• I want to thank all the members that have upgraded your accounts. I truly appreciate your support of the site monetarily. Supporting the site keeps this site up and running as a lot of work daily goes on behind the scenes. Click to Support Signs101 ...

Tips For Reducing Wastage

J

Jake Howard

New Member
Just wondering if people on here have looked at reducing their wastage in their sign business, and what they found to be the biggest cause of wastage, or what improvements they made that had the biggest impact on reducing wastage.
 
ams

ams

New Member
Many sign companies throw away their scraps because it takes up room. That is a major waste. Like for vinyl if I cut a 10" X 36" piece and have roughly 12" X 36" left over, I roll it up and put it in a box. If it gets ruined or old, I throw it away, but many times I need to grab a piece and cut a new letter or fix something. Also for those customers who want something dirt cheap, it helps cut down costs.
 
Texas_Signmaker

Texas_Signmaker

Very Active Signmaker
Reuse your paper backing as shipping Matieral or for transporting signs.

Scrap metal or Dibond I round the corners off and give away as samples to prospecting customers... Bigger then 12x18 I keep for small order.

Scrap vinyl I throw away.. Unless it's big then I roll it inside the core of a current roll

Coroplast I save to use as "seperators" when transporting large metal signs on the trailer or truck bed.

The cores can make a good megaphone for yelling at employees who create too much wastage.
 
Last edited:
rydods

rydods

Member for quite some time.
I build small shelves with scrap substrates and my father builds bird houses, from leftover MDO and lumber, as a hobby. Scrap vinyl goes to our local school. They have a tech. ed. class with a small plotter. My old teacher runs the class. I write off the donation.
 
James Burke

James Burke

Being a grandpa is more fun than working
I believe you're asking a bigger question than you realize. Waste comes in all forms, but the biggest form of waste, in my opinion, is time. Sure, there is a considerable amount of material cost involved in when you have to do things over, but material costs vary and can be recouped relatively easily in other areas when you're mindful enough to observe.

Time costs are constant, and that's where you need to drill down to find waste.

In some cases, leftover "scraps" of material are better off in the dumpster due to the amount of wasted time dealing with them, and the storage space they require. Most often, the time you spend looking for the "perfect" piece of scrap to do a job costs more than new material.
 
jfiscus

jfiscus

Rap Master
Charge appropriately for your work, and include the "drop" or waste in the pricing. Just because the customer only wants a 4'x4' sign doesn't mean you didn't have to buy a 4'x8' substrate and print on a 54"x54"+ piece of material. We have so much waste that it becomes cluttered after just a few days, but it is what it is. We do our best to be efficient, but sometimes it just isn't possible. Spending time hunting for a possible scrap (is the scrap material outdated? - how would you know?) is way more expensive than just throwing the roll on the printer.
 
Billct2

Billct2

Active Member
When I started in this business you were lucky if you filled a garbage can in a week. Now you fill one in one job with the weeded materials, backing paper and transfer tape, none of which is recyclable.
 
ddarlak

ddarlak

Go Bills!
I used to save everything, and yes, some times it comes in handy. But it really just creates a mess monster.

now I have a dumpster...
 
  • Agree
Reactions: amw
papabud

papabud

Lone Wolf
when i took over my current job the last person loved saving every little bit of scrap for that one person that needed a quick fix.
some of this scrap was years and years and years old. business has increased and i really needed that shelf space for other stuff.
i dumped it quickly and you know what. it hasn't been an issue.
but to cut waste. just try to work efficiently and the waste takes care of its self.
reprints can bee your biggest area to look at.
it can double or triple the cost of any job.
you could also save a pallet and all your core tubes. build little kids log cabins for a little side job.
 
Bigdawg

Bigdawg

Just Me
Gino said:
Prisons offer 3 squares a day...... plus medical attention.
Click to expand...
Not here in Florida. You get a baloney sandwich for lunch and something they call dinner. And you have to pay for your medical usage if you have any assets.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Bigdawg said:
Not here in Florida. You get a baloney sandwich for lunch and something they call dinner. And you have to pay for your medical usage if you have any assets.
Click to expand...


That's why all the thugs are up here. Much more better conditions................... :confused:
 
  • Agree
Reactions: Bly
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Yeah, it's called the Sears & Roebuck catalog. We used to use old corn cobs, but when they started sending out those catalogs, it was much easier and didn't chaff as much.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top