pmvinyls

Members
  • Content Count

    3
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by pmvinyls

  1. I've been doing some research on expanding my vinyl decal business to the wallpaper business. Specifically, peel and stick printed wallpaper. I'm interested in designing the wallpaper, but not so much in actually printing it (no room, funds or interest in having a big 'ol printer and dealing with ink in my garage). Would prefer to team up with a vendor to do the printing. And that brings me to why I'm posting. I've had a heck of a time locating a vendor that does this. I'm still in the planning stages, seeing if this is even something I want to get into, so I haven't decided if I want a vendor that prints to order (possible drop-shipping direct to customers) or a vendor that I have to order stock from. Does anyone have any leads on printers that could do this? I have an account with 4Over, and they do print 8mil indoor vinyl, but I'm not sure they're who I want to go with. For reference, here's a super cute website I stumbled upon that does exactly the sort of thing I'm interested in doing: https://www.spoonflower.com/peel_and_stick_wallpaper Any help greatly appreciated!
  2. My first job in a print shop, the owner gave me his pricing calculator. I've used it ever since. I should note, this is for cut decals from Oracal 631 and 651. Width of the vinyl roll + length of the cut (in inches) divided by 2. That's my base price. on a 24" roll, I keep my designs within 22", so say the design fits into a cut area is 22" x 50". I add 2" to the width and 2" to the length (for the rollers and extra length where it's cut). So that's 24+52=76/2=$38. This is already a decent profit. For me, I've gotten really fast at weeding my own designs, so I'll just round up a few bucks if it's a design that takes more than a few minutes to weed. For custom stuff, I'll round up a little more. Custom designs are charged at my $60 an hour freelance rate. Re-creating artwork in vector for me to cut is charged at $30 an hour rate. Using this pricing calculator on my 24" rolls of 631, every 5 yards of vinyl sold pays for a 50 yard roll. 45 yards of pure profit. Also gives you some wiggle room to offer decent discounts when people make large orders.
  3. pmvinyls

    Lots of indoor vinyl questions!

    Hi everyone! I just started my vinyl decal business about 3 months ago and I'm wanting to introduce an indoor line of designs. I have a bunch of requests for indoor vinyls, but I've been hesitant to take the leap before I know more. I've been doing some research online but coming up short on a few things. If anyone here deals with indoor decals, I would sure appreciate your help and advise! Basics to start: I plan on using Oracal 631 in the 24"w, that I know for sure. I have a Roland GX-24 cutter. Now here come the questions... 1. What transfer tape works best with this vinyl? I found a few sites that suggested GXF100, but I really like using the clear tape for customer applied graphics. Any suggestions on a tape that will release on slightly textured surfaces the best? Should I just go with the GXF100 and get over the clear thing because it's better? And on that note, for big designs such as stripes and polka-dots, is transfer tape even really necessary? 2. For multi-colored designs, which is best? Setting everything up on one sheet for the customer to just apply or sending the designs in individual pieces? I get making it easier for the customer, but I feel like I could sell the decals for MUCH less if I sent it in pieces with detailed instructions. For example, a tree with colorful leaves. If you send them in pieces, do you cut out each piece for the customer, or leave them as laid out on the cutter and instruct the customer to cut them? 3. How should I price my indoor decals? I've been using a formula I found online somewhere for car and outdoor vinyls. I basically add the height and width in inches, divide by 2 and round up or down depending on the difficulty of the weed. I don't use this formula for wholesale decals or large quantities, but mostly just for Etsy store items and individual decals. Is this a good formula to use for indoor decals? Any suggestions on better pricing? Still so new to this and I don't want to rip anyone off, but I don't want to undercut myself either. 4. How is applying indoor decals different than outdoor decals? I'm pretty much going to have to rely on what I can find online for application instructions since I'm going to stock colors as they're ordered. I will likely buy one roll and do a few practice runs on my walls, but any suggestions or links to great application instructions would be amazing (I won't copy, I just need some direction). 5. How do you ship large graphics? I've mostly dealt with designs that can fit in large flat envelopes, so I'm not sure where to begin with large rolls. Obviously I want to roll them, but how loose should I keep the roll to avoid any bubbling or damage to the design? Where can I find nice size boxes? 6. Was thinking of having custom squeegees printed to include with the designs. Do you think this is worth it? My thought is it's only a few bucks and will leave a lasting impression on the buyer. Can anyone suggest a supplier for these? Or should I DIY with plain squeegees and decals? Thanks so much for taking the time to read this super long post. Any help from the experts would be so greatly appreciated. Kelly Owner of PM Vinyls by Potti Mouth Designs