I’m doing a favor for my landlord so we can try and solve some serious parking issues with our apartment, and he gave me the strangest directions, “…any sticker that you can put inside the car and read on the outside so that the rain does not wash it away…” So, I need to find a kind of sticker that I can write on (ex. 1b, 2a, etc.), thats goes on the inside of the car, and that will stick to the windshield (preferably without melting off, it’s still pretty hot here). What would be the best to get?
A wide piece of clear packing tape, stuck to the inside of the window. Write on the non-sticky side of the tape with a permanent marker, then stick the tape to the inside of the window.
Won’t melt off, but after some time in hot weather, you may need to use WD-40 or Goof-Off or some other kind of solvent to remove residual adhesive from the glass.
Hm, not sure this would work. They all have to be the same, and I have to give them to the residents along with a letter from the landlord. Would I just hand them a piece of tape?
There are sheets of vinyl that can be printed upon that will adhere to the inside of your glass. Think of the oil change reminders that they stick to the upper corner of your windshield.
I think this will do the job.
Oh. You mentioned a sticker that you can write on; I didn’t realize you were looking for uniformly printed stickers. In that case, yes, you’re looking for clear sheets like GaryM describes, something you can feed to an inkjet printer.
Alternative would be to print something on paper (this would let you use a laser printer instead of an inkjet), then sandwich it between two pieces of packing tape, with the print facing the exposed adhesive of one of the pieces (so that it faces the windshield when stuck to the inside of it).
Might also be able to find a label printer that utilizes clear labels, but that would be a significant cash outlay.
That’s another good idea. Print on clear address labels but print the mirror image so the print is readable with the sticky side of the label facing out. A 2"x4" shipping label might be a good size, but I can’t say I’ve seen those in clear.
It’s hard to imagine anyone allowing you to put packing tape on their windshield. I know I would raise a shit if you wanted to put packing tape on my car. That would look ghetto, and after a while would be all but impossible to remove.
What’s wrong with a tag that dangles from your rear view mirror? Or even a parking card that you put on the dash?
Get a cheap roll of window film from Lowe’s or Home depot. Cut it into whatever size you want. It’s not adhesive so you you can put it on a glass or existing window tinting without worrying about having to remove it later.
Or a packet of iphone screen protectors.
You can write directly on either one with a permanent marker. Or print something up on transparent labels to stick to the film.
Volusia County (Florida) used to issue annual beach driving passes that were stuck to the inside of your windshield which could be read from the outside.
They weren’t the vinyl type since they didn’t want you to transfer them between cars.
OP was not very specific about
- wanting something to be uniformly printed across multiple copies, and
- multiple stickers being made for cars besides her own.
For one car and one sticker, packing tape would have probably been fine, but given these new details, I agree packing tape is not a very viable solution.
Sorry, I should have given more details. I do need something uniform, there needs to be enough for 12 vehicles, and the purpose is to identify who is authorized to park in the private parking, so that all others can be spotted and towed. I need something that I can just give to the resident along with a letter from the landlord, and they can put in their windshield at a time convenient for them. A parking card for the dash is something I’ve haven’t considered, but sounds pretty good to me. Any advice on those?
Another thing, the solution would preferably not be expensive. I will be reimbursed by the landlord, for both time and materials, but I’m thinking I probably should stick to something he wouldn’t mind paying for.
Why not get them done professionally? You’d probably have to buy 100, but it can’t be very expensive.
Try here.
A tag that they could hang from their mirror might be a better option for privacy reasons. If the parking stickers you’re planning on indicate the name or location of the apartment building in any way, some people might be hesitant to put them on their windows because it’s basically broadcasting where they live to the world. (I’m not one of these people, but it is a valid concern.)
A tag from the rearview mirror solves this problem - they can take it down and stash it in the console or glove compartment when they’re out in the world at large.
For 12 units, it might almost be easier to just make up a list like
1A White Ford Explorer 4CAR123
1B Red Mazda Miata 5KPE456
and so on
A tag would be better too for transferring to other cars. If one of your tenants gets a new car or has a rental for a few days or is having a friend watch their apartment, they’ll want to transfer the parking pass to a different car.
Also, I think you should try to have them made professionally if possible. If you do something that you can make at home, what’s to stop someone else from making a fraudulent one at home? Conversely, what is the landlord going to do if you leave?
Have something made in a batch of 100 with a blank space for the tenant’s special “code.” Hand-write the codes. When someone moves, revoke their code and hand-write the new tenant’s code on one of your extra 88 passes.
How bad is the parking problem? Is it likely that some of your transgressors would simply print their own homemade parking stickers?
Sorry, Zipper beat me to it.
An important policy question here concerns easy transfer of the objects (and thus parking privileges) between vehicles. Do you [ul][li]want it; []specifically not want it; or []have no strong preference?[/ul] The answer to this question will go a long way towards helping decide between stickers and mirror hang-tags (or the solution gotpasswords proposes).[/li]
If privacy is a potential concern, stickers could be made distinctive but non-identifying - a design that is easy to recognize, but that does not actually give the complex’s name or address.
Edit: What ZipperJJ said, IOW.
I think this would be your best bet. You can also alter the list easily, if someone is subletting (with permission) or is having someone stay for the night (again, with permission). How many cars are you allowing each unit? One or two? It’s fairly easy to make up a list, and then print it out as needed. Heck, you could even write out a list by hand.