Advice for starting local print shop

[CSPrint]

I currently make custom products that i sell online, but i am looking to get into providing printing services locally since i have downtime on my machines. Any advice as far as the best way to get into this field? I have the equipment listed below , so i want to offer banners, yard signs, vinyl, wedding and event decor, etc. mostly Mid sized jobs. Any machines you recommend that really bring in the most customers and money that i am missing? Is it best to link in with a franchise and then branch off from there? As far as building a site with built in pricing estimates and a portal to submit files, any advise on what works best for that? Thanks for any and all input!

Two - 4x8' Arizona Flatbed UV Printer
Two - 64" Hp Latex Printers
Two - Esko Kongsberg Digital Cutters 5'x12' tables
One - Summa 64" cutter

Thanks,
Steve

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Start off with a free Google listing and a decent website. It doesn't need to have pricing or design tools... just enough information about what you do so local people will call. You can make 2-3x off a local customer than online.

 

[Geneva Olson]

Maybe a laminator.

 

[Boudica]

How do you currently sell your products online without a website? I agree with Tex - build a decent site and get your name on top in search results (SEO)
locals will find you.
I wouldn't get in bed with a franchise - you will end up committing a percentage of your profits+ for years.

 

[CSPrint]

How do you currently sell your products online without a website? I agree with Tex - build a decent site and get your name on top in search results (SEO)
locals will find you.
I wouldn't get in bed with a franchise - you will end up committing a percentage of your profits+ for years.

good thoughts. We sell on amazon and etsy right now

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Don't buy a JFX500, those are hard to move and setup. I almost regretted buying that.

 

[Gettin'By]

You could try reaching out to local shops as a contractor to be farmed out to. Either you have capabilities they don't, or for handling overflow. It'd put some product on your machines and probably be easier than trying to reach out to the public since you already have one business going. Could also put the burden of arranging installs on your customer, you just produce the thing. Agree on the laminator, too.

 

[Stacey K]

A little advice...if you don't want people coming in for one 2" sticker then stick to the website and don't open up a storefront. Keep it by appointment only. Definitely get a laminator. I think you could get away with not doing installs. I don't do any sign installs but I sell a crap load of them. You could join a B2B group or the local chamber of commerce. In my town when you join they put a post on FB and they send an email out to all the members about your new business. It was $25 a year.

Be prepared for a lot of calls for small jobs and don't get caught up in that small stuff. Have a minimum and stick to it. The biggest time waster when dealing with the public is the small jobs and the people that want those jobs have no problem wasting 20 minutes of your time trying to convince you to do them. And they tell their friends and before you know it, you have 100 of them banging your door down. Have a minimum and stick to it.

 

[CSPrint]

A little advice...if you don't want people coming in for one 2" sticker then stick to the website and don't open up a storefront. Keep it by appointment only. Definitely get a laminator. I think you could get away with not doing installs. I don't do any sign installs but I sell a crap load of them. You could join a B2B group or the local chamber of commerce. In my town when you join they put a post on FB and they send an email out to all the members about your new business. It was $25 a year.

Be prepared for a lot of calls for small jobs and don't get caught up in that small stuff. Have a minimum and stick to it. The biggest time waster when dealing with the public is the small jobs and the people that want those jobs have no problem wasting 20 minutes of your time trying to convince you to do them. And they tell their friends and before you know it, you have 100 of them banging your door down. Have a minimum and stick to it.

Appreciate the advice, I see what you are saying, I definitely dont want any small jobs coming in. Our average order online is like $150, so i want to keep the jobs in that range. I will check out the B2B and local chamber of commerce! thank you!

 

[CSPrint]

Any recommendations for getting into event centers or schools to offer printing services to them?

 

[CSPrint]

And any recommendations for a good laminator? And which are the main items you sell that get laminated? with my stuff being UV printed and latex, does it need the lamination?

 

[Stacey K]

Any recommendations for getting into event centers or schools to offer printing services to them?

For me, I started with making fatheads for my son's classmates, smaller tshirt orders etc. Then I became friends with some booster club members and I now have most of the business for the booster club which includes a lot of 4x8 signs, banners, etc.

You could send an email to the principals, make friends with some of the teachers. I have a teacher friend who I have gotten a lot of school business from inside.

 

[Stacey K]

And any recommendations for a good laminator? And which are the main items you sell that get laminated? with my stuff being UV printed and latex, does it need the lamination?

I laminate almost everything except any vinyl that goes on coroplast. Anything you put outside should be laminated or anything where people might be touching it etc. I like the luster laminate for inside signs. I just did a bunch for the wrestling room at school. The luster laminate just makes them look smooth and higher quality rather than just printed. I have a latex printer.

 

[CSPrint]

I laminate almost everything except any vinyl that goes on coroplast. Anything you put outside should be laminated or anything where people might be touching it etc. I like the luster laminate for inside signs. I just did a bunch for the wrestling room at school. The luster laminate just makes them look smooth and higher quality rather than just printed. I have a latex printer.

which laminator do you have?

 

[Stacey K]

which laminator do you have?

I bought a cold laminator to start with before forking out several thousand bucks. Turns out, it's just fine for my purposes! Others on here have this also...I have the 50 or 52" so with my printer I don't print anything over 48" if it needs to be laminated because my printer is 54". I cut 2" off one edge so the sheet can be laminated or turn it, etc. I've got it in my head that 48" is the widest I will make a panel.

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[kcollinsdesign]

I live in a small metro area in central Illinois (under 120,000 population, surrounded by corn and soybean farms). There are dozens of large format printers, but only a handful of sign businesses that have the equipment and personal needed for installation.

We do installations for many of these companies. We can also provide printed graphics, banners, UV printed panels, screened products and everything else you can imagine. We do not have a printer; we buy everything from wholesale fabricators (for example, we pay around $1/sq. ft. for 13oz printed vinyls with hems and grommets, $2/sq. ft. for printed vinyl – contour cut and masked, $4/sq. ft. for 3M IJ180cv3 with 3M 8518 laminate, $5 sq. ft. for UV printed ACM panels, etc.). All of our electric signs are made in UL certified shops and shipped to us. Dimensional routed signs are fabricated, painted with Mathews acrylic polyurethane, and shipped to us. Not having to buy and maintain fabrication equipment, keeping an inventory of materials, having space to put it all, and reduced labor expenses keep us more than competitive.

I would hate to be a small, local competitor with us for large format printing. We can beat their prices. The money is in installation and design. We have excellent designers and very capable installation crews. We have a significant investment in service trucks and installation tools.

If I could out-source installation, I would get rid of that too and just do design and engineering. So far I have been unable to do that due to the scarcity of quality installers in our area.

 

[gaylemay]

And any recommendations for a good laminator? And which are the main items you sell that get laminated? with my stuff being UV printed and latex, does it need the lamination?

I am closing my shop and have a lot of equipment to sell. I do have a good laminator and several other pieces of equipment if you are interested. I am located in Columbus, OH

 

[FireSprint.com]

We talk about some of the basics in sign shop marketing in our FireHour here: