Printed banner pricing..and another ?..

[michsanford]

I know I need to take into account my overhead, staff, etc, but...

We charge $5.50/sq ft for banners (cut vinyl). How much more do you think we should charge for printed??

Also...When you guys design a wrap, and spend lots of time on it, then the customer doesn't go with anything you designed, do you still charge them?
Right now, we don't...and feel as if we should.

Thanks everyone!

 

[zmatalucci]

I still don't understand why printed banners are more than cut vinyl.... I never do cut vinyl banners due to the simplicity of running it through the printer.. imo
btw.. $5.50 is low here. are you including design in that as well?

 

[michsanford]

Yes...it is the same price, whether we do the design or not...

 

[Pat Whatley]

One color or full color digital banners, 12 ounce vinyl, hemmed and grommeted - $6.00 psf plus any applicable design time.

I can order printed banners through a subcontractor cheaper than I can buy blank banners. I actually lose profit by trying to do them in-house.

For your wrap pricing I think of it a little differently than most here. If you've got a portfolio full of work ready to show them so they can look and see what you've done and see if they like your style then by all means you should get paid before you do any work, they've seen enough to have an idea whether you can handle the job or not. If you don't have a thing at all to show them how can you expect them to pay you when they have no idea what you can do? In that situation I would start with rough sketches (at risk of sounding like OP) WITH A PENCIL just to hash out ideas with them. Never start on the computer with them....too many people think "the computer does all the work" so they put no value at all on your time doing computer mock ups. Start with a pencil sketch, figure out a basic idea of what they're looking for, then tell them it will take you --X-- amount of time for --X-- amount of money to turn the sketch into useable artwork.

 

[MikePro]

if you're designing a wrap for a customer... we DONT design for production until we get 50% down payment.

show them samples, show them a general layout, and then GET PAID before you spend hours and hours on it.... remainder to be paid upon completion (installments is fine for us, as well)

also noted: DON'T EVER give them anything digital, unless its a .pdf in the smallest file size possible. make it as hard as you can for them to take your artwork to someone else who can undercut your pricing because you took the initial designwork out of their estimate.

 

[trakers]

I still don't understand why printed banners are more than cut vinyl.... I never do cut vinyl banners due to the simplicity of running it through the printer.. imo
btw.. $5.50 is low here. are you including design in that as well?

Ours are the same price, but why do people charge more for printed?
Well our vinyl cutter was $2K and our printer $18K, you do the math.

That said I *hate* doing cut vinyl anything anymore. :O)

 

[MikePro]

aye, but the $18+k printer saves you $$$ per sq.ft of weeding, masking, applying vinyl to your banner.... even more-so for multiple colors.
aaaaaand printing doesn't require vectorization of everything! (even though I still do, but i'm a hell of a lot less picky about it) ... less design time, imo.

how much do you pay your employees, annually?
your printer pays for itself as long as you can sell projects that keep it running. i'd keep charging more for cut vinyl banners, as they last longer (color doesn't fade as fast), and it helps sell them on printed banners that keep your machine producing...

 

[Pat Whatley]

aye, but the $18+k printer saves you $$$ ...blah blah blah

That's the exact mentality that killed this industry. Too many people are investing a fortune in technology just so they can sell cheaper

 

[CheapVehicleWrap]

Why is a printed banner more? Because you can print photographic quality for 1. Cut vinyl lasts longer? That depends on several factors.

 

[MikePro]

ooook, make me the poster-child for undercutting of our industry if you like...
but yes, it DOES COST LESS TO PRINT. period.

...so you're trying to tell me that I should sell a printed graphic that hasn't nearly half the lifespan of cut vinyl, for MORE just because my printer cost more than my cutter?
to be honest, what's killing the "banner industry", is Kinko's and FedEx and OfficeDepot that can do the same thing, for cheaper, because they always had the ability to do so.... they just never marketed it until now. Or hell, even online companies that have "design it yourself" software implemented... which easily cuts a chunk out of their pricing when they don't need a designer, or even a salesman.

take it how you like, but it doesn't change the FACT that:
I don't try to compete with asian companies that charge <$2 per sq.ft.
- i charge what I need to, but I also put more value into cut-vinyl banners as they LAST LONGER, TAKE LONGER TO MAKE, AND USE MORE MATERIAL.
I also don't try to be a know-it-all that blames my lack of business on some1 else outbidding me.
- no1 wants to buy from a used car salesman that constantly gripes about how CarMax is ruining the industry with their non-negociable pricing.
I also don't quote someone when I'm trying to make a "dead horse" comment... unless I'm personally trying to flame them.
- suck it... respectfully. Notice how I didn't quote you.

I invest in technology that makes my life easier, and turnaround for customers faster.
Staying in business pays for your printer... and trying to undercut everyone else will put you outta business real quick.
also, no1 likes a sad-panda... cheer up, and stop blaming every1 else for your shortcomings.

 

[trik]

I never do artwork for any project without a deposit. If you do, you will get "bit" more than you like

Good luck!!

 

[Bly]

All I ever give anyone for free is a price.

 

[AUTO-FX]

you'll probably want to stop designing as a part of the sales process when you see your work driving around town but you didnt get the job.

I know Gino says something about this alot, and I agree with him. Why is everybody openly discussing prices where they can easily be googled? We're only hurting ourselves. The people getting good money in some areas are going to be dragged down by the other regions' lower prices eventually...

 

[Pat Whatley]

also, no1 likes a sad-panda... cheer up, and stop blaming every1 else for your shortcomings.

Not blaming anyone for my "shortcomings" My business THRIVED though the economic disaster the last few years were for many. I'm just pointing out that too many people buy equipment just so they can lower their prices, it's like they're scared of making money.

Nobody tried to flame you with a quote, I was simply highlighting what I was responding to, just like I did here. Put on your big girl panties and stop playing the victim.

 

[MikePro]

re-reading, i sounded angry posting that
i'll admit, i'm the sad panda posting at midnight on a sunday lol! my bad.
I still see no reason why I shouldn't upgrade technologies so I can stay competitive in pricing... otherwise I'd still be printing stuff to transparancies, projecting it on a wall I taped the banner to, and hand-lettering everything.
....but upcharging because its "hand-crafted"?

that being said...

it still does cost hell of a lot more to do cut vinyl, and cut vinyl IS update-able and I sell it as such.... and if I try gouging my clients for "photo quality prints", then they're gonna just find another place to get their work done, like online.
... but back on topic, I still do charge $4-6 per sq.ft.

 

[HSG_IN]

We usually charge around $5-6 per sq ft for printed, which is cheap around here. I don't charge design unless I think it's going to take me over 30min.

We don't offer wraps at this moment, but if a customer comes in wanting just graphic design I need cash upfront.

 

[binki]

We charge more for printed banners because they have a higher value to the customer. That is the way all of our pricing works, never, never, never, ever on cost. When you deal from cost you leave money on the table.

 

[bob]

I know I need to take into account my overhead, staff, etc, but...

We charge $5.50/sq ft for banners (cut vinyl). How much more do you think we should charge for printed??...

$5.50 per ft^2 eh? I'd like to order a one square foot banner.

Which should be sufficient to highlight the lunacy of having a flat rate per unit of area pricing model.

Here in this shop, we charge anywhere from $6.00 to $24.00 per ft^2 depending on the size of the work, + 200% of media unrolled. The precise formula is...

(max-min)+min*area

where min is the absolute minimum for which we'd work and max is that pesky one square foot price. In our case the min is $6.00 and the max is $24. Soon to go up a bit.

 

[PressPrintGraphics]

Square foot IMO is good for giving a customer a "ballpark". A 4'x8' starts at $192.00 (hypothetically) and don't tell them that is based on a sq. ft. price of $6/sq. At that point, they see they have all you can eat buffet. Just use the sq. ft. for your "ballpark" pricing, then when they bite you've established that they start at that price, and you can get more money out of them as they change the design, say they want full color, etc. etc.

Oh, and don't blurt out $6 for a 1'x1' banner as mentioned. Minimums are a must. I've been $5 stickered to death, and tired of it. Don't get into that game.

 

[copythat]

2 sets of pricing

We are at:
$6 per sq. 10 oz.
$7 per sq. 13 oz.
$8 per sq. 15 oz.

We do plenty of cut vinyl but not for banners. Never attempted never will. Too easy to print it.
Graphics are always additional. We do not accept low res. artwork...no matter who or what it's for.