Is my pricing too high for printed vinyl?

[McDonald Signs]

I wouldn't worry about not getting a racecar wrap. RaceCar drivers usually want the wraps cheap because they have spent most all of their money on the car and motor tires etc.
They don't win alot of money and no where near compared to what they spend on the racecars. I have seen a guy with a printer selling racecar wraps really cheap in my area
wrapping them all over for around $400 per car while I price the same thing around $650 to $700. And he does alot of them from what I've seen. But from what I can tell he probably only clears $75.00 to $100.00 per car maybe.
So it doesn't bother me not getting the job. We have plenty of other work to do.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

The saying goes, to make a million in racing you have to spend 2 million

 

[Scotchbrite]

Like others have mentioned, the problem can be the files. I had a racer send me wrap files produced by someone else to print & laminate. First I had to set them up to fit our material. Then we started printing and some of the panels looked like a complete different color. Turned out the files were a mix of CMYK and RGB. The different wasn't that noticeable until you ended up with side by side. Guess who got the blame for it, not the guy that created the files. CMYK and RGB are just alphabet soup to them and they think it should just come off the printer like it looks on their phone screen and we're incompetent if we don't make that happen. The other problem is it's always last minute so there's a small window to fix errors.

 

[netsol]

Like others have mentioned, the problem can be the files. I had a racer send me wrap files produced by someone else to print & laminate. First I had to set them up to fit our material. Then we started printing and some of the panels looked like a complete different color. Turned out the files were a mix of CMYK and RGB. The different wasn't that noticeable until you ended up with side by side. Guess who got the blame for it, not the guy that created the files. CMYK and RGB are just alphabet soup to them and they think it should just come off the printer like it looks on their phone screen and we're incompetent if we don't make that happen. The other problem is it's always last minute so there's a small window to fix errors.

Don't you always have to setup to fit your material?

 

[ikarasu]

Don't you always have to setup to fit your material?

I'm guessing it was setup to fit a 60" roll with no waste and he uses a 54... Or it was setup for a 54 and he only has a 30.. in which case you have to reconfigure it.

Or it's all setup in one big 10 ft x 30" print and tiling it to the door size will waste less material.

Sometimes it's not as easy as ripping 100 files and having it nest perfectly

 

[Pauly]

I wouldn't worry about not getting a racecar wrap. RaceCar drivers usually want the wraps cheap because they have spent most all of their money on the car and motor tires etc.
They don't win alot of money and no where near compared to what they spend on the racecars. I have seen a guy with a printer selling racecar wraps really cheap in my area
wrapping them all over for around $400 per car while I price the same thing around $650 to $700. And he does alot of them from what I've seen. But from what I can tell he probably only clears $75.00 to $100.00 per car maybe.
So it doesn't bother me not getting the job. We have plenty of other work to do.

This is true. The money spend on race cars are to win races, not to look good loosing.

Source: I have one.

 

[netsol]

I'm guessing it was setup to fit a 60" roll with no waste and he uses a 54... Or it was setup for a 54 and he only has a 30.. in which case you have to reconfigure it.

Or it's all setup in one big 10 ft x 30" print and tiling it to the door size will waste less material.

Sometimes it's not as easy as ripping 100 files and having it nest perfectly

No, i understand
We all go through that, every day

 

[Notarealsignguy]

I'm guessing it was setup to fit a 60" roll with no waste and he uses a 54... Or it was setup for a 54 and he only has a 30.. in which case you have to reconfigure it.

Or it's all setup in one big 10 ft x 30" print and tiling it to the door size will waste less material.

Sometimes it's not as easy as ripping 100 files and having it nest perfectly

There's a good idea. Take the job and print it in 30" panels. They won't come back after that.

 

[ikarasu]

If they're using non laminated ij35, they must not be too picky. I doubt they'd mind 30" panels! There's likely be very minimal joins with vertical panels as well on a race car... I doubt they're wrapping bumpers and stuff with this. But that was mainly to point out just because a file is print ready for one printer, doesn't mean it's print ready for yours. Heck...for all we know they were using 10 ft vinyl a d doing it all in one piece.

But Application issues aside.... Can you imagine removing a vehicle wrapped in ij35 with no overlam? Seems like it'd cost them more in time than just doing the job properly, I've never understood racers.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

I envision them literally tossing the body panels after enough dings they need to be rewrapped, but I'm wholly unfamiliar with the race industry.

Rubbing is racing is another stupid saying they use. I used to fart around with a group that did SCCA races, their main car got painted at least once a year to fix up all of the rub marks and fenders were replaced pretty regularly. Of course it was painted for free inside of their shop because, well, they're cheap. The tires we're also free from a sponsor. This was back before the stupid wraps became a big thing

 

[Scotchbrite]

We still "sponsor" one racer mostly because he uses us for his real business work too. And they are very gracious. We give them one free set each season and they pay a discounted price on any others they need for the rest of the year. They also aren't doing full wraps, just fancy numbers, a few stripes, and some sponsor logos.

In the beginning, we were giving them anything they needed for free. Later we started the policy of 1 free set and the rest at a discount. I feel like since we went to the latter system, they don't order as many replacements.

I'm a bit of a gear head, so I don't mind supporting 1 team as long as they're easy to work with.

 

[Stacey K]

We still "sponsor" one racer mostly because he uses us for his real business work too. And they are very gracious. We give them one free set each season and they pay a discounted price on any others they need for the rest of the year. They also aren't doing full wraps, just fancy numbers, a few stripes, and some sponsor logos.

In the beginning, we were giving them anything they needed for free. Later we started the policy of 1 free set and the rest at a discount. I feel like since we went to the latter system, they don't order as many replacements.

I'm a bit of a gear head, so I don't mind supporting 1 team as long as they're easy to work with.

I have one guy that is a veteran and he always comes in December or January so I have plenty of time. He also has a sponsor that pays for basically anything that I do including shirts - I'm totally good doing that car!

My boys are huge into racing and their dad raced a late model when we met and for a couple years into our marriage. I learned really quickly that you will NEVER make money racing. Had to buy a 24' trailer for $15,000 and then a new F250 to pull it. Then a new chassis and new tires and the list goes on LOL "If I have a new chassis, I can go all over and race and make some serious money" - Said every race car driver ever. Lies. Lies. Lies.

 

[Gino]

Hahahaaaa...... they're not lies..... just wishful boyish dreams. They never grow up. I know a guy, who's my age and he STILL races. His father is filthy rich, well was, he just died a year or two ago and jr got the whole business. He's never worked in his life, but has boats, snowmobiles, skidoos, racecars and several trailers to house all this sh!t. Has a multi-million dollar home and still buys all this sh!t. All he does is talk like a 14 year old...... but he can, cause he has it made. I've lettered a few of his cars, plus a lotta stuff for his dad, but that's another story. Suffice it to say, they're all just big kids.

 

[Scotchbrite]

We have another customer who bankrolls his son's rally racing hobby. They are upfront about it in the racing team name, O.D.D. Team. On Dad's Dime.

 

[netsol]

Hahahaaaa...... they're not lies..... just wishful boyish dreams. They never grow up. I know a guy, who's my age and he STILL races. His father is filthy rich, well was, he just died a year or two ago and jr got the whole business. He's never worked in his life, but has boats, snowmobiles, skidoos, racecars and several trailers to house all this sh!t. Has a multi-million dollar home and still buys all this sh!t. All he does is talk like a 14 year old...... but he can, cause he has it made. I've lettered a few of his cars, plus a lotta stuff for his dad, but that's another story. Suffice it to say, they're all just big kids.

we have a couple fairly wealthy clients who race, it really is a way to blow through an almost unlimited amount of money

 

[Geneva Olson]

You should be charging far more than $4/sqft no matter what the film is, unless of course it's a material you always have loaded and it's literally just hitting print.

I can tell you non-professional racers, in majority, are some of the worst clients. They want everything for nothing because they know it will get wrecked and your time, abilities, and service is not worth anything to them. I would avoid racing to the bottom on anyone's behalf, especially theirs.

Non professional racers don't want to pay for ANYTHING. My boyfriend owns a roofing and siding company. He had a customer who was one of those non professional racers. I promise you he was trying to scam my boyfriend on his siding job. First off, there's problems getting hardi plank siding and LP smart siding. This guy wanted siding out of california (where he's from). Then he wanted him to return ALL of his money to him AND order this new product then he would give him another down payment. My boyfriend has been in that business for 30 plus years and this guy was definitely trying to scam him.

Non professional race car drivers and realtors. oy vey.

 

[Rualsignmaker]

You should be charging far more than $4/sqft no matter what the film is, unless of course it's a material you always have loaded and it's literally just hitting print.

I can tell you non-professional racers, in majority, are some of the worst clients. They want everything for nothing because they know it will get wrecked and your time, abilities, and service is not worth anything to them. I would avoid racing to the bottom on anyone's behalf, especially theirs.

This. This. This. I've delt with several "racers" who want exactly that. Something for nothing because they trade paint on the track. Run away.

 

[Rualsignmaker]

BTW it's not just the roundy rounders it's all of them. Friend of mine owns a dragster. I did a partial wrap, sponsors etc...on said dragster. All custom one off work. Did some bodywork and paint too. Charged a fair price and he paid it. Some years later he wants an updated wrap.

I bid the job then he says he can get one of the web for $750. Told him buy two so you'll have a backup. Plus there's a good chance you will see the exact same wrap at an event.

Here is all you need to know about him or racers in general. His rail runs on VP C16 race fuel at 24 bucks a gallon. It burns 1.5 gallons per pass.

I posted this before but it's worth mentioning again.
When Joe Racer says he will bring you a ton of business do what I did.
Give him a stack of business cards and tell him to sign the back then give them to his buddies.
I said if I get 10 jobs from your referrals your next wrap/lettering/whatever is free.
Crickets.

I rest my case.

In my early days I let a local dirt track racer take advantage of me in just this way. "I will bring you tons of work" next thing you know I'm doing a job for a fraction of what I normally charge. Don't be like me.

 

[mfatty500]

The saying goes, to make a million in racing you have to spend 2 million

For the most part that is true, there are a handful of guys that have done pretty well at making money racing, Penske, Andretti, & Ganassi come to mind just for starters..

 

[DSignKing]

Don't mean to be rude, but if can't make some money on a deal it isn't worth doing. There's so much work out there you should never have to be the cheap guy. I don't print anything for less than $6.50 a square foot. With lam $8.50 - $12.00 depending on the product. We have a $300 minimum order for new customers. 6 man crew, everyone digs in and does their part. We choose the work and pass on the time killers, low end deals and time suckers (most times). Always wanted to be custom, we're about there. Make a buck, charge accordingly, and always chase the biggest bass you can handle.

Hey Look! A real answer with real numbers!