What we make / Custom Vinyl Lettering
Cut vinyl decals & letteringCustom Vinyl Lettering
Cut vinyl text for windows, doors, trucks and trailers. Weeded and taped, ready to apply.
More of this work in the gallery →
Lettering for windows, doors, vehicles and boats
Cut vinyl lettering is the standard way to put a business name, hours of operation, a phone number or a registration number on glass or paint. It is not printed: each letter is cut from a single sheet of solid-colour vinyl on a plotter, the waste is weeded away by hand, and transfer tape holds the whole line in position until it is on the surface. That is why the finished job has no visible background, no printed edge and no laminate to yellow — on glass it reads as if the letters were painted on.
Common jobs
Storefront window lettering and business hours decals, glass door logos, truck door lettering and fleet numbers, boat registration numbers and boat names, office and shop wall quotes, mailbox and house numbers, safety and instruction wording on equipment, and open/closed and parking signage. Any font, any vinyl colour, any size up to four feet on the roll and larger as tiled panels.
Sizing it
Measure the space, not the letters — the size we quote is the overall bounding box of the finished layout. A useful sign-trade rule: letters need roughly one inch of height for every ten feet of viewing distance, so hours on a door read fine at 1–2 inches while a name meant to be read from the street should be much larger. Unsure? Send the measurement and a photo and we will lay it out to fit and show you a proof before anything is cut. There are more worked examples in our size guide.
Fonts, and what cuts cleanly
Almost any font can be cut, but the blade has limits that a printer does not. Very thin strokes, tight script joins and text much under half an inch are hard to weed and tend to lift at the edges once they are on. Fine serifs and hairline italics are the usual casualties. We check your artwork at the size you actually need, and if a font is going to give trouble we say so and suggest the nearest thing that will last — before it is cut, not after.
One colour per layer
Cut vinyl is one colour per sheet. A two-colour logo is made as two layers, aligned and applied together; three and four colours are the same idea and are routine work here. Beyond that a design is usually better printed, and we will tell you which way round is the better job for what you are making.
Inside or outside the glass
Lettering applied to the outside of a window reads brightest and is the default. Applied to the inside it is protected from weather, scrubbing and picking — but it has to be cut mirrored to read correctly from the street, so tell us which side it is going on when you ask. Getting that wrong is the one mistake that cannot be fixed after cutting.
How long it lasts
Standard Oracal 651 permanent vinyl is rated up to six years outdoors by its maker; cast Oracal 751 is rated up to eight and is what we use on vehicles and curves. Indoors, on a wall or an office window, lettering effectively lasts until somebody takes it down. Because there is no ink, there is nothing to fade — cut vinyl simply outlives printed work. The materials guide explains which film suits which job.
Shipped ready to apply, anywhere in Canada
Lettering arrives as one piece under transfer tape with the spacing already set — peel the backing, position it, squeegee it down, then peel the tape back on itself at a shallow angle. That is what makes ordering vinyl lettering by mail practical: free standard shipping to every province and territory, and expedited quoted on request. Step-by-step instructions are in our application guide.
Getting a quote
Email info@signs613.com with the wording, the measurement of the space and a photo if you have one, or use the request form. Not sure which film? Read which vinyl is right first.
Common questions
How do I get a quote?
Email info@signs613.com or send the request form on this site — both land in the same inbox. Tell us the size, the quantity and where it is going, and attach your artwork or a photo. A real person replies with a clear price and turnaround. We do not publish a phone number; if you would rather be called, leave your number in the form and say so.
Do you ship across Canada?
Yes — standard shipping is free anywhere in Canada. Expedited shipping is available on request; tell us your deadline and we will quote it alongside the free option.
Will I see a proof first?
Always. Every job gets a proof by email showing size, colour, spelling and layout, and nothing is cut or printed until you approve it.
How long does it take?
Most decal, sticker and lettering jobs are made within about five business days of proof approval, plus shipping. Larger signs and installations are scheduled with you. In a hurry? Say so and we will tell you honestly what is possible.
What file format should I send?
Cut vinyl needs vector artwork — SVG, PDF, AI or EPS — because the blade follows the outlines in the file. A JPG or PNG has no outlines. Only have a photo of your logo? Send it anyway and we can redraw it as vector for a small fee.
How long will a cut vinyl decal last outside?
Standard Oracal 651 is rated around six years outdoors; cast Oracal 751 around eight. Sun exposure is what decides it — a decal on a south-facing window ages faster than one on a shaded door.
What is the difference between die cut and kiss cut?
Die cut means the blade goes through the vinyl AND the backing, so the finished piece is the shape of your artwork. Kiss cut means only the top layer is cut and the backing sheet stays whole, so the sticker sits on a larger square you peel it off. One thing worth knowing: most online sticker shops selling "die cut stickers" mean a printed, laminated sticker cut to shape. What we cut here is solid colour vinyl with no printing and no background, pre-masked with transfer tape — on glass or a truck door there is no visible sticker edge at all.
Should I ask for permanent or removable vinyl?
Permanent vinyl uses a strong adhesive and is what belongs on vehicles, storefront glass, equipment and anything outdoors. Removable vinyl uses a lower-tack adhesive meant to come off cleanly after months rather than years — right for a seasonal promotion, a leased vehicle, a rented space or a wall you do not own. "Permanent" describes adhesive strength, not a life sentence: it still comes off with gentle heat and patience. Tell us how long it needs to last and whether it must come off cleanly, and we will pick the film.
What surfaces will a vinyl decal stick to?
Vinyl wants smooth, clean and non-porous. Glass, painted or enamelled metal, powder-coated panels, sealed or varnished wood, acrylic and smooth rigid plastics all hold well. Gloss and semi-gloss painted drywall is fine; flat paint is less reliable and heavy texture is a gamble. It will not hold on brick, concrete, stucco, raw or weathered wood, or anything chalky or flaking — there is nothing continuous for the adhesive to grip. Send a close-up photo of the surface if you are unsure and we will tell you before you order.
Will a decal damage my paint or my window tint?
Applied and removed properly, no. Vinyl sits on the clear coat, not in it, and comes off with gentle heat from a hair dryer, lifted at a shallow angle — never a blade, and never a heat gun held in one spot. Factory tint is inside the glass and is not affected. Aftermarket tint film is the exception: it is a film on the inside of the window, so put the decal on the OUTSIDE of a tinted window and it is a non-issue. Paint that is already cracked, flaking or freshly resprayed is the real risk — let new paint cure for at least a month first.
Can I put a decal on in winter?
Not outdoors in a Canadian February. Vinyl adhesive needs roughly 10 degrees Celsius or warmer to tack, and both the air and the surface have to be there — a sunny minus-five afternoon is still a cold truck door, and cold vinyl cracks instead of conforming. Bring the vehicle or panel into a heated garage, let it come up to temperature for a few hours, clean it with isopropyl alcohol and apply indoors. Then leave it a full day before rain, a car wash or a freeze-thaw cycle. Once cured, road salt and winter are not a problem for permanent vinyl; it is the first day that matters.
Can you cut any shape, any colour and any size?
Any shape your vector artwork describes, in any single vinyl colour we stock — standard colours plus metallic, matte, gloss, reflective, holographic and etched-glass finishes. Sizes run from roughly half an inch up to four feet wide on the roll, and larger again as tiled panels. The practical limits are at the small end: strokes thinner than about a sixteenth of an inch and text under half an inch are hard to weed and tend to lift. We check your artwork at the finished size and tell you before anything is cut.
How does a cut vinyl decal arrive, and how do I apply it?
In three layers: backing paper, your design in vinyl, and transfer tape over the top holding every letter in position. Peel the backing away, position the whole thing, squeegee firmly from the middle out, then peel the transfer tape back on itself at a shallow angle and the vinyl stays behind. Spacing and layout are already correct because the weeding was done here. Clean the surface with isopropyl alcohol first, not a household cleaner — wax and detergent residue is the usual reason a decal lifts later. Instructions ship in the package, and there is more detail in our decal guide.
Can you ship cut vinyl decals to my province?
Yes — every province and territory, with free standard shipping. Cut vinyl travels better than almost anything else a sign shop makes: it ships flat or rolled, pre-masked with transfer tape, so it arrives ready to apply and there is no surcharge for distance. The same decal costs a customer in British Columbia what it costs one in Ontario. Expedited shipping is quoted on request — tell us your deadline when you ask. Only installation stays local, across the Belleville, Kingston and Napanee area.
What if something is wrong when it arrives?
Custom work cannot be returned for a change of mind, because it is made specifically for you — but if it arrives faulty, damaged or not as proofed, contact us within 14 days with a photo and we will remake or refund it.