The problem is your reason for being here in the first place. Despite our name possibly causing confusion for some, we are a community of individuals engaged in the craft and business of sign making as professionals. Our livelihoods depend on improving our skills and developing our talents. Otherwise, we are faced with losing our livelihoods to do-it-yourselfers and amateurs who perceive what it takes to create signs as easy.
The perception of most of our members who have commented in your thread is that you are not a professional sign maker and are here to ask us to help you in your efforts to bypass the products and services we each individually offer. Instead of seeking out a professional level vendor to supply you and assist you in any number of ways, who has already invested in the equipment and the learning curve, and who would likely improve the results, satisfaction and overall return from your new contract, you still seem to feel that this is not something of enough value to consider.
You are in the trap of knowing enough to be dangerous. You have established your product valuations from internet browsing and have concluded that anything beyond the production of your printed vinyl at whatever unknown quality is all any vendor will do for you ... at least that you place any value upon.
Do you not see how we as individuals and as a community would disagree with your perceptions? The contract you are so proud of that you feel is somehow outside the province of the professional community represents lost business to us. Why would you think we would greet you with enthusiasm or assist you in an enterprise that is going to dilute our market?
I do very much see where you are coming from. I would think that you would welcome anybody that wants to print because of you having something like a newbie forum.
If I was here as someone as a prospective signs business, I would have been welcome with opened arms. In effect, that is what I would be doing, with myself being my only customer. I would not be diluting the market at all, because I'm not reducing anybodies actual business, just lost potential opportunity (albeit a large one).
I would think that instead of being thrown under the bus, which is effectively what happened (because of my fault partially) I would be directed to some large-format FAQ and how my sophomoric knowledge is far too immature at this time to make any type of decision for the future.
Fortunately, I had some very nice members contact me via PM and not only offer my advice, but their personal emails if I had any further questions or wanted some advice. They made a few choice comments about some of the individuals on the board here that merely confirmed what I had already found out.
As it stands right now, it is probably in our best interest to sub the work out for the next 4-6 months and in that time re-evaluate the pros/cons of going in-house for the print work. We probably will buy our own hardware and hire an experienced sign designer (creating a job in your industry FYI).
I really feel no ill will towards anyone here, and I want to thank those that helped me again, and I wish you all the best of luck.
