Hi Doctor,
I'm assuming you haven't used the Cricut line's vinyl lettering function yet, so here's my newly-acquired take on it.
With three new rockets to christen, I took a self-administered crash course this past weekend on using the wife's Cricut
Maker to cut out vinyl rocket lettering that I formerly outsourced to StickerShock. There is significant savings to doing this one's self, but it is an acquired skill, in my view.
First, Cricut-produced vinyl lettering requires that the machine cut-out letters have the non-image "negatives" be removed from the adhesive sheet backing leaving only the letters, to include removing the centers of o's, e's a's, etc. This is a process Cricut calls "weeding." It requires a needle-pointed tool. It also requires great care, not to mention keen eyesight, particularly when small fonts are used, so as not to wrinkle or damage the lettering
After weeding the sheet of non-text vinyl, it's necessary to position a self-adhesive sheet of transfer paper or film to the right-reading side of the lettering in order to remove the cutting mat and then (very carefully) the vinyl sheet's own backing from the sticky, reverse-reading side of the lettering. This will expose the sticky letter backing you'll affix to the rocket. Positioning the transfer film on the lettering sheet requires great care and skill to avoid wrinkles that might damage or distort the cut-out, weeded lettering, and you may not get a second chance to correctly and smoothly position the transfer film. When peeling the vinyl lettering from the backing sheet, sometimes the vinyl film's adhesive backing stubbornly holds onto the letters rather than the transfer film, requiring a good bit of spot burnishing to the letters to get the transfer film to win the tug-of-war with the backing. Slow, steady, patient peeling is a must.
Finally, the lettering must be very carefully positioned on the rocket. I found that drawing a fine, horizontally-centered Sharpy line on the outer surface of the transfer film and a corresponding line on the intended position on the rocket's surface aided positioning greatly. Once the text was perfectly positioned, the letters burnished to the rocket's well-cleaned paint, and the transfer film carefully peeled away from the rocket-affixed lettering, the rocket's Sharpy line can be removed with a rubbing alcohol-moistened paper towel.
StickerShock makes this task infinitely easier on the missile-builder, and their product is first-class quality. But if you enjoy learning a new skill, and have the patience for it, cutting and applying your own Cricut-produced vinyl lettering is an economical and satisfying alternative.
The rocket on the right has StickerShock lettering, while the three others to the left are my own Father's Day handiwork, courtesy of my paper-crafting wife's Cricut
Maker.
Good skies,
GlueckAuf