Fair Banner Printing Pricing.

[lodcomm]

Hello Folks,

Could some of you folks give me a fair pricing for straight banner printing - perhaps by the square foot? I am doing no design or layout, simply providing the 13oz banner material, and printing. - no hemming or grometting. My customer is providing the printable design ready to load into production manager and rip + Print. I am printing on my recently acquired SC-500.

thanks!

-t

 

[Biker Scout]

Depends on your area. I used to be able to charge $6 - $8 per sq. ft. (California)

Now, my new clients (Las Vegas) can walk into any number of sign shops and pay only $1 - $1.50 per sq. ft. for banners. Hemmed and Grommeted.

Maybe you ought to "buy" a banner from 4 or 5 local sources. Don't mention who you are obviously. Then average the prices out and charge in the middle.

 

[Gino]

Anywhere from 25¢ to $15.50.

Only you know what you need to make in all the categories to keep your doors open.

 

[phototec]

Hello Folks,

Could some of you folks give me a fair pricing for straight banner printing - perhaps by the square foot? I am doing no design or layout, simply providing the 13oz banner material, and printing. - no hemming or grometting. My customer is providing the printable design ready to load into production manager and rip + Print. I am printing on my recently acquired SC-500.

thanks!

-t

Ok, here is what to do:

Figure out what your 13oz banner material costs by the s/f?

Figure out how long it takes to print the file and determine how much you need to make to cover your time invested, divide by s/f?

Now just add the two s/f costs together and add whatever PROFIT you want to make (to cover overhead for your shop)?

And the total amount is a FAIR price for you based on s/f!

 

[lodcomm]

Ok,

Thanks for the suggestions - I have a few starting points to go with now! - I basically do this as a side business/hobby running it out of my home office.
I am not looking to compete with or go around undercutting the professional sign/graphics guys (of which there are plenty!). I am still learning the whole thing as well


thanks again for the nearly instant replies!

-t

 

[Biker Scout]

Just because your printer is located in your house, does not mean that you cannot be "Professional" in your pricing structure and approach. Plus, if you do under-cut your pricing just to get jobs, someday you may want to actually expand and take it full time, and you will be forced to raise your prices to cover actual overhead. And your current clients won't be too happy.

A note to anyone doing this at home or as a side gig to make an extra buck... always price like you are a professional. The other professionals in your area will also appreciate it as well. Because someday you might end up in their shoes.

 

[lodcomm]

Just because your printer is located in your house, does not mean that you cannot be "Professional" in your pricing structure and approach. Plus, if you do under-cut your pricing just to get jobs, someday you may want to actually expand and take it full time, and you will be forced to raise your prices to cover actual overhead. And your current clients won't be too happy.

A note to anyone doing this at home or as a side gig to make an extra buck... always price like you are a professional. The other professionals in your area will also appreciate it as well. Because someday you might end up in their shoes.

Above principle well understood - I started out with a cheap (really cheap!) UScutter Vinyl plotter doing decals/door magnets/signs/Motorcycle-MX Decals and such. I ended up acquiring the SC-500. Now that word is out that I can print, cut & banner up to 54" I am starting to get a steadily increasing flow of print jobs. Undercutting and attempting to Gouge the price of the professional shops in the area in an attempt build a client base is a poor business model for any venture. Like you say - treat your clients, potential clients & Other Professionals like a professional yourself and your odds of success are dramatically improved!

thanks again everyone

-t

 

[Mosh]

Troll around local shops and see what they charge, then you know you are not undercharging they.

 

[rjssigns]

IIRC in the back of the last trade mags you can get finished banners 95 cents a square foot. Order your banners then move on to the nesxt job while someone else does the printing/finishing.

 

[klingsdesigns]

6.50 is what we do for grommet and hem taped.

 

[lodcomm]

IIRC in the back of the last trade mags you can get finished banners 95 cents a square foot. Order your banners then move on to the nesxt job while someone else does the printing/finishing.

Is that how you do it in your shop? - Sub out the printing and just charge for the design?

 

[Biker Scout]

No, you sub out at $1.00 per sq, then charge regular price (whatever your market will bear) + design if applicable. Collect check, move on to next job.

 

[Gino]

That's how a lot of successful business people do things.

I know how and I have a garden tractor and I still have someone cut & trim the grass at the house and the shop. I can make more money doing things I can make money on..... while I have extra money. If I didn't have much, I'd then spend time doing mundane things and have less free time to do things I like.

 

[lodcomm]

Got it!,

It appears that purchase of my old sc-500 was completely unnecessary and in fact counter productive!! - It would be bordering on insanity for me to buy scrim banner, inks (I use aftermarket), maintenance items, headaches & time to actually do large format printing jobs on my own printer in my own shop/office. In fact the wisest course of action would be for me to quote out banner printing jobs at say $3.00-$3.50/sq foot. When I get a client (I actually already have some) - I simply forward their image to the guys that do it at $.99 a square foot, tell my customer I'll have their banner to them in say 4-5 days (or whatever turnaroud the 99 centers offer for 99 cents) Once delivered to my satisfied customer, I sit back and rake in my 200% profit for basically doing nothing.

-t

 

[Biker Scout]

$3.50 is too low, unless you are working out of a really impoverished part of the country. Always try to get at least $5.

(I should add, that having is printer is actually great for some things. Printing banners isn't one of them however)

 

[lodcomm]

$3.50 is too low, unless you are working out of a really impoverished part of the country. Always try to get at least $5.

(I should add, that having is printer is actually great for some things. Printing banners isn't one of them however)

I know, I know - I am having a blast learning how the whole process works - profiles, linearization, lingo, clever jargon et al... you know the routine. The plus side of my amateur equation is that I'm working out of NE Connecticut! - People around here are used to over-paying, being taken advantage of, have no clue on how to "bandy" and are more or less happy to "take it in the shorts" on a regular basis ---- and like it!. But all kidding aside, the banners I have been printing are for a friend who is actually an "established" sign guy who's printer is currently out of commission (and can only print 30" when it is -in- commission. Mine can go to 54 . I just wanted to get a rough estimate of what I should be charging for run of the mill large format printing.. he's a good guy and would pay me whatever I asked - I now have a fair idea of where we should be at. I am still an extreme amateur- so doing banners is helping me learn my software, printer, RIP, etc...

thanks again to everyone here: despite my sarcasm - I really appreciate the vast amount of experience & knowledge everyone here is willing to share. I'm reasonably certain that I haven't had to wait more than a few minutes at most to get a reply to any question I have posted here.

-t

 

[Biker Scout]

You can always offer a professional courteous discount. It will serve you in the end as well. Someday you will need something, and you can get the favor returned.

Charging for vinyl printing will always be at a different level than banners. There are more variables with vinyl prints. Their end usage dictates a longer usefulness than a banner. Whether it be a vehicle wrap or a printed sign on metal. Those have lasting value, and you have to charge accordingly. Also the materials would be different depending on the end product too. So best to learn all you can now, while you are still playing around with your machine, then to get caught off guard with a real paying client and not being able to offer or deliver the proper product for their needs.

 

[Sven Maat]

Damn guys, where do you buy your banner materials than if you sell it including grommets for $1,50 per square meter fullcolour? Or am i reading wrong?

 

[Biker Scout]

If you are set up properly, you can get your banner material for 11¢ per sq. ft. (at least a 3.2m machine) Inks for those machines have ink costs as low as $10 per liter of ink, so ink costs are negligible as well. This is one of the reasons why it's so hard to have a 54" wide printer to actually make any money on banners, when the market is bearing such a low retail pricing structure for them. Save your ink for higher paying jobs, and stop tying up your printer.

 

[Vinylman]

No wonder!!

It is NO WONDER the banner printing industry is in the condition it is.

When anyone who is in, [or wants to join ] the sign industry, and then in an OPEN FORUM is foolish enough to ask and have answered pricing about ANY product or service we offer it is little wonder why this once great monetary opportunity has become the cess pool of "I can do it cheaper than you can" we see before us.

Because of the ease with which ANYONE who can use a search engine and have the entire internet open before them in mere moments, and you stand at your front door and look longingly up and down the former busy streets of your little city and ponder "where are the customers that used to frequent our shop"?

They have read your posts about how cheaply banners are being sold from TRUE WHOLESALERS, then compare that price [as mentioned numerous times in this post alone] to what you are TRYING to get in your local market.

If you are loosing business to the price shoppers you only have to enter your bathroom and look in the mirror to view your enemy.


As Tom Hanks said a number of years ago in a famous movie [look it up on Google] "STUPID IS ,AS STUPID DOES".

Your former customers are reading your posts every day. Just like you came here to get information? The Internet is as much your enemy as your friend.

THINK ABOUT THIS the next time you post in an OPEN BLOG>