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Howdy

T

thecteamstudios

New Member
Hello/Howdy/Greetings:

Like most posters in this area, I'm also new to sign making. I'm in NE Kansas.

I was given a US Cutter MH1351 and cut vinyl for small and medium sized businesses for about a year. Every time I had that 'elevator conversation' with someone about what I do as a part-time business, their first question was "Do you do car wraps?" I got so sick of hearing it.

A month ago, I heard that a ColorSpan DisplayMaker 72s came up for sale in this area for a very reasonable price. After consulting with my wife (which is a very smart thing to do by the way), we bought it.

We had to move the operation out of our dining room and into an actual facility because solvent printers can be rather 'stinky' and that would not go over well at home.

I finally got the ColorSpan jets clear, and it prints rather nicely. I'm looking for some basic 'getting started' suggestions.

Vinyl Questions:
Best place to buy cut vinyl?
Is $1 to $1.50 per inch x 24"w too low or high?
What do you charge to install the vinyl?
Anyone charge setup fees if they don't give you line art?

Solvent/Vinyl Questions:
Where to buy this HP ink with the ridiculus ROM chips?
Where to buy IJ180C/IJ180Cv3/IJ380v3? (Which is better, or do you have a better suggestion for media?)
What to do about overlaminates? (I just can't afford a roll laminator right until I get paid for a few jobs.)
Is $9-$12 per square foot too high for this area?
What do you charge for design/artwork?

I'll try to stick around and answer anyone's questions, but in an hour, I'll have to go offline until after 8CST when the kids go down to bed.

Thanks for reading.
 
T

thecteamstudios

New Member
I know what you are saying Pat, but after the purchase of the printer, I'm really tapped out. Not to mention that my wife would just kill me if I spent some more money. We are trying to run this on a very tight budget.

Actually, as of today, I wouldn't fall into the pricing schedule that's posted because I'm in the negative category. I'm trying to pay cash for everything and not get into debt.
 
BobM

BobM

New Member
Welcome from Cape of Cod. You really need to develop your cost of doing business and a materials cost matrix. The plan will tell you how much you need to charge. There are a vareity of software pricing programs such as GraphixCalk starting at a few hundred dollars that will help you with realistic pricing. Nothing will be any good if you don't understand what your material costs and cost of doing business are. Good luck.
 
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