NestSigns

Guide · October 2026

How to nest channel letters to save material

Acrylic, aluminum composite and PVC are some of the biggest costs on a channel letter job. How tightly the letters are packed on the sheet decides how many sheets you buy. Here is how to nest letters well, by hand or with software.

1. Set part spacing from your router bit

The gap between letters has to be at least the width of the cut. If your bit is 1/8 in (0.125 in), a gap of 0.125 in leaves no material between two letters, and one bad move ruins both. A safe rule is bit diameter + about 0.05 in:

Bit diameterSuggested gap
1/8 in (0.125 in)0.175 to 0.2 in
3/16 in (0.1875 in)0.24 to 0.25 in
1/4 in (0.25 in)0.3 in

Keep an edge margin too (0.1 in or more), so the outer letters do not run off a sheet that is slightly out of square.

2. Decide on rotation before you nest

Letting letters rotate to any angle packs the tightest, but it is not always allowed:

3. Put small parts inside letter holes

The counters of O, A, B, D, P, Q, R and the numbers 0, 4, 6, 8, 9 are open material. Small letters, periods, hyphens and logo pieces can be cut inside them. On a job with a mix of large and small letters, this alone can save a sheet.

Watch one thing: the hole pieces of a letter (the center of an O, for example) must stay with that letter if you are cutting the letter as a frame. Treat a letter and its holes as one part.

4. Nest faces and backs from the same artwork

Faces and backs are usually the same outline on different materials. Nest each material on its own, but keep the same part numbers on both, so the face and back of each letter can be matched after cutting.

5. Use leftovers first

Most shops have a stack of leftover pieces from earlier jobs. Before opening a full sheet, check whether the small letters fit on a leftover. A simple stock list per material (size and count of full sheets and leftovers) makes this quick, and keeps you from buying sheets you already have.

6. Handle letters bigger than the sheet

A letter taller than the sheet has to be divided. Split it where the seam is easiest to hide, add a joining strip (about 1 in) on one side if the pieces will be glued or screwed together, and label the pieces (A1, A2…) so the installer knows which go together.

7. Number every part for sorting

The slowest part of a big letter job is often after the router stops: sorting dozens of loose letters into faces, backs and returns. Number every part on the cut sheet, and print a sheet that shows where each number belongs in the original layout.

Nesting by hand vs. nesting software

Nesting by hand in Illustrator or CorelDRAW works for a few letters. For a full storefront set it takes a long time, and it is easy to leave a gap smaller than the bit. General nesting tools pack rectangles or simple shapes well, but most do not put parts in letter holes, keep holes with their letter, or track leftovers.

NestSigns was made for this job. On a real channel letter order (72 faces on 46 × 46 in sheets, 0.2 in spacing, any rotation) it placed all 72 parts on 6 sheets in about 10 seconds. It reads AI, PDF, DXF, SVG and CDR files, and exports cut-ready PDF, AI and DXF with every part numbered.

Try it on your own file. 20 free nesting runs, no credit card. After that, $14.99 per month.
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