Hello from a newspaper guy in Texas

[wcalvert]

Hi, I work for a chain of newspapers in the NE Houston area as an ad salesman, IT director, digital paginator and columnist (you wear many hats when your parents own the paper

We are adding on a second business, specifically an advertising firm, that will specialize in selling advertising to school districts. We have a huge contract pending approval from the local school board, and we should have an exclusive 5-year contract in two weeks.

The majority of what they want us to do is sell advertising on the sides of the buses. With the impending need to print LOTS of these full color vinyl banners, I figured it would be far cheaper for us to buy our own printer instead of paying the local guys the $80 they want for a 24"X8' vinyl sign. We expect to be printing 400-500 a year, and I think it would be a shame to send that $32,000-$40,000 to a business when we can probably do it for half that much.

This looks like a great forum with lots of useful information and some mature people.

Thanks!

~Wilson

PS: I think I'm going to be applying all of these signs. Yippee

Edit: edited out the word that was mis-interpreted because of my lack of clarity.

 

[Craig Sjoquist]

Welcome to out standing forum and people....
ouch... full color at $5 sq ft

sure glad I still enjoy hand lettering

 

[Pro Image]

Howdee from VA..............

 

[Jillbeans]

Once the price of the Butler Eagle went up to 35¢ a day I stopped subscribing. Now I just read the news online for free.
Can't beat that!
Have fun with your learning curve.

 

[Cadmn]

Heck I got an inkjet & now I print my own newspapers, them other guys were just too expensive with their .50 cents a day.

 

[wcalvert]

We throw our paper for free

45,000 copies and it was 28 pages this week. All local news, no filler press release stuff typically.

We also provide the entire version in PDF form online so if our non-local customers want to print it out they can do it easily.

Y'all can check out our website at www.ourTribune.com

 

[DrCAS]

Knuckleheads, huh? Nice.

 

[jscarl]

Boy are you in for a bashing. hehehehe Knucklheads??????? You insult our trade, then want to join us.????? Put your knife away an go print the toons. Save money by buying your own printer.? hehehehe. Good luck fella.

 

[Flame]

Knuckleheads? lol. Just FYI, for that 2' x 8' decal, I would've charged you $160. $80 is pretty cheap.

You insult our trade, make our job sound easy, call us "knucklehads", and then I assume you're going to start asking for advice?

You'd be best just to leave now or apologize, NOT the way to get started on here.

 

[zmatalucci]

$80 for a 2-8 is cheap, and will last for years. Now to purchase a small ad in your celebrations section for a small ad, and for one day of publicity = $25.
So what I'm getting at is this. You get more advertising dollar purchasing a banner, than you do in your newspaper. So whose the knucklehead?
My $80 would go to a banner!

 

[wcalvert]

Woah, I wasn't insulting the trade. I am a graphic designer, just in a different way.

 

[wcalvert]

Boy are you in for a bashing. hehehehe Knucklheads??????? You insult our trade, then want to join us.????? Put your knife away an go print the toons. Save money by buying your own printer.? hehehehe. Good luck fella.

Did you see where I said I will be printing 400-500 a year? And that's just at our current level without any expansion. I already have a graphic design staff, I already have stations with legit copies of CS2, etc. etc. and I just need to print the banners and apply them.

 

[Capital Signs]

I think someone here as in (WE) deserve an appologize. Knuckleheads is refering to the trade, and all of us sign people on this forum who are out to give help and help each other. You start bashing us, say your too cheap to pay 5/square foot, and then want advice on how to take advantage of us and where to find things cheap?

Do you ever wonder why signs are a bit more expensive than a $25 dollar ad? Well, the $25 dollar ad lasts a day, while the banner, or decal can last up to 3 years! (if mounted, installed, and used properly?) Obviously depending on weather conditions...

I think you need to seriously appologize, or if not, describe what you mean by knuckleheads...

Just my 2cents.:Oops:

 

[James Chrimes]

The majority of what they want us to do is sell advertising on the sides of the buses. With the impending need to print LOTS of these full color vinyl banners,

How are you going to secure the banners to the bus so that they dont rip off when the wind catches them?

 

[wcalvert]

Knuckleheads? lol. Just FYI, for that 2' x 8' decal, I would've charged you $160. $80 is pretty cheap.

You insult our trade, make our job sound easy, call us "knucklehads", and then I assume you're going to start asking for advice?

You'd be best just to leave now or apologize, NOT the way to get started on here.

I was not inferring that the sign industry as a whole were knuckleheads, just that the local shop that I deal with tends to not provide the best service, but they provide some of the better pricing, so in effect it's better on my end to just put up with it.

For example, I needed a poster printed, 2'X3'. I provided them with an InDesign and a PDF file on Monday. They quoted me $85 which I think is ridiculous even considering they are putting it on foamcore for me, and they said Friday pickup would be no problem. Well, it wasn't ready, the lady took a 3 hour lunch break on Wed and Thursday and now I have to scramble to get a display to somebody by 10am on Monday.

I'm sorry guys for getting off on such a rough start with you guys, I have nothing but the best intentions!

 

[wcalvert]

How are you going to secure the banners to the bus so that they dont rip off when the wind catches them?

Sorry, an adhesive vinyl that is in a banner shape.

I re-read the first post, and I can definitely see that I didn't word it correctly.

I'm looking at doing something where I print a color vinyl sign that is adhesive and that I can apply to the side of a bus myself.

 

[D2S]

What do you know about actually applying vinyl to the banner? Do you have experience with a printer that you would be able to trouble shoot the all the problems. Or are you going to come here and ask these KNUCKLEHEADS (your words not mine) questions on how to fix it and expect them to jump thru hoops?

 

[wcalvert]

What do you know about actually applying vinyl to the banner? Do you have experience with a printer that you would be able to trouble shoot the all the problems. Or are you going to come here and ask these KNUCKLEHEADS (your words not mine) questions on how to fix it and expect them to jump thru hoops?

I know very little, and I've enjoyed very much reading and researching on the forum. I'm currently in a researching stage on acquiring our own printing hardware, and after the limited research I've done I've found that it would probably be worth our effort to print stuff ourself.

 

[wcalvert]

Let me re-iterate again that I meant nothing towards the industry as a whole. I'm active on some car forums online, and we always complain about the local mechanics at dealerships and refer to them as the local knuckleheads. I'm not insulting mechanics as a whole, just the poor job that is exemplified by the locals.

I meant no ill-will towards the industry and SPECIFICALLY not towards the forum. I apologize and I'm sorry

PS: You can extinguish the torches, no lynching today please

 

[WhiskeyDreamer]

For example, I needed a poster printed, 2'X3'. I provided them with an InDesign and a PDF file on Monday. They quoted me $85 which I think is ridiculous even considering they are putting it on foamcore for me

i'd probably charge more for a 2x3 full color...and then of course, there'd be a fee to set the supplied file if it wasn't print ready