College Student Needs Help.

[JCGraphix]

Hey guys and gals, maybe you'd like to help me out a little bit. In my business communications class, are final is to do a 4 page proposal to a company or basically anything. I've chosen to write and show a proposal on why vinyl printers can help a company bring in more variety and profit vs the price of a vinyl printer.

This proposal i need to come up with cost. This is where i'm struggling. I need to know how much on average a vinyl printer brings in for a company compared to the cost of printer and all materials, ink, vinyl, etc.... I've done some research and i don't think i need to base this around the most expensive printer i can find. But also, this just isn't the printer, it includes the laminator and everything else.

I also am making a list of all types of things that a vinyl printer allows you to do that a cutter/ plotter cannot. Like blended colors, clearer layouts. But need a list of a variety of jobs you can do that you couldn't with a cutter, to put it more simple! I hope i didn't waste any of your guys time, i know i will get some post saying i'm a joke and blah blah blah. But oh well, i'm just trying to pin this proposal down!

Thanks Again.

Joey

 

[Gino]

I'm not quite sure what you're really asking ?? This is not a joke..... not at all. I'm not poking fun or blah, blah, blahhing....... just wondering how you get to the end of a term without knowing what to do.

Did this prof give you an essay or final to write about things he/she did not cover in class, that you need outside help.... or do you just want help with an assignment because you're lazy ??

If you've chosen the subject and area you feel good about, why is it you need help if you're in this business ??


I just don't understand the nature of your request.

 

[MachServTech]

Hey guys and gals, maybe you'd like to help me out a little bit. In my business communications class, are final is to do a 4 page proposal to a company or basically anything. I've chosen to write and show a proposal on why vinyl printers can help a company bring in more variety and profit vs the price of a vinyl printer.

I thought you were the "owner" of a sign shop? You dont know what the difference between cut vinyl and printed vinyl means?

something does not add up here.

 

[MikePro]

cook up some numbers. I had the same type of class and we had to make a proposal for a "Sell Your Junk on Ebay" type of business. We came up with pricing that seemed reasonable from a customer's standpoint and did our math to show how much business we had to do to make it work AND be profitable.
(please don't rip on my numbers, as nice round ones are easiest to work with)
solvent printer: $35k
media: $money/sq.ft
ink: $money/sq.ft
laminate: $money/sq.ft
monthly electrical bill: $100.00 (printer, not counting office/shop use)
monthly lease payment for building: $money
hourly rate, plus benefits, for printer tech.: $money
hourly rate, plus benefits, for graphics applicator: $money
sales staff rate + commission, if applicable: $money
receptionist/accounting staff rate: $money
depreciation of printer: $250.00/mo
coffee machine: $50/day (you're gonna need it!)
AND don't forget to buy a laminator, as well... no one wants to pay top dollar for invisible prints!

typical rate for print: $12/sq.ft.
typical rate for graphics install: $40+/hr

now make up the rest, fill in the blanks, and figure out how much product/service you have to do to pay for the printer in 4 years, maybe even considering the A.P.R. on taking out a loan for said printer.... also assume your printer burns about $100/month in electricity, it costs about $1k to fill it up with ink the first time, and your first roll of media will cost about $500, as well. Oh yeah, and your printer burns ink while its just sitting there, so maybe even throw in another $100/month depreciation cost of ink.
My printer, bought for $30k in 2004, is now selling , used, for about $6k... so its also safe to assume that it depreciates in value approx. $3k/year (this number can also reflect annual service/maintenance costs)

as far as the why and how goes... man that's up to you. you chose the topic, so clearly you have somewhat of an understanding why printing decals can be a profitable business. However, you'll be surprised to find how large the volume of production is that you'll have to keep up with to keep the bank from comin' in and taking it all away from you... and I'm sure that's exactly what this project is meant to teach you.

 

[WrapperX]

You basically need to pretend you are a perspective shop owner and you're looking to start a sign shop. So you start at the bottom. Start researching on the old Google and look up products. Call suppliers for information. Get some sign supply catalogs and look at what you would need to get going. You start researching Plotter prices - the cost of sign vinyls. Plotter specs will tell you cut speeds and cut output. Look at different printer prices, then comes the overall ink costs. How many cartridges does it hold. How much ink does your cartridge hold. How much does an average printer put out in ink coverage. What are you printing on - Cast high performance material or bottom barrel cheapo print vinyl? ARE you laminating your prints cause not all shops do - they should - but not all do.
Do a little work before you come running to us, hoping we will spill our guts about business costs and all that.

 

[oldgoatroper]

Hey guys and gals, maybe you'd like to help me out a little bit. In my business communications class, are final is to do a 4 page proposal to a company or basically anything......

You are in a business communications class?

'are' should be 'our'



and when writing, single-digit numbers should be spelled out...

'4 page' should be 'four-page'


I didn't bother to read any further than that...




I hope this helps your effort....

 

[JCGraphix]

cook up some numbers. I had the same type of class and we had to make a proposal for a "Sell Your Junk on Ebay" type of business. We came up with pricing that seemed reasonable from a customer's standpoint and did our math to show how much business we had to do to make it work AND be profitable.
(please don't rip on my numbers, as nice round ones are easiest to work with)
solvent printer: $35k
media: $1.50/sq.ft
ink: $0.50/sq.ft
laminate: $0.75/sq.ft
monthly electrical bill: $100.00 (printer, not counting office/shop use)
monthly lease payment for building: $x.xx
hourly rate, plus benefits, for printer tech.: $x.xx
hourly rate, plus benefits, for graphics applicator: $x.xx
sales staff rate + commission: $x.xx
receptionist/accounting staff rate: $x.xx
depreciation of printer: $250.00/mo

typical rate for print: $12/sq.ft.
typical rate for graphics install: $40+/hr

now make up the rest, fill in the blanks, and figure out how much product/service you have to do to pay for the printer in 4 years, maybe even considering the A.P.R. on taking out a loan for said printer.... also assume your printer burns about $100/month in electricity, it costs about $1k to fill it up with ink the first time, and your first roll of media will cost about $500, as well. Oh yeah, and your printer burns ink while its just sitting there, so maybe even throw in another $100/month depreciation cost of ink.
My printer, bought for $30k in 2004, is now selling , used, for about $6k... so its also safe to assume that it depreciates in value approx. $3k/year (this number can also reflect annual service/maintenance costs)

as far as the why and how goes... man that's up to you. you chose the topic, so clearly you have somewhat of an understanding why printing decals can be a profitable business. However, you'll be surprised to find how large the volume of production is that you'll have to keep up with to keep the bank from comin' in and taking it all away from you... and I'm sure that's exactly what this project is meant to teach you.

Thanks, at least you helped me out!

I'm not lazy, i already have the 5 page proposal written, i need a cost sheet and don't know where to start. Gypsy, therefor you comment was useless. I am a college student, we had to start our own business first semester and it carries on all through. So i did. By no means do i know the WHOLE business, or even close to what i want to know of this business, but know i already like doing the work. I have done free work for companies and some free work for graphic designers but i've never ran a business or wrote cost efficient spread sheets. That was my basic question, what do i need to look into considering what to put in the spread sheet. Sorry for not making myself clear, but please refrain from calling me lazy. Thank You.

 

[JCGraphix]

You are in a business communications class?

'are' should be 'our'



and when writing, single-digit numbers should be spelled out...

'4 page' should be 'four-page'


I didn't bother to read any further than that...




I hope this helps your effort....

Sorry, i'll make sure to take my time next.

 

[Joe Diaz]

We have estimated that in the majority (but not all) cases a printed graphic with lamination would roughly cost the customer the same price as a 3 color/layered high performance vinyl job, but with the print they would have access to about any color and as many colors as they want. On top of that, photographics, gradients, shades etc... can be done on a printer and not a plotter. Very small detailed work on things like labels are easier on a printer. However, prints (the ink mainly) may not outlast non printed high performance vinyl graphics. For some customers the longevity of a product is important and for sign makers the longevity of a product can be a good sales tool. For example: "This sign is going to cost you $1200 it's going to last you at least 5 years, that's $240 a year, $20 a month or $.66 a day for non stop advertising that is always turned on."

Whether a printed graphic is better than non printed vinyl graphic, or even a painted graphic, really depends on the application. As sign makers, that is one of our jobs, to held the customer decide which materials or process is the best fit for their project. Print, paint, layered vinyl, or one color vinyl graphics, etc?

As far how much a printer brings in??? that depends on the company, it's markup, it's material choices and their costs, it's productivity, etc... Get yourself a suppliers catalog, (maybe fellers?) then a subscription to signcraft magazine (which comes with a pricing guide) and do some number crunching

 

[JCGraphix]

We have estimated that in the majority (but not all) cases a printed graphic with lamination would roughly cost the customer the same price as a 3 color/layered high performance vinyl job, but with the print they would have access to about any color and as many colors as they want. On top of that, photographics, gradients, shades etc... can be done on a printer and not a plotter. Very small detailed work on things like labels are easier on a printer. However, prints (the ink mainly) may not outlast non printed high performance vinyl graphics. Whether a printed graphic is better than non printed vinyl graphic, or even a painted graphic, really depends on the application. As sign makers, that is one of our jobs, to held the customer decide which materials or process is the best fit for their project. Print, paint, layered vinyl, or one color vinyl graphics, etc?

As far how much a printer brings in??? that depends on the company, it's markup, it's material choices and their costs, it's productivity, etc... Get yourself a suppliers catalog, (maybe fellers?) then a subscription to signcraft magazine (which comes with a pricing guide) and do some number punching.

Thank you very much! Appreciate you not giving me a hard time!

 

[Fred Weiss]

Hey guys and gals, maybe you'd like to help me out a little bit. In my business communications class, are final is to do a 4 page proposal to a company or basically anything. I've chosen to write and show a proposal on why vinyl printers can help a company bring in more variety and profit vs the price of a vinyl printer.

This proposal i need to come up with cost. This is where i'm struggling. I need to know how much on average a vinyl printer brings in for a company compared to the cost of printer and all materials, ink, vinyl, etc.... I've done some research and i don't think i need to base this around the most expensive printer i can find. But also, this just isn't the printer, it includes the laminator and everything else.

I also am making a list of all types of things that a vinyl printer allows you to do that a cutter/ plotter cannot. Like blended colors, clearer layouts. But need a list of a variety of jobs you can do that you couldn't with a cutter, to put it more simple! I hope i didn't waste any of your guys time, i know i will get some post saying i'm a joke and blah blah blah. But oh well, i'm just trying to pin this proposal down!

Thanks Again.

Joey

If your proposal is from the perspective of a sales representative for a supplier, then just paint a glowing picture limited to the equipment outlay as related to the cost of signs being purchased. something like "The equipment will cost $25,000 and amortized over five years is $416.67 per month. So since we are averaging $525 per month in outside sign purchases, this would be well worth it."

If your proposal is intended to be internal ... from one department to the boss, then what follows would be more appropriate.

Seems to me that your standard for comparison should be the cost of gearing up with the equipment needed, materials, supplied, maintenance, repairs, floor space and personnel to produce vinyl signs in-house versus the cost of purchasing from a professional supplier. At what point does the company break even? How much must be saved in total and how much must be saved to cost justify such a move? What are the advantages, trade-offs and disadvantages other than financial? What are the alternatives such as just setting up a design department?

 

[Joe Diaz]

Let's say hypothetically you are a sign shop with a plotter and are wondering if getting a printer is the right move. Knowing the costs is only half of it. Knowing if it will sell is the other half and can be a bit of a gamble... Or at least it was with us. It's impossible for anyone to predict how well a new addition will sell in your shop, because every shop and market is a little different.

We knew at our current rate we would be able to afford the printer. Otherwise we wouldn't have purchased it. But simply affording one is not enough, at the very least we wanted to be more productive, and at best we wanted to be more successful as a company.

So we took the gamble. At first we weren't more productive, which we anticipated. Any new technology is going to come with a learning curve. Now however, we are more productive. As far as being more successful, I would say yes. And not just making more money, Even though it is just a tool, the ability to approach jobs in different ways has allowed us to expand services and capabilities and has even allowed us to take our designs to the next level, which means more and better business for us.

We started trying to sell prints as soon as we got the equipment and materials and learned as we went. We did a lot of research prior to our purchase, but no amount of research can totally prepare you for something like that. At first between paint, print and plot it was about 20% printed work, 50% potted work, 30% paint (guessing here). Now it's more like 65% printed, 10% plotted and 25% paint. And there's a good reason for that.

 

[JCGraphix]

If your proposal is from the perspective of a sales representative for a supplier, then just paint a glowing picture limited to the equipment outlay as related to the cost of signs being purchased. something like "The equipment will cost $25,000 and amortized over five years is $416.67 per month. So since we are averaging $525 per month in outside sign purchases, this would be well worth it."

If your proposal is intended to be internal ... from one department to the boss, then what follows would be more appropriate.

Seems to me that your standard for comparison should be the cost of gearing up with the equipment needed, materials, supplied, maintenance, repairs, floor space and personnel to produce vinyl signs in-house versus the cost of purchasing from a professional supplier. At what point does the company break even? How much must be saved in total and how much must be saved to cost justify such a move? What are the advantages, trade-offs and disadvantages other than financial? What are the alternatives such as just setting up a design department?

Let's say hypothetically you are a sign shop with a plotter and are wondering if getting a printer is the right move. Knowing the costs is only half of it. Knowing if it will sell is the other half and can be a bit of a gamble... Or at least it was with us. It's impossible for anyone to predict how well a new addition will sell in your shop, because every shop and market is a little different.

We knew at our current rate we would be able to afford the printer. Otherwise we wouldn't have purchased it. But simply affording one is not enough, at the very least we wanted to be more productive, and at best we wanted to be more successful as a company.

So we took the gamble. At first we weren't more productive, which we anticipated. Any new technology is going to come with a learning curve. Now however, we are more productive. As far as being more successful, I would say yes. And not just making more money, Even though it is just a tool, the ability to approach jobs in different ways has allowed us to expand services and capabilities and has even allowed us to take our designs to the next level, which means more and better business for us.

We started trying to sell prints as soon as we got the equipment and materials and learned as we went. We did a lot of research prior to our purchase, but no amount of research can totally prepare you for something like that. At first between paint, print and plot it was about 20% printed work, 50% potted work, 30% paint (guessing here). Now it's more like 65% printed, 10% plotted and 25% paint. And there's a good reason for that.

Thanks both of you! Really helped me get on the right track of what i need to look into and need to focus on. I was going in the complete opposite direction. Thanks for steering me on the right path!