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I no longer install wraps. In my market, I can find young guys that are mind-blowingly good and extremely fast (using cold pre-stretching techniques and knifeless tape). An average car or small truck can be wrapped from head to toe for $500 - $800 plus cost of materials. I do the design and I...

My point exactly!

It helps if you can visualize the job in your head before you head out. I order all my fasteners from McMaster Carr ahead of the job, they show up in a box usually the next day and I don't have to waste my time going to the store.

Classic conundrum. I'm in the camp of your partner. I'm considered slow and often criticized for over-thinking. I even take the time to field survey some installations! The other guys just zip around and are out the door before I've finished my coffee. Truth is, though: my installs usually...

Of course, but it works well. I would be sure to order the graphics when I put new fabric on the awning. But more likely, I would have ordered them in the first place and advised my client against using vinyl which I know will fail.

Back when type was set using hot lead, people HAD to go to a printer for their commercial printing needs. As offset lithography, phototype, and digital technologies matured, the methods of production became available to anybody. If you go to a printer for business cards today, odds are they...

The plethora of technical solutions available today is a boon to both the sign industry and the end user. Part of the job of a competent sign professional is to advise clients on the use of appropriate technolgies for their imaging and sign needs. As the industry evolves, the importance of...

The Sunbrella Graphics System works really well. There are also professional screen printing solutions that perform ok. For the hobbyist, or when on a limited budget, high body acrylic artists paint (Liquitex, Golden, etc.) can be used with a degree of success. More liquid acrylic can be used...

Well, I work out ideas with a 3mm HB. I like the thicker lead so I don't get caught up in the details. Any pencil softer than a HB will work though. I attached some samples. As far as carbon ink, I use it (Platinum Carbon Black) in my Noodler flex pens, but it is quite a procedure to clean...

I'm just banking on the fact that my prices are reasonable. If the customer spends 5 minutes on the internet, they will find a supplier that beats my price. If they want to go with that supplier, great! I will support them however I can.

You could sell them a carved stone or concrete sign, or baked cermaic steel, and there are other options but they all cost a fortune or have limited applications. Your best bet is to design a sign using typical high-quality materials availble to the sign industry, then sell a maintenance and...

Back in the day, the only way to get a professional looking banner was to hire a sign painter. Now, as you correctly stated, you can get them for less than $1 sq. ft. on the internet. Anybody can order a banner. A 3' x 8' banner might cost me $32.00 delivered, and maybe I can sell it for...

This is an uninformed reply. I get a lot done, and am able to capitalize on my skills and talent. Most shops give away art for free, and have little understanding of the value of their design services or intellectual property. They consistently undervalue design, to the extent that they won't...

Fair enough. Custom graphic design starts with a meeting where we discuss the clients needs. then I quote the design project, which is based on time, expenses and deliverables. My minimum is $25 for a quick layout that takes a couple minutes to $???. If the client is purchasing all rights...

The advertising value, or the message value is the most important thing to the client. That not only includes graphic design, but choosing the most effective media to deliver the message. My sample quote for the truck graphics was my price for the production and installation of the stickers...

When I drop ship a product to a valued client, I make sure it was specified appropriately and that the product is of acceptable quality (note I did not say "highest" quality, that would be absurd). By working closely with my fabrication partners, I have sufficient control over pricing, lead...

It takes about 5 minutes on the internet to figure those costs out. There are no industry secrets. More to the point, I can get finished product, rolled in a tube and dropshipped to my customer for $1 sq. ft. plus postage. So why on earth would anybody take the time to walk over to their...

I cannot compete with the inexpensive wrap shops that have popped up everywhere ($800 - $1000 for a color change wrap). This is a young person's world, and many of these outfits work out of their parent's garage or rent space from a discount tire shop. They use the least expensive cast vinyl...

I would charge $26.10 per laminated cast vinyl graphic, and $16.25 per truck plus drive time for each installation. So I guess that comes out to $1044.00 for the graphics, and $325.00 for the install (plus drive time). There are plenty of shops in my market that would come in less, and it...

I just rest the side of my right hand on the backer, giving me plenty of articulation range for the x-acto knife in my right hand fingers. Left hand holds the weeded vinyl, and I sort of "snap and wiggle" the vinyl as I go, paying close attention the upcoming letters as they all require a...