Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 24, 1995 TAG: 9506260137
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The new decals, with unbrittle ink, beat the June 1 deadline. Just in case they didn't make it to car owners in time, police agreed not to issue no-sticker tickets until at least June 15.
Commissioner of the Revenue Marsha Compton Fielder was so pleased with the problem's resolution that she sent a thank-you note to the Roanoke Times & World-News for keeping the public informed.
Not so fast.
It seems a new problem has cropped up - faded spots on the decals' already very light blue background.
The spots give the stickers a mottled look. Some people say it looks as though part of the decal is wet. Others have wondered whether air bubbles have crept between the sticker and the windshield, or whether it were misapplied.
"It looks like faded spots on blue jeans," Fielder said. Once again, the problem appears to be a manufacturing defect, she said.
A representative of the printer, Rydin Sign & Decal of Wood Dale, Ill., was in town this week to take a look. But the company hasn't determined what the cause is, or even whether a problem exists, said Pete Gianpetro, a Rydin vice president.
Fielder said she's contemplating asking Rydin for the $8,000 back that the city forked over on the printing job. Although Rydin's bid was $3,000 lower than the only other bidder, "it hasn't been worth [it] to me," Fielder said.
Gianpetro said it's possible there's a problem with the transparent acetate sheets on which the decals are printed. The same batch was used for personal property decals in cities and counties across the state, however, and Rydin hasn't received complaints from anywhere else, Gianpetro said.
Complaints about the faded spots haven't been as frequent as those that bombarded Fielder's office over the flaky ink.
In that case, the problem was traced to brittle white ink used in the printing process. Rydin blamed the ink manufacturer but agreed to replace the decals and eat the cost of the second printing.
The city has used Rydin before without problems.
A minor fuss also has been raised over the color of the stickers. The blue is so light it's difficult to discern "Roanoke," which is printed in white.
City officials intentionally chose that color, but Fielder conceded it looks "like a big blue blob" on windshields.
By next year, when all the valley governments have the same color stickers, that problem will be gone. But Fielder said she's already bracing for complaints about the color slated for 1996: red.
by CNB