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Outsourcing!

G

garyroy

New Member
Why are you outsourcing? Equipment problems?
Are there problems with finding employees?
Are you down sizing? What items do you need to outsource?
Give a little more info about the circumstances.
 
C

CC-CMYK

New Member
We’re not downsizing but we are a small 3 person shop. It’s more of the problem keeping up. Also, some things we just don’t do as well. We’ll get a big job and we can do 80/90% in house efficiently but somethings we find best outsourcing.

Sometimes we need UV printed materials. Sometimes we need something cnc or laser cut bigger then we can produce. Sometimes we just don’t have time and what needs to be produced doesn’t have critical demands of color and accuracy.

Recently we outsourced acrylic cut letters not because we can’t do it. They needed to be painted a specific color gold and I know another shop had that paint system. In that case it was much cheaper to have them do it.
 
G

garyroy

New Member
There are a few merchant members on this forum that should be able to help.
We've used FireSprint in the past they are great.

Also when we get an order for over 2000 stickers, we use The Gill Line.
They are a big company with a lot of firepower. Good turn around time.
 
caribmike

caribmike

Retired with a Side Hustle
After 45 years as a commercial printer and 10 in the sign and banner biz, we recently closed our plant and are outsourcing almost everything now. I'm still making some vinyl signs and banners in-house because I enjoy making them, but, I am outsourcing larger sign orders. I recently bid on a local government job for 350+ road signs and beat all the competitors who were making their signs in-house. At 61, I've never been happier or less stressed. I now work out of my home office and my overhead has decreased significantly. We started the outsourcing process 5 years ago gradually dispatching orders to DFS, Navitor, Ennis etc. and getting the customers used to the lead times. Today, not one customer objects or even cares that we don't actually print their stuff. Its the best move I ever made.
 
K

KGraphics

New Member
caribmike said:
After 45 years as a commercial printer and 10 in the sign and banner biz, we recently closed our plant and are outsourcing almost everything now. I'm still making some vinyl signs and banners in-house because I enjoy making them, but, I am outsourcing larger sign orders. I recently bid on a local government job for 350+ road signs and beat all the competitors who were making their signs in-house. At 61, I've never been happier or less stressed. I now work out of my home office and my overhead has decreased significantly. We started the outsourcing process 5 years ago gradually dispatching orders to DFS, Navitor, Ennis etc. and getting the customers used to the lead times. Today, not one customer objects or even cares that we don't actually print their stuff. Its the best move I ever made.
Click to expand...
Can you tell me where you get the road signs from? I'm looking for some and want to see what the best options are
 
B

Bobby H

Arial Sucks.
Just a word of warning: there are only so many sign companies that have fabrication shop space, offices, install/service trucks, etc that are willing to take "outsourced" work from competing "sign companies." There are even fewer who are willing to do such work for dirt cheap pay. In our case we're busy enough as it is building, installing and servicing the stuff we design and sell. We'll do install jobs for other companies from time to time, but only if the terms are favorable to us in terms of money, our schedule and any leg work involved (surveys, permits, taking all sorts of photos to specific demands, yadda yadda). Some of these people call up acting like they're saving us from going under. Uh, NO. We're not starving. If some "sign company" that consists of a guy working out of his second bedroom wants to order us around we'll hang up the phone real fast.
 
caribmike

caribmike

Retired with a Side Hustle
KGraphics said:
Can you tell me where you get the road signs from? I'm looking for some and want to see what the best options are
Click to expand...
Hall Signs is my #1 US supplier for MUTCD road signs. I have another company in India that I deal with for other signs that has lower prices than any USA supplier and ships incredibly fast via Fedex. I'm doing more and more with them. India is the new China!
 
Dennis Schaub

Dennis Schaub

New Member
caribmike said:
Hall Signs is my #1 US supplier for MUTCD road signs. I have another company in India that I deal with for other signs that has lower prices than any USA supplier and ships incredibly fast via Fedex. I'm doing more and more with them. India is the new China!
Click to expand...
Do you mind sharing your India supplier? I have gotten quotes from Hall and they bid on the same job I am.
 
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