Large quantity cut vinyl supplier

[jimbug72]

One of our good longtime customers is wanting large quantities (to us) cut vinyl decals. He would prefer doing 2 color cut vinyl vs printed cut vinyl. The 2nd color will be red and he's worried about fading, but he's willing to accept printed or single color (white) if that will put it into a comfortable price range for them.

They are still going through the trademark process so I can't really attach an image of what he wants. The design is not overly complicated BUT if he can get it exactly they way he wants it there could be some pretty small picks in the red portion. The desired finished decal size would be roughly 2" - 2.5" square.

They'll be ordering 500-1000+ pieces at a clip which is way more than we could viably do in house with our current staff/equipment.

He's been great to work with over the years and I would be willing to connect him direct to a supplier and step out as a middle man if would help him reach his price point.

Hoping someone can clue me in to a potential supplier for these.

TIA!

 

[WYLDGFI]

Would they accept a clear decal with CMYK + white or just white ink vs cut vinyl??

 

[jimbug72]

Would they accept a clear decal with CMYK + white or just white ink vs cut vinyl??

Maybe, but only as a last resort. He's pretty adamant about it being cut vinyl. He's trying to emulate a few other companies with his new brand and those companies all use cut vinyl decals for their "primary decal advertisement".

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

500-1000 doesn't sounds like a whole lot. Probably get a teenager in there for a day or two and knock them out.

 

[jimbug72]

500-1000 doesn't sounds like a whole lot. Probably get a teenager in there for a day or two and knock them out.

You'd be surprised how hard it is to get a reliable enough "anyone" around here for a day or two, much less a teenager.

That being said, we'd much rather outsource or redirect him to a vendor. I don't think we could dedicate the resources and meet his price point needs. Be best to get this to someone who is better set-up for orders of this nature.

 

[unclebun]

At the shop I managed before I went out on my own we did cut and assembled two color vinyl decals for a major marine satellite company. I have one of my former employees I had there, and the best man ever at doing that weeding and assembling has been begging me to hire him for several years. We could handle the decal manufacture. Don't know what his pricing requirements are though...depends a lot on that as it's a skill thing.

 

[WYLDGFI]

Maybe, but only as a last resort. He's pretty adamant about it being cut vinyl. He's trying to emulate a few other companies with his new brand and those companies all use cut vinyl decals for their "primary decal advertisement".

Well...if a clear or optically clear decal would be acceptable we can certainly provide that. Let us know if we can help.

 

[eahicks]

It can't be print and cut? 500-1000 really isn't a lot....1000 at that size is like 9 feet of 54" material.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

You'd be surprised how hard it is to get a reliable enough "anyone" around here for a day or two, much less a teenager.

That being said, we'd much rather outsource or redirect him to a vendor. I don't think we could dedicate the resources and meet his price point needs. Be best to get this to someone who is better set-up for orders of this nature.

AKA, "the client is offering no $$ and we don't work for free."

 

[jimbug72]

AKA, "the client is offering no $$ and we don't work for free."

Kinda, but not exactly. Client definitely wants low end pricing since these are mostly going to be "giveaway" decals. We don't have our cutter "real dialed in" for accurate small cut decals like these. Since we don't really have any "low wage" staff to do menial tasks like this we wouldn't be able to produce them at a viable cost, which is why I'm looking for someone who "does this type of stuff all day."

 

[2B]

Kinda, but not exactly. Client definitely wants low end pricing since these are mostly going to be "giveaway" decals. We don't have our cutter "real dialed in" for accurate small cut decals like these. Since we don't really have any "low wage" staff to do menial tasks like this we wouldn't be able to produce them at a viable cost, which is why I'm looking for someone who "does this type of stuff all day."

This is why most are moving towards the "print" method, less labor which is more cost-effective.

that being said, have you tried STOUSE or GILL-LINE?

 

[ikarasu]

Most of the cost in a cut vinyl decal is labor.

Two colors means twice the weeding.. Twice the cuttung... Premask, do some alignment and put them down... Then cut them up. You're looking at 3-4x the labor / price as a print and cut.

It's not.going to be cheap. you should work out a cost and give it to your client and see if it's in the ballpark. I doubt anyone else will be that much cheaper than you can do it in house

 

[jimbug72]

This is why most are moving towards the "print" method, less labor which is more cost-effective.

that being said, have you tried STOUSE or GILL-LINE?

I'll check both Stouse and Gill-Line. I forget they offer cut vinyl.

It's not.going to be cheap. you should work out a cost and give it to your client and see if it's in the ballpark. I doubt anyone else will be that much cheaper than you can do it in house

You're probably right. I know we are gonna be way outside his price range. Unless he can connect with someone in China or something he's probably chasing a unicorn.

 

[WYLDGFI]

I recommended the clear as the cheaper option...hell, we'll do print and cut vinyl as well. No biggie there...but like everyone else is saying the cost of the weeding and masking is going to make a difference.

 

[ikarasu]

We had one client who was insistent on cut vinyl, multi color as well. He balked at our price and didn't want digital... it was a small script font that took forever to weed. So we offered to cut it for him, he can weed it and bring it back and we'll pre-mask and put it together. He didnt understand why cut vinyl wasn't just twice the price of a print and cut decal...

we cut him 10 to try... next day we were producing a couple hundred digital decals on clear for him (Mostly clear.... He wanted a bit of reflectivity to it, so it did have a print/cut element to it) but the font and small items were printed on clear, and a circular logo was printed on reflective and applied ontop. He's been ordering a few hundred every month for a year or so now...

Be honest, tell them their budget is not going to get them what they want, and provide them with some options that would better suit what they want to spend. I doubt he'll get them for the price he wants, and I'm sure he'd rather have something than nothing... And a vinyl decal with overlam on it should last a few years to a decade without fading... unless you live somewhere insane like Texas...then all bets are off!

 

[CanuckSigns]

Kinda, but not exactly. Client definitely wants low end pricing since these are mostly going to be "giveaway" decals. We don't have our cutter "real dialed in" for accurate small cut decals like these. Since we don't really have any "low wage" staff to do menial tasks like this we wouldn't be able to produce them at a viable cost, which is why I'm looking for someone who "does this type of stuff all day."

I love when clients think that because they are giving them away, I should too lol!

If they are giveaways, he might be better with printed decals, all the products you buy that come with a free sticker are always printed, Yeti, Apple etc. So it's not like printed decals are viewed as low end. Maybe add a specialty laminate or something.

 

[jimbug72]

I love when clients think that because they are giving them away, I should too lol!

This isn't exactly the situation here. This client is by no means a cheapskate, he's actually one of our biggest accounts. Basically circumstances beyond his control have forced him into a complete brand change. In doing so he has reenvisioned how and what he wants to market. He was aware that what he wants might not be available for the price he needs when he approached me about it. I'm just looking around for him to see if I could help find something.

Basically, I was just hoping someone on here might be like, "Yeah! We use SoandSo Sticker Co., they cut them by the thousands for us for a pittance!"

Stouse and Gill-Line were still too much, I think the unicorn hunt may be coming to an end.