Worth the savings?

[EstiSetser]

Buying from a dealer, we can get 13 oz 1000x1000 denier banner material for 14.1 to 16.5 cents a sq-ft. If we drop to 500x500 denier, our cost goes down to 12.3 for all sizes from 38" - 126". As long as the banners aren't going up on a skyscraper (where the wind blows harder), would you say the savings are worth the loss in durability? Or should I stick with the 1000x1000 and buy from the Ultraflex clearance list whenever possible?

 

[mudmedia]

I do not think it is worth the savings...For as cheap as banner material is why not spend a little more (which is cents) for a good quality product.

 

[J Hill Designs]

+1

 

[CanuckSigns]

aside from paper, banner material is the cheapest material you can print on (actually I think I pay more for my photo paper than I do for banner)

you are talking about a $25 per roll difference to get material that is half as strong. if that is the difference between sink or swim for you you have to seriously reconsider what you are selling banners for!

 

[EstiSetser]

Yeah, we're looking at an extra $50 per roll for 10.5' material. We've had a low profit year, and my main responsibility toward that is keeping our material costs as low as possible, even if it's a matter of pennies per square foot. That and making sure as little as possible has to be re-done because of in-house errors.
I think the only thing we pay less for is plotter paper. We sell our banners for pretty cheap as a sort of "bread and milk" product. Something familiar to get customers in the door, then show them all the other stuff we offer.

 

[TXFB.INS]

Generally I would agree with this train of thought but if this person is analyzing banner costs down to the tenth of a penny I would assume they are doing very high volumes.

Those savings can go a long way if you're printing several rolls a day.

Same idea as using third party inks....it's a cost/benefit deal.

That being said I think there is a place for cheaper raw materials - it's just up the supplier to use them appropriately.

Every time I price jobs the quoted price is based on the application/durability required/viewing distance/budget etc....so there are times when the cheapest option possible is the right option.

+1

 

[CanuckSigns]

Generally I would agree with this train of thought but if this person is analyzing banner costs down to the tenth of a penny I would assume they are doing very high volumes.

Those savings can go a long way if you're printing several rolls a day.

Same idea as using third party inks....it's a cost/benefit deal.

That being said I think there is a place for cheaper raw materials - it's just up the supplier to use them appropriately.

Every time I price jobs the quoted price is based on the application/durability required/viewing distance/budget etc....so there are times when the cheapest option possible is the right option.

Fair enough, My personal experiences with trying to cut down material costs was a failure. I switched to a different supplier of banner material, since most of our banners are indoor or short term outdoor I thought we didn't need to use "the expensive stuff", switched to some no name chinese made product, and the rolls were totally inconsistant from each other.

We switched back to ultraflex and have been very happy.

 

[ChicagoGraphics]

That's no savings really, if you buy alot of Ultraflex you probably get it cheaper then that

 

[HulkSmash]

expect more headstrikes, and buckling with that material.
the 20 bucks you're saving a roll won't add up, i promise.