Gallery wrap pricing?

[jokingscroll]

So I am wondering what people are charging for this service to print on canvas, coat the piece with varnish, and stretch the canvas?

 

[rjssigns]

Here is what I know about folks in my area. They will go to Walmart or Woodmans grocery store before they will pay what I need to get. At this point when they call for that service I automatically tell them where to get it done. I can't compete.
At least they appreciate my honesty and will come back for other work.

 

[ibikestickers]

I'm not doing wrapped canvas yet, I'm still saving up to get a printer but my plan is to start at a comparable level to the "regular" pricing on a website like canvasdiscount.com, but offer local, personalized service, and the ability to come see samples, pick up the piece, and even offer to deliver to their home. I think that if you do that, along with offering other forms of wall art along with installation, you can get a fair price from people who value service. There are a lot of people who don't know where to start when it comes to uploading files and choosing what option they want, especially when they can't see the options in person.

 

[rjssigns]

Hate to wet on your picnic charcoal, but you needed to hear this:

I just checked canvasdiscount. A 30 x 20 for $49. Places like that are why I don't even bother. We have a $45 minimum charge at our shop. Why? Well it comes from piddly little things like insurance(business, health and shop vehicles), heat, lights, taxes, maintenance, inventory, inventory carrying costs, office supplies, software and their requisite upgrades etc, etc etc.............................'til you're ready to puke. Besides which my wife and I have grown quite fond of eating, being clothed and having a roof over our head.

Notice I never even mentioned the cost of the printer, its RIP or ancillary tools to complete your gallery wraps? Notice I never mentioned advertising budget?

How long are you going to spend with each client to garner what percent profit? Time is a nonrenewable resource and some clients will use it at an alarming rate.

You need to sit down and take a super hard look at what you are getting into. Everything looks wonderful in the Blue Sky phase. No one wants to focus on the reality. There are excellent programs out there to plug in all your "hard" costs. They crunch the numbers and spit out your hourly rate. I guarantee it will shock you.

 

[ibikestickers]

It's true that all those things need to be taken into account.

The special price of a 30 x 20 is $49... I'm saying that I will charge somewhere around the "regular" price, which in that example is $112.00, although a minimum of $100-$150 might be in order...

I personally have low/no overhead, since my shop and home are integrated, and other products/services contributing to my income so maybe I can do well with that type of pricing whereas someone else cannot but that's what I intend to do. I don't have employees either, FWIW. Regardless of whether something seems BlueSky or not, I am confident that there are ones prospering doing personalized products for the direct to consumer market and I intend to be one.

 

[jokingscroll]

rjssigns I just went to canvas discount and bought a 30" x 20." The total came out to 57.05. I selected the bare minimum for the that size. The website lets you upgrade your print with more options after you download your image. I selected some of options. one at a time to see how much my cost would change each option was almsot 50% of the current price with that said I will see how long it takes to get my order and the the quality of the piece to determine if there is room to make money selling this service.

 

[Bly]

I used to do a few of these back before the local supermarket and framing shops started doing them for a pittance.

These days they're for the birds. Or folk with printers who don't need to eat or be clothed.

 

[jokingscroll]

How do you figure?

 

[rjssigns]

I used to do a few of these back before the local supermarket and framing shops started doing them for a pittance.

These days they're for the birds. Or folk with printers who don't need to eat or be clothed.

THIS^^^^^^^

Thanks for reiterating a condensed version of my experience.


Although it is fun watching him rationalize why it will work when he doesn't even own a printer.

 

[Gino]

Your name says it all.

Nuff said...............
​

 

[bob]

I was at a meeting the other day where various of us were doing show and tell about our respective businesses. I had brought along, among lots of other things, a gallery warped canvas that was hanging on my office wall. Another attendee represented a custom greeting card company that also offered gallery wrapped canvas prints.

The card lady went first and broke out her sample canvas, an 18x24. Unimpressive work.

When it was my turn I unlimbered my sample, also an 18x24. Not only were the sizes coincidental, so was the subject matter. Her's was a guy trying to stay on a bucking horse, mine was a guy riding a horse [non-bucking]. I didn't say much beyond words to the effect that I also offered these. The difference in quality was obvious to most everyone there. Mine was much tighter with proper corners. Someone actually picked up on the proper edge handling that I used vice the lack of same on the card lady's sample.

Edge handing is where you reproduce an inch or two, depending, of each edge, left, right, top, and bottom, flip them either horizontally or vertically, depending, and join them back onto the original image. This makes the vertical sides of the wrap a mirror image of the inch or so of the image itself. Seamlessly at that.

The card lady had announced that her sample was $89.99. She ask how much mine was. $83.00 I replied. The look on her face was priceless.

I'll do this size all day for $83.00 a copy. $5-$6 worth of material and a 15-30 minute [depending] time investment. The quick turnaround is because I've done so many of these I have the pre-press down to a handful of well-defined keystrokes and the stretching down to about 5 minutes. Besides, I enjoy doing them.

 

[rjssigns]

Soooo Bob how many of these do you do a day at $83? Saying you will do them for that price all day and actually making a living on them are worlds apart, no?

BTW Too many folks don't give a rats rump about quality. Their rally cry: "How cheap can I get this done".

 

[bob]

Soooo Bob how many of these do you do a day at $83? Saying you will do them for that price all day and actually making a living on them are worlds apart, no?...

I don't do that many just like I don't do that many of any one particular thing. At a time. But...if circumstances were such I could do 10 a day, be done by lunch time leaving my afternoons for riding horses and smelling the roses, and net well over $700 per day. $700*5 days a week*52 weeks a year comes to a tidy $182,000 per year, I can live on that.

 

[mnapuran]

I don't do that many just like I don't do that many of any one particular thing. At a time. But...if circumstances were such I could do 10 a day, be done by lunch time leaving my afternoons for riding horses and smelling the roses, and net well over $700 per day. $700*5 days a week*52 weeks a year comes to a tidy $182,000 per year, I can live on that.

True... what bars/frames do you use that allow you to get them done that quickly?

 

[Kentucky Wraps]

I was at a meeting the other day where various of us were doing show and tell about our respective businesses. I had brought along, among lots of other things, a gallery warped canvas that was hanging on my office wall. Another attendee represented a custom greeting card company that also offered gallery wrapped canvas prints.

The card lady went first and broke out her sample canvas, an 18x24. Unimpressive work.

When it was my turn I unlimbered my sample, also an 18x24. Not only were the sizes coincidental, so was the subject matter. Her's was a guy trying to stay on a bucking horse, mine was a guy riding a horse [non-bucking]. I didn't say much beyond words to the effect that I also offered these. The difference in quality was obvious to most everyone there. Mine was much tighter with proper corners. Someone actually picked up on the proper edge handling that I used vice the lack of same on the card lady's sample.

Edge handing is where you reproduce an inch or two, depending, of each edge, left, right, top, and bottom, flip them either horizontally or vertically, depending, and join them back onto the original image. This makes the vertical sides of the wrap a mirror image of the inch or so of the image itself. Seamlessly at that.

The card lady had announced that her sample was $89.99. She ask how much mine was. $83.00 I replied. The look on her face was priceless.

I'll do this size all day for $83.00 a copy. $5-$6 worth of material and a 15-30 minute [depending] time investment. The quick turnaround is because I've done so many of these I have the pre-press down to a handful of well-defined keystrokes and the stretching down to about 5 minutes. Besides, I enjoy doing them.

+1 It's not really that much time and materials for the amount of profit. Don't know what all the fuss is about. Not every job is going to have a HUGE profit margin in my shop...like a wrap does. The fact I offer custom canvas prints gets customers in the door. Once they're in...some become repeat customers or word of mouth advertisers for me. I have a minimum.

 

[jokingscroll]

Its funny how rude some people are when a queston is asked on this fourm. I mean really whats with the stupid reponse?
with that said I agree with Kentucky Wraps and Bob If I can produce them at Low cost quick turn time decent quality material then why not sure im not have a line wrapping around the building but something is better then nothing.

 

[rdm01]

We do many of these per week. We have a chop saw, and the wood is bought in bundles down the street at Home Depot. Pricing depends on size (of course), but can range from $45-$115 for the larger ones. The frames are clamped, glued and screwed in about 15-20 minutes per frame. Stretch and pull the canvas around and staple it on.

Clients love them, some of our clients have orders 80-100 of the same print for gifts to their clients. Important thing to remember is that people will forget you use up 1 inch all around to cover the sides, so remind them (or provide an illustration with a border showing where it will go around to the side). A content aware fill will work for most frames to cover the side.

I could argue that most jobs are piddly and a waste of time (what you want me to stop what I am doing and letter your vehicle in one afternoon?!) but truth is they pay well, and it shows when you get an order for large amounts because someone was so impressed they ordered 100+ of the things.

-R

 

[Jackpine]

rdm01, What type do yo buy....1"x? "wood is bought in bundles down the street at Home Depot"

I use Aspen wood 1"x3" that I buy at Farm&Fleet because it all straight and has no knots or blemishes, no waste. I use a chop saw to miter and cut a bevel on the top where the print is stretched. I use banner tape on the back and a staple. Office Max does wraps and uses a cardboard frame kit you can find online.

 

[bob]

True... what bars/frames do you use that allow you to get them done that quickly?

On anything less than 30" on the long side I'll use commercial 1x3 [nominal] stretcher bars. I buy a stock of them them from various places on-line, wherever the best deal that day might be. If I need a size I happen to be out of I stop by the neighborhood Hobby Lobby and get a single set of four. The bars purchased on the cheap on-line tend to have very small knots and the odd bark irregularity but they're uniformly straight and sound. The ones from Hobby Lobby are always clear wood but thet cost a bit more. Just pop them together, square them with a framing square, and drop two or three staples across each corner joint. No glue, no fuss. Takes maybe a minute. None have ever come apart and no one has ever complained about any irregularities, mostly because 75-80% of the entire bar is covered with canvas.

On larger sizes I use finger joint and primed brick mold. It's the perfect size and shape. Available at any home improvement center or lumber yard. Cut in the miter saw, a drop or two of Tight Bond and the stapes up the joint on both sides. Takes a couple of minutes longer and costs a bit more, but I charge accordingly. Gives a larger more substantial looking finished product.

During the entire process the thing that takes the most time is having to reload staples into my air stapler.

 

[Jackpine]

Good information. I use brick mold for larger ones also. Miter and glue with Tight Bond and the staple the corners.
We my brother and me, used that process years ago when we were art majors in collage. We, my brother and me, wrapped the stretchers with our paintings so we didn't have to frame them.

On anything less than 30" on the long side I'll use commercial 1x3 [nominal] stretcher bars. I buy a stock of them them from various places on-line, wherever the best deal that day might be. If I need a size I happen to be out of I stop by the neighborhood Hobby Lobby and get a single set of four. The bars purchased on the cheap on-line tend to have very small knots and the odd bark irregularity but they're uniformly straight and sound. The ones from Hobby Lobby are always clear wood but thet cost a bit more. Just pop them together, square them with a framing square, and drop two or three staples across each corner joint. No glue, no fuss. Takes maybe a minute. None have ever come apart and no one has ever complained about any irregularities, mostly because 75-80% of the entire bar is covered with canvas.

On larger sizes I use finger joint and primed brick mold. It's the perfect size and shape. Available at any home improvement center or lumber yard. Cut in the miter saw, a drop or two of Tight Bond and the stapes up the joint on both sides. Takes a couple of minutes longer and costs a bit more, but I charge accordingly. Gives a larger more substantial looking finished product.

During the entire process the thing that takes the most time is having to reload staples into my air stapler.