Outdoor Sign Project

2011-12-21T12:08:00.000-08:00

Decided it was time to make some outdoor signs. Instead of going through a company I decided to make them myself and save money. I used my Epson Workforce 500, a stack of 8x11 Ultra Premium Photo Paper Glossy, and a few sheets of large cardboard that were kindly donated from a Lowe's customer service floor rep in their back area where they have a machine that crushes down extra cardboard, trash, etc.

In order to do something like this you do have to have some sort of photo editing software. I use Photoshop CS3 for most of my graphic design and logo edits. I saved my photo to the largest size possible and re-opened it in Windows 7's built-in Microsoft Paint. Unfortunately, Photoshop (at least the version I use) doesn't allow for Tile Printing if you're trying to print a large image on multiple pieces of paper. Microsoft Paint (at least in Windows 7 - not sure about XP or Vista) does if you go into the Page Setup config and adjust the "Scaling / Fit to" options to however large you want the image. I used 4 by 4 and set the margins to zero as much as possible. By default it won't allow you to use true zero for setting the margins, which means the white unprintable edge will have to be cut off afterwards. So, 4 by 4 will be 16 pages total for our completed printed image on multiple 8x11 sheets of paper. (4x4=16).

Printing. From the print menu itself, never forget to go into the Printing Preferences options and change the Paper Options Type to our Ultra Premium Glossy Paper and to use the Best Photo possible if you have that option.

Be prepared to probably run out of ink, especially if you're trying to make a large sign. So make sure you have extra color cartridges on standby in case you do run out and in the middle of printing. Don't worry if it stops printing in the middle due to cartridge replacement. Leave your paper as is, replace the cartridge and resume printing - it will pick up where it left off unless you did something silly like reboot your computer.

After printing is complete you'll have to cut away the margin areas that weren't printed on. I used a small cutting board which I already had and that are easily under $20 at any office store. Some office stores have ones you can use for free, but I found that most of them are usually worn out, not serviced and don't cut straight.

At this point you should be ready to glue and connect all your pages to your backing. I decided to go with some 3M Spray-On Adhesive Glue I got from Lowe's that cost around $10. I don't recommend gooey glue because it typically leaves ripples in the paper. Make sure you prepare and order the pages in their corresponding rows so when you spray your adhesive and it's drying (its very quick) you're not fumbling around with what page goes where to complete the entire image. I started from the bottom edge of my cardboard backing and worked my way up, spraying the adhesive for each row as I went up. Your main goal here is just making sure you "line up" your lines in your image (not the paper edges) the best way you can. It's not going to be exactly perfect in some places so don't worry. When it's complete and you stand back the less than perfect areas won't be noticeable to the eye from a distance.

After you're done, let your sign dry. You'll more than likely have to cut away the outer cardboard areas of your sign. Try using a straight-edge ruler (I used an old school yard stick) and a razor blade tool. I decided after I was done to hit up Office Max to get them lamented to insulate and protect them while outside. I'm still debating on which route to go for hanging them so I'll post that later.

I was able to make two signs up to this point and still have enough materials to make two more signs if need be down the road.

Total cost so far:

$20 - Epson Ultra Premium Photo Glossy Paper

$10 - 3M Spray-On Adhesive Glue

$30 - Epson Color Pack Cartridges - Yellow, Magenta, Cyan

Free - Large Cardboard Sheets

Rich
Quick Fix Inc
Computer Repair & Technical Support
http://www.QuickFixLV.com

Internet Browsers!

2011-09-29T10:58:00.001-07:00

There are several other internet browsers that people use to surf the web with:

-Internet Explorer
-Google Chrome
-Mozilla Firefox
-Opera
-Safari (for those who enjoy MAC's - Works in Windows too)
-Netscape Navigator

I'm sure there's more out there, but these are the most well known. So which is best? It's really open to personal interpretation since they're constantly changing, being updated and in competition with one another. It's difficult to keep up with them. Personally, I prefer Google Chrome or Firefox. Google Chrome, to me, has a very simplistic interface, some cool features I like to show customers and isn't bloated with overly used/unwanted buttons and text. On the other hand, I like Firefox because websites tend to look better and sharper. An article I just read this week (can't remember which site - PCMag or Lifehacker) says Opera is the fastest of all the browsers currently, but again that depends on how the test was performed and what tools they used - another tech site could say Google Chrome is the fastest next week.

As someone who's constantly redesigning and changing things around on my website at QuickFixLV.com I end up using all the browsers to check for cross-functionality. This is VERY important for Web Designers because a lot of websites look completely different in each browser. The HTML code that is used to construct websites which in turn shows up on your display might look completely different from browser to browser. This is a good way to see who's doing their due diligence as a company. A business with a website that ONLY displays properly in say, Internet Explorer, but has missing or miss-aligned elements on the page in all the other browsers are doing themselves an injustice and it shows a certain level of laziness on the web designers part.

Granted, Internet Explorer still holds the top browser market share. Primarily, because it's pre-installed with Microsoft Windows on all PC's. Some might remember almost a decade ago a lawsuit (I believe from Netscape) against Microsoft for shipping its Windows product out with Internet Explorer pre-packaged claiming it's monopolizing the web browsing industry. In order to use the other browsers you have to directly go to their website (via Internet Explorer - LOL), download and install the browser. Then remember to use the new browser if you're not already brain washed into using Internet Explorer which has been mainstream since Windows and the Internet began.