Think about getting into the full color sign business

[igneous]

it's quite hard to believe that someone who has been in the industry has not had to 1. inquire about full color printed graphics for a customer/project 2. ordered something from a wholesale printer.

 

[imagep]

it's quite hard to believe that someone who has been in the industry has not had to 1. inquire about full color printed graphics for a customer/project 2. ordered something from a wholesale printer.

Maybe he has, he did not say. Just because your ordered full color does not mean that you have a clue of what equipment brands to purchase.

 

[TheSnowman]

Especially with the lack of face to face interaction, you can easily anonymously lash out at one another to let out your aggressions

BE QUIET ERIC! WHO ASKED YOU!

:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:Sorry, I couldn't resist...I'm not man enough to yell @ anyone in person!

 

[The Vector Doctor]

ALL CAPS! Now I know that is yelling

 

[Fred Weiss]

I wanted to get some advice from the forum. I'm looking at getting into the full color sign & vehicle wraps business. I need some advice on what euipment ( brand names,models #'s, etc) i should be looking at to fullfill my needs.



thanks
Ron:signs101:

Here is where I don' t think yall are being fair. The origional poster never indicated that he was not in the sign business. He could already be doing just cut vinyl graphics or maybe even hand painted signage. He could have years of experiance as an installer. We don't know.

We did cut vinyl for a couple of years before we went into wide format. Everybody has to start somewhere.

Whether he is or isn't is not the point. Read his post quoted here. Does he tell us anything that would give us a clue as to who he is, what his experience is, what equipment and software he already has, or what will "fullfill my needs"? Assuming he already is a vinyl cutter ... and has installed on lots of vehicles ... that still doesn't put anyone of a mind to reply in a position to recommend a brand and model of printer. And what about the 1,000s of existing threads under Roland, Graphtec, Mutoh, Mimaki, Digital Printing, and other forums here that he obviously failed to browse.

It is the lack of input on the part of the OP that makes his post unanswerable and the subject of ridicule. That seems pretty obvious to me that the post lacks merit. Had he done any research before posting, it would contain at least a couple of specifics. And it is immaterial what his true circumstances are for so long as he declines to or fails to communicate them. To me the chances are 99.99% that he has done no research and is exhibiting laziness. If that isn't the case then he should come back on and post some specific questions. He'll likely then get a bunch of really decent answers ... just like the many existing threads that contain a bunch of really decent answers if he bothered to search them out.

 

[Si Allen]

Hahahahaha.... with the cold weather, poor economy, and general frustration....a question like this is bound to let out all the pent up emotions.

A newbie waltzing in here saying teach me everything deserves to get the jacking around by the 'regulars'!

They have my permission to have a little fun at his expense...as if my permission counted for anything!

 

[ChiknNutz]

Notice that this dope has only posted ONCE...I think it's someone jerking "US" around.

 

[Joe Diaz]

Sorry....I just thought the title was funny. "Full Color....." Beginners should limit themselves to two or three colors at first. I slay me! Shutting up now....

:ROFLMAO: I was thinking along the same lines.

 

[Gino]

:U Rock:.... but still.... no need to call him a jerk. Let's try to describe their ambition or expertise rather then their disposition.

I mean, C'mon.... no sense kicking him when he's down.​

This person can't help he has no understanding for this industry. Someday, maybe he'll invent a way to do something for this trade and we'll all be at his mercy. Until then, he can learn one step at a time like most of the rest of us. If it's too much for him... as is evident by his lack of participation...... then we'll just save it for the next poor sap trying to run before walking.





.

 

[Billct2]

Full Color....." Beginners should limit themselves to two or three colors at first

Actually that's great advice, actually NO color, make it work in black & white first, that's
how I was actually trained.

Asking an unresearched question at a forum is not research and members reading such posts are free to respond as they see fit

Fred, You should stick that at the beginning of the newbie thread, that's the best way to describe it.

 

[Joe Diaz]

I almost forgot about this: :ROFLMAO: It's funny now looking back at it. I'm such a dork

You know my last post about the state of our industry got me thinking. There is an obvious divide between veteran professionals and new sign makers. This post is to hopefully try to understand this divide. So, without further ado…

Joe’s test for newbies:
(The goal here is to get above 0. If you can get above 0, in my opinion, you are worth the help from others.)


A. The newbie properly introduces his or her self in this post or another post ( +1 point)
A proper introduction is always helpful. It allows the people that you are asking for help to determine whether or not you are going to take their help seriously when they give it. It’s also good manors.


B. Not only has the newbie posted an introduction, but he or she has participated in a constructive way on other posts. ( +2 points )
This goes along way. It shows others that you are serious about this profession and more importantly you are attempting to be helpful or contribute.


C. The newbie demands answers, without supplying background information. ( -1 point )
How are people going to determine if their help is going to be taking seriously? Is the newbie only looking for quick answers and shortcuts with out contributing? Why should I help you if you’re not helpful yourself? Outside of the internet, do you usually walk up to a group of strangers and demand answers for your questions?


D. Newbie asks a frequently asked question. ( -2 points )
It’s called searching. Now the newbie is just being lazy. This proves to me that the person isn’t willing to work for their answers, so why should I work to try to answer them.


E. Newbie uses the phrases “it’s a hobby”, “what’s the cheapest way to get started”, “can you give me ___ for free” ...and so on. ( -3 points )
If you’re not going to take our industry seriously, why should we take you seriously?


F. Newbie asks can you design this for me. ( -1000000 )
You failed the test. Don’t even bother trying to finish this little math exercise….
That is unless you plan on paying me ( +2000000 ):ROFLMAO:




Okay on to the next problem:
The Newbie’s question has been asked. If you got higher then 0, then in most cases you will get your help, and it will be positive. If you got lower then 0, then chances are most of your responses will be negative. You may still get some help but since you didn’t have respect when asking the question, it is now your responsibility to search through the negative comments for actual help.


So how does the newbie respond to the answers and comments?:

A. They take the advice given and say thank you. ( +5 )
Not only did they learn something and acknowledge that the comments made were helpful, but they were polite also. If the newbie scored below 0 in the first question, at least they have the ability to make up for it here and hopefully gain some respect.


B. The Newbie argues with the answers supplied. ( -5 )
By arguing with the answers, to me, you are saying that you already know it all. Then why are you asking the question? Are you just fishing for the answers you want to hear? What is your motive? Now I’m confused and I’m unsure how I’m supposed to further help you. Besides you obviously have all the answers anyway.



C. Not only does the newbie argue, but he or she also insults one of the members who are trying to help. ( -10 )
Now you’re just being a jerk. No one wants to help a person if instead of being thanked they are attacked. In my opinion, after this happens, you’re on your own.



So if you’re a Newbie what score did you get? It’s really easy to get above a 0 if a little common sense is used.

Whether or not the greater majority of newbies score below 0 on my little math problem, or if the majority of them score higher, most of the professionals remember the newbies that score low. This may explain their attitude toward new people. But since when has a rookie in any profession deserved automatic respect. Just like every thing in life, you have to work for it.

The point I’m trying to make is: I’m not an expert on every thing. I have questions too. But when I ask them, I subconsciously go through this little equation first to see if my question is worth the help. The problem I see with newbies asking questions has less to do with whether or not I’m willing to help and more to do with the way they ask the question. I would expect the same if I was asking a question.

A lot of newbies don’t think they have to prove anything to veteran sign makers. Why not? When I started out it was my goal to prove to these guys that I was worth their time. I’m still trying to prove myself. Hopefully these people notice that and realize that I’m worth a little bit of their extra time and wisdom. That is how I learn.

Now that I’ve been at it a while, and I feel I can contribute by answering questions, I am constantly making the judgment call on whether or not I should help someone new. The last thing I want to do is help those with the wrong attitude and a lack of understanding, saturate this industry with bad sign shops.

 

[steve b]

Good post joe

steveb

 

[PSG]

I tried to warn them they were started down the wrong path in post 3...

 

[vroongraphics]

Hello and welcome! I would recommend a good printer, laminator, rotary trimmer, substrate cutter, cutting plotter, and would also recommend purchasing some great books that are available....Perhaps look at Flaar reports on printers....look beyond the "search button" here and use google as well! You tube has some videos on various printers in action....etc....etc....But yeah.....budget 50 grand and find a "niche market" in your area....If you want to do vehicle wraps, perhaps look into outsourcing for the first while to determine the demand before investing 25K on a quality printer...My 0.02.

 

[markosdigital]

Thanks to all that gave me any advice and I also thank thos whose trashed me

I will start by first saying sorry for not introducing myself! My name is Ron and I'm from Fayetteville ,NC (Fort Bragg). I have been a screen printer for 16yrs and have been doing cut vinyl & installs for 5yrs. I'm well versed with Corel draw, Flexi & and just about every product adobe has to offer outside of cold fusion. I have been ordering Full Color media from Signs 365 and just simply marking up the price. Also I have searched this forum for countless hours looking for the proper equipment for my needs. I'm currently interested in the Roland Verscamm line, but with so many opinons it sometimes gets confusing. I never once thought I would be called so many negative names for just asking a question. If introducing myself was what I needed to do then that's all that needed to be said. It's was pretty cruel for someone to call me a jerk and others to assume I haven't tried to search the forum and answer my own questions. Some of you seem angry about what? I don't know, just always remember you should treat other as you would want to be treated. Ok so anyways I still thinks this is a great forum, but just now it's a great forum with a few uptight people.

Thanks for the all the help,
ron

 

[Siguy]

Good on ya Ron.

It may have been more helpful if you said all that stuff in your original post.

In fact. why don't you start a new newbie thread with your information above and see what happens?

I'm pretty new here myself, in my few weeks here I've seen about 10 posts similar to your first one. I can fully understand why people get pi*sed at them.

Oh, and welcome to Signs101.

cheers

Simon

 

[Signalaugh]

Sometimes it is better not to answer

Sometimes it is just better to say nothing.

This question and the one we see about pricing are up to the individual sign shop. So how can anyone truly answer.

Why should anyone on this forum get upset about a question?

 

[steve b]

Welcome to the forum Ron


steveb

 

[Billct2]

Also I have searched this forum for countless hours looking for the proper equipment for my needs

Ron
If that's true then you should have known better than to ask your original question the way you did. The information you gave in your follow up is what you should have posted in the original question.
And for that matter it shouldn't have been posted in the NEWBIE forum it should have been in the Roland or Digital Printing forum.

As Si said....

A newbie waltzing in here saying teach me everything deserves to get the jacking around by the 'regulars'

and that's how your post sounded.

 

[Si Allen]

Hey Ron....let's try it another way.

1. A guy walks into your shop and says "I see that you do screening. I am thinking of gettiing into silks screening business too....what equipment do you recomend?"

OR

2. "Hi! We are here on vacation and noticed your shop. I've been in the sign biz for 15 years and do vinyl and digital printing. We have been thinking of adding screen printing to ba a full service shop. Do you have any recomendations?"

How would you answer these 2 scenarios?