Sign Making with a Computer Page 6

Updated 12/22/2003

The only thing remaining is the additional text.  i wanted to use a blue color that is also on the paint can.  Again, I used the "Pick Color" from the toolbar in Paint and moved my cursor over to a blue area.  Then, i selected the "text" button on the toolbar and added the text in the appropriate area.  make sure the background area for the text box is transparent.

And that is it for creating the sign.  I pasted my sign into a Word document and resized the vertical or horizontal dimension.  All you need to do is resize one of these dimensions.  Since the image is already in the proper ratio of vertical vs. horizontal, the resizing in Word should give you an image that meets your needs. I printed my sign on a color printer.  You may find that the sign is too dark or too light.  I didn't find any area to adjust the tint, brightness, or contrast for the whole sign in Paint.  You will need to use another image or photo editor to do so. As for weathering, I cut my sign into 10 pieces.  A billboard was not printed on one sheet of paper.  Instead, multiple sections were printed and then pieced together on the sign. Before I mounted them on the wood sign, I sanded the face of all 10 pieces.  The direction I sanded them was in the vertical direction.  I also sanded a little bit more along the edges since they deteriorate faster than anywhere else on each panel.  Then, I hit each panel with the India ink/alcohol solution.  Once that dried, I glued them to the wood sign. And that is it!