Beware of the Cats Cling Arrives

My static cling decal from Signazon arrived, and didn't it turn out great?

It's been sitting here for a couple of weeks, while I waited for the gloomy, grey, wet weather to lift. Finally, a gorgeous morning, and I'm working a late shift, so I had plenty of time to install it on our front storm door.

First impression

I was so excited to open the box and see how the static cling decal turned out. Sometimes it's hard to imagine how that little digital image you're looking at on your screen is going to look when it's printed on something. When I first unwrapped it, I have to say, I was a little disappointed. I had designed it to be on a clear background. I have to take at least partial blame for that, because before I submitted the file, the site showed me a proof and it had a white background. Lesson learned - if the proof doesn't look exactly like you want, don't click submit. Ask about it first.

Beyond that, I was very pleased with the quality of the product, how the colors looked, and everything else. As it happens, the white background probably means it will show up better from a distance, especially when our dark green door is closed behind it.

Installation

This morning, I cleaned the storm door with white vinegar. The outside was dirty with dust, pollen, and splatter. The inside had smears from snotty cat noses. I left it to dry for a few minutes while I scrubbed litter boxes, then I came back for the big moment.

I should mention that Signazon emailed me some instructions for working with my new static cling decal. The message came a couple of days after I placed my order, and I glanced through it, but that's all. Today, of course, I was ready to go. Instructions? We don't need no stinkin' instructions.

I carefully unrolled the cling onto the window. Darn! Air bubbles! Peel up. Press down. Blotchy! Peel up. Press down. Bubbles! Darn, I wish I had a squeegee.

So, I went to the computer and actually read the directions. They recommend spraying the door with water, then unfurling the cling. Hey, that actually works! The bubbles leveled out automatically, and it didn't have any blotchiness. For a squeegee, I used the rubber strip on my dustpan. It's probably 9" wide and the cling is 12" wide, so I only had to make a couple of passes to smooth everything out. The one complication was that the water under the cling will make it slide a little if you press too hard.

Once it was all in place, I realized I should have looked over my original art a little more closely. The photo of Petra, the tabby, had a fine line coming off it that shows up like a long hair against the white background. I could easily have removed it in Photoshop, if I had zoomed in and looked over every inch of the image. Oh, well, it's not that noticable until you're right up on it, and even then, most people probably won't see it. I didn't notice it when we first pulled it out of the box, only after I got it onto the door.

Aftermath

After everything was in place and the photos were taken, I rolled up the foam packing material, the cling backer and the cardboard tube it was rolled up on and put it all back in the box, in case we decide to take it down sometime. When I tried to put it back in the box, it caught on something.

Whaddya know? The nice people at Signazon included a squeegee! If I had opened the other end of the box (or if, you know, I actually checked inside to see if there was anything else), I would have seen it right away. It's only about 6" wide, and I really think the dustpan did just as well or better, but it's still a nice touch. If I had seen it right away, I would have used it and never even thought about the dustpan.

As I wrote this review, I went back to the website and realized that not all clings are automatically clear. I'm quite sure I didn't select "clear static cling" from the drop down menu. So, that explains how I ended up with the white background. I also noticed that there's a box to check if you want to use your cling inside the glass. I'm now a little worried that the ink is going to stick to the glass, especially when it's really hot outside.

Recommendation

All in all, it was a very good experience, and I think my cling looks really cute on the front door. My only recommendation is, if you order from them, be sure you look at all the options before you place your order, to make sure you get exactly what you want. I have a tendancy to breeze through the process very quickly, and until computers can read minds (would that be a good thing or not?), I need to slow down.

I am grateful to Signazon for giving me the opportunity to review one of their products at no cost to me.