Best Parking Lot Stencil
Best Parking Lot Stencil
I stripe parking lots and streets. I’ve been in business 28 years. Sales are 165K, doing that, and I take Winter off. Overhead is low. ( It’s all in my book; How I Stripe a Parking Lot. ) I also manufacture stencils. That’s year ‘round. I say that…and I introduce the “stencil topic”…to say this; our stencils are the best…for several reasons. Therefore…we may or may not “match prices”. To me…this can come off as a semi gimmick. Why not just lower the price forever? Why not match my stencil? It should always be about; “Apples to Apples” and being fair. First…we’d increase most prices. Next…we’d squish down “Worded Stencils”. Next…we’d use 12″ wide plastic for 10″ wide numbers. Maybe we’d use a different plastic. Blahblah… But…here’s the reverse…if someone wants to match my prices…ask them to also match my stencil. ADD space between the letters. ( it’s about safely reading that stencil, from a distance “at speed”. ) And…ADD more “Edge Distance”. We use 13″ wide plastic for 8″ wide Numbers. And…we’re still priced lower. Take a look at our stencils. Next…
I had a customer call and say; Dan…I cheated on you. I laughed. How? She bought a 36″ tall STOP stencil from someone else. It was much less money. “Dan, I can’t use this. The letters are 9″ wide. The spacing may be an inch.” It was to go into a drive lane where cars were travelling maybe 10 MPH. ( Not 3 MPH. ) “It looks like spaghetti.” We talked. She bought another stencil.
I also saw a stencil that was too thin. I have photos. It had to be “paper” thin. I see some measuring 30 Mil thick…even 10 Mil. It’ll flutter and it’s overpriced.
Here’s my best advice…buy Low Density Polyethylene plastic stencils. ( LDPE ) Next…thickness; choose either 1/16″ or 1/8″ thick material. ( Sometimes you’ll see that as; 60 Mil or 125 Mil. ) 1/16″ is for that occasional use. ( Try not to buy thinner. The 60 Mil thickness will serve you well. ) 1/8″ is for constant use = professional use…such as a pavement marking company using a Handi Cap stencil everyday. Next…there is NO standard. So…I’d recommend thee most common size for (2) reasons; 12″ worded stencils. (1) It’s easy to see and read “at speed”. Picture a DRIVE THRU stencil at a fast food joint. You can see it at a distance, at the speed you’re driving. ( That’s for the driver. ) The next reason; (2) is for the striper. “You can always go a little bigger but be careful going smaller”. In other words…if the client has a 10″ VISITOR Stencil in 6 stalls… “grey” those out, nicely, ( that’s in my book ), and re-spray using your 12″ VISITOR. BUT…if a client has several 36″ STOP stencils and you “grey” those out…and…replace / spray using a 24″ STOP stencil…Friend…you’ll raise an eyebrow. ( That occurred at a mall I frequent. )
Bottom line…buy my stencils. They’re the right material. The worded stencils are spaced properly, not squished down. The edges are bigger for over spray and strength. The actual “cutout” portion known as; “Brush Stroke” is not 1″. It does not look like spaghetti. That “stroke” is 2″, 3″ and 4″. They’re nice. They’re easy to read at speed. AND…if you’re a striper…try to buy a common size, maybe slightly bigger, that you can use on other jobs too. That’ll save cash. I was you.
Last...If you have any questions about this “All Time Best Small Business Start Up”…let me know. I’ll answer your questions. And / or...Buy my book @ www.AmericanStriping.com. ( Click HERE to read the first (4) pages. ) Thanks again. Dan