Hi, we have an established sticker business and have been outsourcing our production for years and are looking to bring in a printer cutter machine that will produce the best possible stickers (detail, vibrance, 2 year durability). Spending $$ if we can justify it is not a problem. The largest stickers we make are 12". Any suggestions are appreciated.
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Established sticker business looking to stop outsourcing
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MarkSnelling
Mark Snelling - Hasco Graphics
I've got several 'sticker' producers using Colorado 1630 or 1650 printers. The units are significantly faster than anything else in the 60" market, the inks are incredibly durable, and the cost per-square for those 'sticker' guys is less than normal....they would tell you $.05 for things like safety decals etc. While the unit is more expensive than the 60" solvent or latex options, the speed is XXX faster, inks are a fraction, and no need for laminate. Throw in a few Summa plotters or a good Colex router for your finishing and you've automated everything.
bob
It's better to have two hands than one glove.
If you've never wrangled a large format printer before then figure on 6 months to a year of farkeling around wasting lots of media and ink in order to become a passable digital pressman. Then at least another year to get reasonably good at it. These aren't desktop printers on steroids, far from it. If you're serious about this then get a printer and a cutter, not a combo printer/cutter.
Learn to call them 'decals', you can get more for a decal than you can a sticker.
Learn to call them 'decals', you can get more for a decal than you can a sticker.
White Haus
Not a Newbie
Yes..............you will have to invest $$ in order to bring yer sticker makin' in house.
I'd budget $50 - 100k for a good set up.
I'd budget $50 - 100k for a good set up.
tulsagraphics
New Member
You'll need a reliable printer, vinyl plotter, laminator, RIP station, etc... a good stockpile of media / laminate / ink... and a proper workspace (temp / humidity control, storage racks, worktables, proper lighting, etc). By the time you figure in other things like your software licenses, training etc. -- it could very easily reach 100k -- not to mention the ongoing labor costs for running everything (and keeping it running). Chances are you'll need to hire someone with experience to run / maintain all the equipment and teach you / other staff how to operate it as well (if you're serious about getting things operational as quickly as possible). Expect this to take many, many months. Toss in an extra $5k/mo in overhead to cover the extra space, labor, utilities and waste. Heck, I'm a one-man show in a 1,200 sq.ft. space -- nothing fancy, even though I've been in the industry for 23 years -- and I'm sitting at just over 250k in equipment with only "some" semi-automated equipment like my XLD-170.
The companies you're buying from now likely have very good automation (crazy expensive equipment), so competing with their prices will be difficult. Trade suppliers have millions of $$ worth of equipment, large contracts and huge order volume (as such, they have really good buying power) -- they can operate on lower margins and give you better B2B prices (which is why trade suppliers exist). They are generally very good about providing consistent results and giving you predictable turnaround times, and all you have to worry about is getting them your artwork. They deal with all the extra headaches. That being said, I don't know how much volume you have or anything like that -- or how eager you are to delete most of the "free time" from your personal schedule, but I would expect your cost to print "in-house" to be higher than outsourcing. Most likely what you'd be gaining is convenience and quicker turnaround times for your customers.
Try running the numbers with 100k in equipment + $5k in monthly overhead including 1 full-time employee (we're talking a bare bones setup here! really bare bones!) and compare those numbers to what you can outsource for. I think you'll be surprised at how affordable outsourcing is.
The companies you're buying from now likely have very good automation (crazy expensive equipment), so competing with their prices will be difficult. Trade suppliers have millions of $$ worth of equipment, large contracts and huge order volume (as such, they have really good buying power) -- they can operate on lower margins and give you better B2B prices (which is why trade suppliers exist). They are generally very good about providing consistent results and giving you predictable turnaround times, and all you have to worry about is getting them your artwork. They deal with all the extra headaches. That being said, I don't know how much volume you have or anything like that -- or how eager you are to delete most of the "free time" from your personal schedule, but I would expect your cost to print "in-house" to be higher than outsourcing. Most likely what you'd be gaining is convenience and quicker turnaround times for your customers.
Try running the numbers with 100k in equipment + $5k in monthly overhead including 1 full-time employee (we're talking a bare bones setup here! really bare bones!) and compare those numbers to what you can outsource for. I think you'll be surprised at how affordable outsourcing is.
PhantomSteve
New Member
We used to run an Espon GS6000.
The prints were amazingly sharp — but then it became obsolete (inks became too expensive and parts were impossible to find) so we replaced it with an Epson 40600.
Now the Epson 40600 is faster and the prints are very good (smoother) — but fine text and fine detail is nowhere near as sharp as what the GS6000 could produce.
So research your printer purchase thoroughly — there are many out there — and decide which suits your usage best — it's a complex journey.
And as others have said, buy a cutter that is separate from the printer.
And check on the prices of RIP software — they are usually subscription based these days — and not cheap.
The prints were amazingly sharp — but then it became obsolete (inks became too expensive and parts were impossible to find) so we replaced it with an Epson 40600.
Now the Epson 40600 is faster and the prints are very good (smoother) — but fine text and fine detail is nowhere near as sharp as what the GS6000 could produce.
So research your printer purchase thoroughly — there are many out there — and decide which suits your usage best — it's a complex journey.
And as others have said, buy a cutter that is separate from the printer.
And check on the prices of RIP software — they are usually subscription based these days — and not cheap.
If you making money and outsourcing, I'd stick with it.
Industrial space, utilities, insurance, equipment and employee payroll are a nightmare.
You'll then be posting for advice on how to manage those problems.
Get more sales and do it from your home office. Go on vacation when you want to.
Industrial space, utilities, insurance, equipment and employee payroll are a nightmare.
You'll then be posting for advice on how to manage those problems.
Get more sales and do it from your home office. Go on vacation when you want to.
Gino
Premium Subscriber
Most of these answers are right on, but ya still need to remember..... nothing beats bringing fabrication, manufacturing, quality control and ability to turn it out instantly, if need be, like doing it in-house. You biggest hurdle would be size of equipment and your budget. If you can afford it, get a 54" unit piggy back or separate and laminator to match. You'd be able to do more up at a time and get things done 3 to 4 times faster with the right equipment. You can always use less material, but ya can't go larger on a machine too small. You already have the market, so it's time to bring it all in-house. If you're already doing the rest of the stuff, there'll be next to no learning curve involved. Go for it.