how to go about the next step

[rm stickers]

Hello everyone,
My name is John ,me and my girlfriend decided to get into the sign business about 2 years ago, I had moderate experience with corel draw and a fairly good understanding of the basics, so we went the ebay special route and bought a seiki 870tx , just to see if it was something that we would be interested in long term. Two years later we have been fairly successful running a simple sticker business out of my garage office, (banners, lawnsigns, and vehicle window stickers is the main part of the business)..The seiki cutter does not cut the small intricate fonts and graphics very well, but that is to be expected with a $300 machine i am sure. We are now at the point where we want to take the next step and get into doing full color stuff like printed banners, and stickers. I know nothing about this end of it and wanted to gather some knowledge before we go to the next step.. we would like to upgrade our cutter for sure, and im sure it should have contour cutting capabilities any suggestions about next step up for us, also some tips on large format printer on a entry level scale...the guy at advantage sign supply gave me some basic knowledge about aqueous , solvent based printers, and is now wanting us to come in and see a demo of something called the gerber edge??? any knowledge and insight or tips would be greatly appreciated.. I want to do this right!! Thank you in advance.
John
RM Stickers

 

[WhiskeyDreamer]

welcome from pa.....and i would suggest subbing out your full color work until you know if investing in the machine will be good for you....

i have an edge, and will tell you it's a great machine....a work horse...it's only downfall is it's single panel print max is 11.8in. anything larger and you have to panel the job....don't get me wrong...i love my edge, and it's the only printer here, but it's just not cost effective on larger pcs....the one great thing about the edge is you can print spot colors....so if someone wants red on white decals, you'll only run one foil...that's where i think the edge is cost effective....

 

[J Hill Designs]

I too would sub out digi-prints until you KNEW you wanted to spend $20k for print/cut/lam system...

JMO

welcome from cali

 

[Fred Weiss]

I would suggest you start by browsing through the archived threads here in the various forums regarding these manufacturers:

• Gerber
• Roland
• Mimaki
• Mutoh

What you're likely to find is that there is no entry level, small step up to move into vinyl printing. Realistically you need to budget $12K to $25K or more. You also need more space, a bigger better plotter and, most likely better software. If you go inkjet, you will also need a laminator. Then you will need an inventory of materials and a lot of time learning what you'll need to know.

Advantage SS handles Gerber, Mimaki, Mutoh, and others, so you should be able to get a reasonable comparison of the different technologies and costs.

 

[Gino]

Welcome from PA..........................


All good answers so far

 

[rm stickers]

thank you to everyone for all of your helpful responses , we have a very tough decision ahead of us, and will probably be going to advantage ss to see the demo.. I will keep you all posted..thanks again,
John and Jackie

 

[DOGraphics]

:Welcome: .......... 2 ........... :signs101:

 

[ddarlak]

all good answers, but the most important one was skipped over....

girlfriend???

if your taking this business to a higher level, you need to start treating it like a business. if she is your business partner, then call it that and write up a partnership agreement.