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How Fast?

Bannerday

New Member
How long should it take to do:

6 double sided 18 x 24 coro signs.

Ea. side is:
3 lines of simple text (same color)
1 arrow (different color)

Just curious how long that should take for pricing purposes.

thanks
 

Gino

Premium Subscriber
You really have to figure in your vinyl cost, inputting information, cutting time, weeding, taping up and tape cost, positioning time, laying it down and squeegeeing it and cleaning it off. Then the cost of the Cor-X, your overhead, profit and a little for the governor and last but not least.... your PITA cost.

What you described and adding all the information into it, would be based on your hourly rate at that point.




Time to actually lay the vinyl down would be about 5 minutes a side and caries upon your level of skill.​


We just did 10 2-sided 24" x 36" aluminum signs. From start to finish, including cutting time, weeding, taping and applying and cleaning off lines.... 1-1/2 hours, but it had 5 lines of copy, an arrow and some small copy.

:banghead: Why didn't we flatbed print it ?? Cause the stock was so wavy, we couldn't get it flat enough to not cause head strikes.
 

FS-Keith

New Member
I would have printed it and to cut out and apply 6 double sided yard signs and stake them would take me about 10 minutes. To cut the vinyl weed and tape would def be closer to an hour. do you have a printer or are you asking about time to cut vinyl?
 

Bannerday

New Member
I could print them but the customer specifically
wanted vinyl.

Since we don't do vinyl lawn signs often, I just wanted to see how long it should take us to do.

It looks like it should take about an hour to do 6 (bet it takes us longer, we are out of practice).
I realize printing would be faster.
 

Craig Sjoquist

New Member
I don't go by how long it takes with fancy machines. Since fancy machines cost, vinyl cost, overhead & labor costs. Yes it may take you a hour plus minus this way BUT.

The value is a great deal higher then a hour of time.

If your charging by the hour using a fancy machines less then $200 a hour your leaving money on the table.

Why ?? when you go to a mechanic labor charges are based on ... one mechanic with hand tools, when they got air tools they did not lower labor charges for doing it faster.

But the sign industry sure did 2 truck doors I was getting $200 for plain jane, before PCs and cutters now it is common to see it for $40 you have destroyed the value of advertising. also destroying advertising in general.
 

Fitch

New Member
Don't ask anyone how long THEY would take for YOUR pricing.

If everyone says 1 hour and you price it so, but takes you four hours, you are getting burnt.

Price it according to how long YOU think it will take YOU to do. If you say 2 hours and it takes four, then so be it. Vice versa as well.

Take the cost of materials, overheads etc and add your desired profit and live with the time factor - either over or under the time allocated. Either way you still make the $$$ amount you desired from the outset. Also consider that if you determine a $100 profit, don't look at it as $100, look at it as a $100 discount on your electricity bill.

Cheers - G
 

threeputt

New Member
I don't go by how long it takes with fancy machines. Since fancy machines cost, vinyl cost, overhead & labor costs. Yes it may take you a hour plus minus this way BUT.

The value is a great deal higher then a hour of time.

If your charging by the hour using a fancy machines less then $200 a hour your leaving money on the table.

Why ?? when you go to a mechanic labor charges are based on ... one mechanic with hand tools, when they got air tools they did not lower labor charges for doing it faster.

But the sign industry sure did 2 truck doors I was getting $200 for plain jane, before PCs and cutters now it is common to see it for $40 you have destroyed the value of advertising. also destroying advertising in general.


The problem I have with some of this reasoning is, that it's flawed. It doesn't take into consideration modern methods of producing sign work.

For example it used to take a monk (hand copying by candle light night and day) two years to produce a bible, do you think Gutenberg and those that followed him charged that kind of dough? (movable type setting could mass produce single pages quickly) Sort of a revolutionary thing for the day.

Do you pay a million dollars today for a copy of a bible nowadays? No? Wonder why not?

I'm not saying we shouldn't charge rates that take into consideration the investment in equipment, training, software, etc.....but in general signmaking costs have come down. (with respect to the amount of labor it takes to create the signs)
 

FS-Keith

New Member
I could print them but the customer specifically
wanted vinyl.

Since we don't do vinyl lawn signs often, I just wanted to see how long it should take us to do.

It looks like it should take about an hour to do 6 (bet it takes us longer, we are out of practice).
I realize printing would be faster.


show give him the price for printed vs. cut vinyl and i think you will sway his decision. these are just temporary yards signs.
 
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