Now to begin the application! Lift one section, remove the backer paper and using firm pressure, squeegee downward and outward onto the surface. Repeat this step until all pieces are applied.

  

Step 5: Slowly remove the masking tape and vinyl application tape.

If you've gone this far, you're done! Hopefully this guide has been helpful and if you have any further questions, our installation experts are here to help! Just give us a call, send us an email, or tweet us and we'll do everything we can to offer tips and advice or answer any questions.

 

 

 

Posted on September 3, 2013 - 2:49pm by Stefan.

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