A tool for every need

I usually start these features with my own insight into the topic at hand before I talk to the experts who either prove me wrong or educate me on the products available and the general state of the market. However, this time I thought I would hand it over to James Carpenter, managing director of Doro Tape, providers of sign-making vinyl and digital print media supplies, who explains just why sign-makers love their tools.

“They love them for two reasons,” Carpenter says, continuing: “Firstly because it’s always fun to play with a new gadget. Secondly, sign-making accessories can actually make the sign-maker’s life a lot easier and save time on the job.


“Over the 28 years we have been in business we have gradually built up our selection of must have accessories. As the industry has evolved, so have the tools evolved to match and many of the best and most useful tools have been recommended or devised by the sign-maker themselves.

“I can think of numerous occasions when a customer has, with great enthusiasm, raved over some simple product he’s recently come across. Take the humble weeding tool for instance. For anybody having to ‘weed’ out plotter-cut self-adhesive vinyl, the centres from ‘a’s and ‘o’s can be an absolute trial. So, imagine the joy of one sign-maker who found that the humble dentist probe with its sharp, pointy, hook end made a fantastic weeding tool, saving him loads of time and aggravation. There are numerous examples of tools produced for other markets that we now supply into the sign trade.”

Carpenter goes on to highlight how tools are often invented by sign-makers after seeing a gap in the market that could be easily filled by one simple tool.

“Take for instance our ‘Float On’ application fluid,” he continues, “This was originally formulated by a local sign-maker who wanted an application fluid that worked better than just a water and detergent mix. We saw the potential in this, purchased it from him and when he closed his business, took over the manufacture ourselves. The ‘Wrap Cut’ filament devise for cutting and shaping wrap vinyl applied to vehicles, is another example of a brilliant time saving gadget invented by a guy doing the job week in week out.”

The company’s Float On vinyl application fluid is designed to help sign-makers with the repositioning and application of vinyl graphics, a key skill for any vehicle wrapper. The liquid is ready to use in the bottle and is spirit based, which means it evaporates quickly and dries faster.

Carpenter adds: “At this point I have a confession to make. Some years ago a customer came to me with an idea.

He suggested adding a magnet to a plastic squeegee. While applying graphics the squeegee could be magnetised to the metal body of the vehicle and would therefore always be within easy reach. I have to admit to being lukewarm about the idea and he didn’t pursue it. Guess what Doro Tape now has in its range of squeegees? My humble apologies John.

O Factoid: Doro Tape supplies a tool called Bubble Pen, which has a retractable fine point for removing air bubbles trapped underneath vinyl film. O

“Doro Tape now stock over 100 tools to make the sign-maker’s life a lot easier including 14 varieties of squeegee alone. We are always adding to the list when a useful tool comes to our attention. So, if you have a good idea, do let me know, I will listen this time, promise.”

For good measure

Kieran Dallow, marketing manager at Innotech, trade suppliers of large-format printing materials, portable displays, and point-of-sale solutions, discusses how sign-makers and printers can save time by using its Spike Laser Measurement Tool.



“The Spike Laser Measurement Tool is ideal for site surveys and estimations and is used to capture dimensions for new signs or sign replacements,” says Dallow, adding: “Solely distributed in the UK by Innotech, the Spike device connects with a tablet or smartphone via Bluetooth, and is accessed through an app. Users can use the app to measure an object by simply taking a photo. The photo will capture real-time measurements of an object, such as a building or wall, within seconds.”



IkeGPS, manufacturers of the Spike Laser Measurement Tool, entered into a reseller agreement with Innotech last year that introduced the solution into the UK and Irish sign and digital graphics markets for the first time. Innotech exhibited the tool at last year’s Sign and Digital UK and since its launch, customer feedback has been positive.

Dallow explains: “The effectiveness of the tool speaks for itself, but added to this, our customers have said that by using it they’ve been able to cut their time and costs of estimating for jobs in half. This has allowed Spike customers to double the amount of opportunities in their sales pipeline, resulting in increased profits.”

Dallow says the “simplicity” of the device is what makes it a great time-saver for sign-makers as the only thing they have to do is take a photo of the object to measure it and the rest is done by the device.



He continues: “A normal site survey and estimation can take a lot of time, resulting in a lot of money spent, and after all the hard work, you may not always win the job. The Spike tool enables sign-makers to conduct estimations quickly and easily and focus their efforts on production.”

Dallow concludes: “At Innotech we’re always working on new ways to enhance our product and service offerings for our customers, and a key product that does this is our High Bond Gel Tape. Used for mounting small frames due to its high strength, it can also be removed from surfaces easily when it is twisted. You can find out more about this product by visiting our website.”

Higher standards

Complete CNC Solutions’ managing director, Julian Sage, proposes an important question, ‘why just cut, when you can cut and polish in one step?’

“Any sign-maker who owns and operates routing hardware will be familiar with the time the hardware is capable of saving when compared to other methods used to cut rigid materials,” says Sage, adding: “That said, most routing hardware yields output that requires further manual finishing to bring it up to the standard required to sell. Edges may need filing or polishing and other witness marks will need removing. That all takes time and manual effort.”

This is where CP tooling from Complete CNC Solutions comes in handy, as Sage explains: “CP tooling is compatible with most computerised routing hardware fitted with a quality spindle and, when used with an appropriate collet, it delivers results to a much higher finished standard than other tooling achieves.



“CP tooling is made in a large range of sizes all based around highly evolved geometry designed expressly for greatly enhanced mechanical stiffness and precision. The tooling can deal with any routable material and yields its best results when a single cutter is dedicated to a broad material type.

Tool life and material yields are consequentially much better than might be achieved with less developed tooling so the end-to-end savings can be considerable.”



Sage highlights how time-saving tools are only effective if they have a positive effect on the rest of the production line. He says: “When considering tools expressly designed to save time when performing one operation, its impact on another must be considered.

“If a saving banked in one place is simply withdrawn in another, nothing is gained. Complete CNC Solutions’ CP tooling delivers the full potential of its time saving without taking the saving back with the other hand.”


The company suggests that the CP tooling range is best viewed as an entire programme and operated similarly, with ‘considerable savings’ to be had.

Sage adds: “As with any claim that purports to deliver savings and improvements, the proof is in the eating. Complete CNC Solution will supply trial tooling to interested companies and invite them to compare results.”

It is often not the most expensive or complicated tools that elicit the best response. The other day I came across a simple gadget for holding your book page open without having to apply as much force on the book to keep it open, humorously called a ‘Thumbthing’. A brilliant, yet simple, invention that I am sure is a lifesaver for bookworms.

The same goes for the sign-making industry. It is not always the huge pieces of printing technology and eco-friendly inks that make sign-makers the most excited. More often than not, it is the simple fluid that is the difference between being able to easily reposition graphics and being stuck with a graphic that cannot be moved. Hopefully, this spirit of invention will continue long into the future.


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