recent vehicle stuff

[kstompaint]

Fire Company F350: Everything but the gold-leaf and black is printed on Nikkalite reflective.

Toyota Sienna: This was wrapped to match a box truck that we did a couple of weeks ago. The customer is rebranding his whole business. Oracal 3951RA with 290G lam.

 

[zmatalucci]

is the stripe on the f350 one piece? looks good

 

[Mosh]

Nikkalite reflective? Why not 3M? I would be scared of that. Other than that the designs looks run of the mill...not bad, just not show pieces.

 

[kstompaint]

Zmat- Yes, the stripe is seamless. There's a small green outline on the blue, it's all printed.

Mosh- We didn't have a lot of freedom on the designs, especially the F350 since we had to match existing trucks. Nikkalite is awesome, it's all we use for reflective and we have had no problems. It prints great, installs very nicely and is a small fraction of the cost of 3M reflective.

 

[zmatalucci]

I agree, nikkalite is freaking awesome

 

[luggnut]

do you laminate the nikkalite after printing?

 

[zmatalucci]

yes, I do

 

[kstompaint]

do you laminate the nikkalite after printing?

Absolutely. We use Oracal 290G.

 

[Mosh]

How long you been using Nikkalite? I have trucks with 3M on it that still look new I did back in 1989. Granted they are firetrucks. If I am paying out that much for reflective I want to use tried and tested materials. We also have been using oracal's 5600 lately.

 

[zmatalucci]

mosh, that's bad for repeat business. Give me 5 years and I'm happy... btw I've been using it for 3 on a personal project, unlaminated, and it still looks great (why I didn't lam, I dont know)

 

[kstompaint]

I've been using it for almost 2 years, not all babied fire trucks. I've seen 3M not hold up so well, but it was definitely due to poor preparation / application. I've been installing vinyl since 1992 and this is the easiest reflective install I've seen. 3M is way too proud of most of their products when it comes to pricing... especially reflective.

 

[Mosh]

3M is way too proud of most of their products when it comes to pricing... especially reflective.

That is why I am trying out the oracal 5600.

mosh, that's bad for repeat business. Give me 5 years and I'm happy...

Not how I do stuff, I don't like re-doing things.

 

[kstompaint]

Mosh- I used 3M at a previous employer. When I bought my printer, we tried some Oracal reflective (because we use Oracal for most other applications) and it worked fine. I gave the Nikkalite a shot on our own sign just to try it out and haven't looked back. Do yourself a favor and give it a shot.

Another bonus is that if you call the company, an actual real, live human being will talk to you and answer your questions directly.

 

[EbsWeb5150]

Mosh, what are your comebacks if the customer is doing their homework
and says Just-A-Sign Shop down the street we'll do it for X amount out of reflective.
Do you tell the customer the sign shop is not using 3M Products when they bauk about the price. But you are right you get what you pay for. I guess it's true what they say
3M's S**t Really doesn't stink at all. But how to you get a money strapped boss to agree and the customer.
P.S.
Tried printing on FDC Intermediate Reflective Media a blue stripe and it was blotchy every two feet.

 

[Mosh]

I never get under priced and I only use tested materials like 3M. It is all in how much you THINK you need to make off each job. I guess since I don't have rent or any equipment payments I can name my price. Not many shops can say that. Sucks to owe money, so I don't.

 

[kstompaint]

you are right you get what you pay for. I guess it's true what they say
3M's S**t Really doesn't stink at all. But how to you get a money strapped boss to agree and the customer.

I actually prefer the Nikkalite to 3M in both printing and installing. 95% of the time, you get what you pay for. The other 5% 3M is gouging you.

Tried printing on FDC Intermediate Reflective Media a blue stripe and it was blotchy every two feet.

We wrapped the entire back of an ambulance and the back of an enclosed trailer for an EMT training company with reflective. The letters on the side were large and blue. We printed it all on Nikkalite with our Mutoh ValueJet and there was absolutely no blotching or banding.

 

[kstompaint]

I never get under priced

If this is true, you're the local a-hole that's screwing up the market. If you get EVERY job, your price is too low. We stress our quality (and we have it compared to the local competition) and that's part of the price.

Sucks to owe money, so I don't.

I agree with this philosophy. I owe very little.
If you can save 50% on material for a job and turn out the same product (or in this case, I argue better), you can buy more beer... or off-road diesel fuel.

 

[Mosh]

How long do you tell the customer it will last? How long are they thinking it will last?

off-road diesel fuel

SSSHHHHHH!!

 

[kstompaint]

How long do you tell the customer it will last? How long are they thinking it will last?

Nothing is guaranteed to last more than 5 years. I'm confident that every job we send out will last that long. That's what I tell 'em and I'll stand up to it.

 

[Mosh]

you're the local a-hole that's screwing up the market

I am the ONLY local a-hole. I have ran all the other shops out of biz! One starts up, I do stuff for below cost and out they go. That is how it is around here.