I need help!!

[jjolly1609]

I need some help please. I am new to the forum and to the business.
This is what I would like to do, My son races motocross and we are at the races every weekend. I currently take photo's for the tracks but We have no kind of graphic business any where around. My plan is to first start out making t-shirts for the local tracks, do jersey lettering, chest protector ID's, personalized hoodies and t-shirts. Then start making complete motorcycle graphics.
Now I have read and read, done lots of research, but wow, there is so much stuff out there. Here is what I have come up with so far.
Gerber Edge FX for motorcycle graphics.
Geo Knight heat press for the heat transfers, no bigger than a 15x15?
Am I headed in the right direction?
The equipment is what is so confusing, can you give me some insight on what the best equipment would be for what I am wanting to do? I do not want to buy a bunch of "junk" and just have to replace it later.
What vinyl cutter would be best for heat transfer material? What printer would be best for quality heat pressed t-shirts? I have so many questions, I do not even know where to begin.
Thanks
Jana

 

[signage]

The Gerber Edge is a printer you will also need a plotter/cutter and the only real choice is a Gerber product (HS series or envision). The reason is the Edge only prints 11.8" and if you use any other cutter you loose valuable print area do to registration marks!

 

[Fred Weiss]

You are making the same mistake we see often here which is thinking that you have to do it all from day one in house.

What you really need is design software such as the Adobe Creative Suite or the Corel Suite and a heat press. You can then supply files to a reliable outsource and transfer what he supplies you to the garments. The same outsource can also provide you with vinyl decals and lots of other items to sell to your customers.

There's a banner in the left column that links to our Merchant Directory. Read through it and save yourself $15K to $20K investment for equipment and inventory until you have the kind of profits to justify the investment.

 

[petepaz]

signage had the correct equipment for what you want to do and fred had the correct way to go about it
i wouldn't spen that kind of money until you know you have a business there
make some posters and set up a booth at the races sub the work out til you build a customer base then when you have some profits and repeat customers then buy the equipment

 

[jkkt]

Not sure where you are located in TX , but Speedgraffix is pretty strong in TX for MX graphics. You might want to do some more research into this before investing 15-20 thousand to get up and running.

 

[Color Dude]

Please tell us the location in Texas. I may be able to help or atleast give you pricing for what your wanting.

There are alot of great people that use this forum...so the possibilities are endless to help you get up and going.

 

[jjolly1609]

Signage,
Yes, I am looking at the Gerber Edge FX and the Envision Plotter and I pretty much know what all I will need for the Motorcycle graphics as in material and already have a place to get the templates. Thank You!

Fred,
I have Corel Draw Graphics Suite X4 and can get the Adobe Graphics Suite, do I need this also? I have never worked with this program, but am willing to learn anything. I am fixing to get the heat press and from what I get from everyone the GEO Knight is the best, so that is what I am looking at. THANKS for the information, that is very good advise, I will check into it and I appreciate it.

Petepaz,
Yes, I understand were they are coming from. I have a trailer and will set up at the races and will do most of my work there.

JKKT,
I am in West Texas, yes, speedgraffix is very strong, but also the closest mx graphics company around here. My advantage is I am at all the races every weekend, everyone knows my son and I as he has been racing for 12 years and I take pictures for the tracks, so I have a hand in already. From my experience, people will buy if you are able to give them the merchandise before the day is over.

ColorDude,
I am located in a small town close to Lubbock, TX.

Thanks everyone for your advise so far, keep it coming my way!
Thanks Jana

 

[signage]

You could also look into a Phinox phire heat press. Imprintables sells them and they are a merchant member here!

 

[jjolly1609]

I will check on that heat press now, thanks!

 

[Replicator]

I also recommend outsourcing most or all of your materials after you design them,

This will allow you to use some of this income to purchase the equipment you want !

 

[CustomRide]

Outsourcing is going to be a complete waste of time for what you are trying to do. If you had one project that was large and you could set down with an outsourcing company then it "might" be worth it. Your trackside and those guys want their stuff like yesterday when their bikes were still in pieces.

be careful cause what sounds and looks good on paper can turn into a financial disaster when it comes to hands on. Outsourcing is a pain for the motocross stuff. Your going to need to get a good chunk of money and hit it head on. The stress of finding a outsource option that meets every single need and then switching from that source to doing it yourself will just slow you down even more. Either way it goes you have to learn this if you want to do it. The more homework you do now the less you have equipment sitting around waiting on you to learn what you need. Start with software come up with designs as testing. Try creating a sample of what a customer might ask of you after you get the proper design software.

It looks like the money is there trackside but you might end up finding out that it is not worth it. A lot of people can barely cough up the extra $5-$20 for a photo of themselves in our district. I think selling t's and hoodies trackside is a bad idea overall. The only time I have seen this work is at the end of a season the podium winners can buy a jacket/hoody from a company who did the trophies and photography. Your area could be different since gas went up attendence has been down %30-%40 at some of our ama races. Be careful!

 

[Ken]

Yea, if you plan on doing on-site..while-U-wait work out of a trailer..you really have to have your shit together. Machines, material, and most important, your design software that meshes with the machine(s).While you're busy racing..will you actually have time to sit at the trailer..which should ultimately be dust proof..and chew out decals/shirts for 20 to 200 bucks? I question it. I don't doubt your enthusiasm..a great sport.
Think it thru.
Good luck.
Ken

 

[dirtdog]

custom atv graphics are selling for about $200.00-$225.00.i like the idea,prolly wont be able to do it while they wait,but you could bring it to the next race.faster than ordering them.

 

[sarge]

first i dont think you need adobe .. learn 1 application well .. and coreldraw is a very good tool .. if it was me i would purchase a summa cutter and use their winplot to cut with .. it has a fast learning curve .. and you can cut straight from corel draw .. i do allot of deals with for the natives here .. and my partner does garments (not a business partner, an apache friend) .. you have an in, keep it tight .. there are people who will back stab and low ball you .. soo .. you can get the summa from them for under 3k and winplot is free from them .. all you need then is the stuff apply the vinyl to the shirts .. you might get away with outsourcing the full color decals kinda stuff .. then personalize it with your equipement .. but do everything you can to do yourself .. why give your profits to some stranger .. what your doing is not rocket science . after you get that going i would get an airbrush and figure that out .. i think they are easy to use .. in a month you can be fairly good if you practice . it took my 2 weeks to get good enough to airbrush fish and birds after i woodcarved them .. soooo .. shirts should be easy

 

[DTFuqua]

For a plotter/cutter I'ld recomend the graphtec CE500-60. Its very good and mine cost under 2K new. Good luck.