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If all you're doing is carving and painting the HDU, your pricing is okay if not a bit cheap. If you're providing a finished sign with the proper frame work, backing material, mounting brackets, and correct material (20lb minimum), you're definitely light on the bid. To do the entire job...

Business is business and if you guys want to open up your own print shop, that's a business decision. What people forget about when they bring stuff in house is they're essentially running a completely different business within their own business. In this case, it doesn't sound like the two...

What material/method did you use to achieve the blue face? That sounds like the problem more than anything else. Companies like Marshall's, Allstate, Coldwell Banker, and CitiBank have used blue channel letters for a long time with reasonable success.

Just so you know, cloning a drive is not the ideal solution. Ideally you install the OS, clear out the crap, and install what you need. Then dump your important files from the old HD into the new one. This results in a much better foundation as you'll have a more organized HD. When you...

When you buy a HD, it will come with software to clone. It's quite simple. Plug in both HD's and follow the instructions.

The biggest issue with this process is the liars. They say they're going to give you X and really give Y. There may or may not be an issue when the install is done, but you've already lost the job. By far my least favorite part of the business is bidding. I absolutely hate it. Rarely are...

The letters being different sizes is likely because they're on a curve and 20 years ago, it resulted in letters getting a little funky.

JPEG/PNG compress images a lot more than TIFF. TIFF are pretty much raw images. A TIFF should scale better and be more versatile because it's uncompressed but in real life, it might not make that big of a difference.

One of the top rules in sign making is ignore any material spec from an architect. They aren't sign makers. They try to be specific to help but they use either the wrong terms or antiquated terms. Just spec out aluminum and plastic and let them pick which they want. It's getting painted...

We set pickup dates. They can come then or any time after. I tell specifically "I'm not calling or emailing you when it's done". We do this for two reasons: 1. I don't want to deal with the "you never called/emailed me" nonsense. 2. If I do their job the same day, I don't want them to think...

Enamel paints have been industry standard. This used to mean One Shot, but most don't care for their "new" formula. Ronan seems to be the preferred brand now. The honest answer is there are a lot of really good latex paints out there now. I believe many of the Wall Dog events are painted...

I don't do wraps so take my opinion as maybe someone with some knowledge but also just as a consumer. Install is the last thing I would think I'm paying extra for. If you're offering wraps, you should know how to apply them to an acceptable standard in an acceptable time. An installer is a...

Invest a few bucks and get a sample run from the person you're outsourcing to. Show the customer what it will look like if you buy it from them vs do it yourself. Let them make the decision.

A single cleat on the top with a bottom spacer should be fine. 4x8x12mm PVC is not that heavy. I can handle it fairly easily by myself and I'm definitely not the strongest guy in the world. I would run a long cleat (90") or run 3 shorter cleats so that it won't warp. If you run a 5ft cleat...

Color me stupid but why not setup a minimum charge for these signs? Art/Setup Charge = X Cost per 4x8 sheet as per your supplier = Y Shipping = Z X + 2Y + Z = Minimum for Coroplast Signs If it's a 24hr rush and you need to print and apply the graphic, charge them the full boat pricing.

I think everyone's been in a position where they made a proof for a customer and because you were doing what they wanted or making 3-5 options, one of the options looked good at the time but when it came down into production, it wasn't quite there. In those circumstances you can either contact...

"5) Manufacturing new steel frame" I think this is way open to interpretation which will result in variations in pricing. Are you going to make a frame so the sign looks thick or are you just making some framework so you have something to mount to/give rigidity?

Sounds like you're a control freak. Also there is a big difference between being a lazy boss that doesn't want to work and one that runs their business so that it can be as profitable as possible. McDonalds wouldn't be McDonalds if Ray Kroc insisted on grilling all the burgers himself.

Stupid question: Why not hire someone to share the burden? In most industries, you only start making money when you can afford employees.

1. Charging per mile is flawed. Charge for your time. Going 9 miles in Manhattan may take 1.5hrs. Can't charge $1.50/mile. 2. If you can gang up jobs, I don't see a real issue in passing on the savings. Make sure you invoice it as a savings and not the regular price. Write out your normal...