Geneva Olson
Expert Storyteller
as you gain experience, you tend to not have as many reprints. at least in our shop, that's been the case. our screw ups are fewer and farther in between these days.
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How long does it take you to letter a truck?
- Thread starter soloinstaller
- Start date
Gino
Premium Subscriber
Wow, y'all are always talking about how much ya pay your employees, then til ya add in overhead and insurances...... oh and taxes and all the other sh!t, your shop rate is only $85.00 an hour ??
If you count input on the computer, cutting, printing and weeding, then taping it all up and figuring out where it all goes, getting it straight on there shouldn't be a problem, but to each their own, ya'd be around 3 hours or so and with the h!t Factor included, about $415.00 + tx, That's all providing ya have no interruptions or you clock in & out for all kindsa other crap.
That's also for a clean truck coming in and all we hafta do is give it an alcohol bath.
If you count input on the computer, cutting, printing and weeding, then taping it all up and figuring out where it all goes, getting it straight on there shouldn't be a problem, but to each their own, ya'd be around 3 hours or so and with the h!t Factor included, about $415.00 + tx, That's all providing ya have no interruptions or you clock in & out for all kindsa other crap.
That's also for a clean truck coming in and all we hafta do is give it an alcohol bath.
StarSign
New Member
3 days
Customer will show up 2 hours late, installers moved on to next project
The truck in the picture isn't the truck that was dropped off (no one questions it)
Tailgate vinyl is cut way too big (no one measured, just looked at a picture)
Customer calls the next day and says he has a different phone number, and since we are changing the phone number his wife wants it to be a different color.
Finally get the truck done, looks nothing like the proof or what the customer approved. Sits for 2 more days waiting for pick up.
Customer will show up 2 hours late, installers moved on to next project
The truck in the picture isn't the truck that was dropped off (no one questions it)
Tailgate vinyl is cut way too big (no one measured, just looked at a picture)
Customer calls the next day and says he has a different phone number, and since we are changing the phone number his wife wants it to be a different color.
Finally get the truck done, looks nothing like the proof or what the customer approved. Sits for 2 more days waiting for pick up.
White Haus
Not a Newbie
We have a winner! This made me laugh, thanks. Sad but true sometimes.
Johnny Best
Active Member
“Haste makes waste” Somebody is going to say they could do it in 15 minutes.
Modern Ink Signs
Premium Subscriber
30 - 60 minutes for install. We require customers to bring in their vehicles clean. If not we charge a cleaning fee. Cleaning time - depends on how dirty it may be.
Modern Ink Signs
Premium Subscriber
No way that should ever take 4 hours. 1 tops.
Modern Ink Signs
Premium Subscriber
The old eye ball method…smh
Geneva Olson
Expert Storyteller
We schedule a 4 hour block for this install. It may take 1.5 hours or 2. Then it sits in front of the shop for advertising for the next hour until the customer picks it up.
JBurton
Signtologist
For a guy and a squeegee, yup. I pay my employees in peanuts and back slaps, gotta remember different areas have different COL, pay rates, etc. CNC, bucket truck, and on site installs are all different but higher rates, each with it's own overhead.
The real question, who charges based on actual time vs quoted time? Anybody giving discounts for bringing their A game?
tulsagraphics
New Member
For those without a knack for it.. sure... it can be cringe.
As a graphics designer of 30 years, and a sign maker for 24 years, I can assure you I've got a well trained eye for positioning, negative space, balance, rule of thirds and all that stuff. I regularly tape up graphics by eye, then measure to see where I'm at... and I'm rarely off by more than 1/8" at full arm span. Many times on the money or only off by 1/16". In any case, the human eye isn't attracted to precision, especially on a vehicle with few/no parallel lines. It's about perception. You can measure the piss out of something for 10 minutes and try to make it to whatever YOUR idea of perfect is based on what... a PVO template you brought into Illustrator? What's your point of reference when a vehicle has a 'learn forward" position, very few, if any parallel trim pieces, etc. The ground? Is that the measurement YOU think is important? Again, perception. IMO, it's far better to step back 20 feet and actually LOOK at your work before you commit to the install. Unless it's a box trailer, F the measuring tape. Precise measurements are not the end all, be all silver bullet. When YOU are impressed by YOUR work.. that's the time to stick it. Make adjustments for what looks good... not just for your professional pride or your clients first impression, but ultimately the ROI the client will get from having an "eye-catching" graphic in a way that suggests artistry and talent were involved, not just "another print shop with a measuring tape".
P.S. I hope you're not one of those folks who includes punctuation when centering a sentence. /smh
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Gino
Premium Subscriber
A lot of what you say is true, tulsa..... but only if the person doing the work has their sh!t together in the first place. I see it around town here and other places and also on this site of people who don't know any better and don't think their sh!t doesn't stink.
Another thing I've found out in recent years is the use of glasses..... eye glasses. I saw it here in our shop where people using their eyeballs were actually bending lines up or down from one end to the other. I used to say..... can't you see that ?? They'd say no, what ?? So, I started double checking most everyone. Here about 5 years ago, I started using my walmart cheaters to do some things and the same thing happened to me. Somehow, the glasses aren't accurate enough for technical things like lines. I started measuring things with a ruler or whatever and would find myself off, if the line of copy was more than 4' long. Something right in front of me would be fine, but once it extended out, it tended to wander a bit.
Another thing I've found out in recent years is the use of glasses..... eye glasses. I saw it here in our shop where people using their eyeballs were actually bending lines up or down from one end to the other. I used to say..... can't you see that ?? They'd say no, what ?? So, I started double checking most everyone. Here about 5 years ago, I started using my walmart cheaters to do some things and the same thing happened to me. Somehow, the glasses aren't accurate enough for technical things like lines. I started measuring things with a ruler or whatever and would find myself off, if the line of copy was more than 4' long. Something right in front of me would be fine, but once it extended out, it tended to wander a bit.
JBurton
Signtologist
I'm basically blind, but I wear contacts. I got an infection this week and have been driving glasses every day for the first time since 5th grade. Holy cow, everything's f*cky, cabinets look bowed, looking through the top or bottom of the lenses will put a blue or yellow edge on high contrasting colors, it's friggin debilitating. I can't imagine trying to square up something like vehicle graphics, where your tape won't lay flat for an easy alignment. IDK if it's the cheap glasses I got or if it's just the extreme thickness required to correct my vision, but I don't know how anybody wear these and be accurate. At least I got past the nausea inducing funhouse feeling after 2 days.
Modern Ink Signs
Premium Subscriber
Yup. I’ve done it before. 36 years of doing this I can tell if things are off by 1/4” or less
JBurton
Signtologist
The real question is, can you hold your tongue while the customer is bragging about a sign you damn well know is crooked?
2B
Active Member
to add to this, by having measurements any future order (new vehicle or repair) can be duplicated and look consistent.
We have / take a print out of the digital proof and make measurements notes during installation, which helps when doing side 2, and then keep this on the account for future referencing
Technically I have astigmatism. When the optician gives me glasses that "correct" for this, I can't accurately see parallel lines. Totally screws up cutting, fitting, hanging. So I have to explain to the eye specialist, that I really don't want or need this fix (that bit ain't broke, but the shortening arms needs an update).
Down side of non corrected vision, is that I can't tell the difference between Illl, and IIl, without extreme concentration. But I can see IlI to within a 10th of a degree (ish).
Modern Ink Signs
Premium Subscriber
Oh that is a tough one. I guess on how off it is.