halpain17

So I have a guy who wants me to sticker his boat and I thought I'd share just to see what everyones opinion was. I dont do printing and haven't done a wrap so I kind of avoid jobs like this until someday when I can do my own wrap and get my feet wet. (I did have someone ive me a free novajet 700 yesterday so maybe I can use it and learn a little bit....) Anyway. he wants snow camo, with 4 colors (white, light grey, dark grey and black) on the fencing around the boat. But the panel on it has "r-panel like ridges going horizontally". I assumed it would be too tough to lay anything horizontally due to that, so instead I made the following deal: For a $450 bid, He is going to paint the fencing white and I am going to stick the other 3 color on top of that so i have room in between to correct and restart my vinyl application if i make mistakes. Any comments? I think it'd be fairly easy. Pics of his boat both before and including approval artwork are below:

Hmmm. Yea I'm considering cleaning it up and selling it. I think it looks to be costly and isn't gonna be good for much sign use to compensate for that.

Just to say... This is just a calculator based on pricing per unit... Not per shop rate... But you can obviously adjust things based on your shop rates, hours exoected, etc. Hope this helps some new guys.

Update: I saw an error in the ready to apply column, that i had meant to correct and not corrected. So I reattached the corrected one. My Apologies! By the way, if anyone has any ideas to add to this I'm all for it... I just kept complex things like t-shirts and other things out of it that change price with qty. I made an Excel Pricing calculator and thought I'd share... It should be pretty obvious how it works.... just fill in the green boxes for the item you are trying to price (not everything is on there, but some common stuff is) and then if you want to change the yellow boxes to adjust your pricing you can. I wouldn't advice changing any red boxes unless you know what you are doing! Just something simple I cooked up to help my wife if she needs to help me Enjoy pricing calculator.zip

I made an Excel Pricing guide and thought I'd share... but I can't seem to upload it... it says the type is not allowed. Is this something only certain members can do? or no xlsx files at all? Just something simple I cooked up to help my wife if she needs to help me and figured I'd share for anyone who might could use it.

I know this should probably be in a new thread but wondering... I had someone give me an Encad NovaJet 700 the other day. I know I have read that those are high maintenance, but it was free and it seems to work fine. I am in the process of cleaning it as it is dirty and dusty, but I do not have any ink, or media for it. So I am trying to figure out how to test it cheap and make sure it works and then also wondering if it is even worth using. I assumed I can run something through it to both clean the ink lines and test it at the same time.... then I figure Id need some form of aqueous friendly media.... and maybe a way to laminate it if using for outdoor stuff. any thoughts? Also, i think "GS ink" for it is like $500 for all 4 colors.... almost seems not worth it, since I'd have to use it every other day or so to keep it from drying up, maybe? if it was usable... could anyone guess the life expectancy of some printed media from it? both maybe laminated and not? TIA guys!!!

i did speak with him about the differences in the vinyl options, as well as the needed time frame between painting it and applying the vinyl. He was pretty understanding and didn't seem to have too high of expectations. I think however in the future I'll probably push cast vinyl more as opposed to calendared, as well as possibly printing.

update: finished!!! layered 651 3-color (he white is the boat), not printed. thought I'd share.

I've done orders of about 150-250, for around $2.5 - $3/decal. and can shoot those out in a day, but i have another full time job and i am building an apartment complex currently so i don't have time to do all these myself. but i have a guy who can shoot out some clean oval cut clear with white ink and so if they do it ill take some $ off the top. and dakotagrafx, i know i didn't respond to you. I felt like your response was a little harsh, but didn't want to argue with you because I do respect everyone's opinion and i appreciate the feedback. i do feel my time is worth $, and i don't think i should discount them, i just have a feeling that, being a large corporation, they would probably expect it, so i felt like it may be a no-win situation. i do feel like I could produce those numbers easily if I focused on that alone, but the margins are so low that it wouldn't be feasible. Thanks again.

I told her it would be high, and that printing is the way to go. If they decide to do it I'm gonna basically turn it over to a friend who can output that quantity.

Jeremy, I considered outsourcing it, just haven't talked to anyone yet. Also thought about the single color print... Decent idea. I'm not afraid to quote it normal... Just assume they won't accept it.

I say r panel type... After looking more closely its not that deep of ridges. Just slight directional changes.

I did tell him we were gonna give the paint time to set before application. I wouldn't mind having it printed. But I don't really know any guys to outsource that to.

So, I was asked for a quote today to fix a pre-existing light-box sign, for a new restaurant in our area.. First (top to pictures in attachment) They want me to replace the decals on the "shopping center roadside sign" for them on both sides (obviously just the one for their business) It is made up of one large substrate with taped off sections for each business. So, it seems I will just remove the existing ~4'x~1.5~ decal on each side and replace it with thier logo in vinyl. I do not print. Next (bottom pics in attachment) They want the top lightbox repaired and stuck with their logo. It is the "house shaped box" It's probably about 8' wide just to give an estimate. They said the lights do not work but their electrician said there is power out to the ballast. So my electrician said he would replace he ballast, at cost plus 2 hours labor @ ~$70/hour Also the plastic face is gone. Here's what I do not know: How much should I charge? I haven't done a job like this so I don't wanna price it wrong. Using the "shop rate" plan from another thread I came up with: Materials not including the plastic because I don't know where to get it 165.22 + 3.5 hours labor ($75/hour) = 427.72 + tax (Plus the [plastic for the large light box) In addition to this they would be paying the electricians fees for the light repair. Any thoughts? What is the plastic? I'm guessing Lexan Polycarbonate which could be pretty expensive but I don't even know where to get it or how it mounts/sits/stays in the sign box? Thanks in advance guys!

ok great, thanks for the quick response.

So, I was asked for a quote today to fix a pre-existing light-box sign, for a new restaurant in our area.. First (top to pictures in attachment) They want me to replace the decals on the "shopping center roadside sign" for them on both sides (obviously just the one for their business) It is made up of one large substrate with taped off sections for each business. So, it seems I will just remove the existing ~4'x~1.5~ decal on each side and replace it with thier logo in vinyl. I do not print. Next (bottom pics in attachment) They want the top lightbox repaired and stuck with their logo. It is the "house shaped box" It's probably about 8' wide just to give an estimate. They said the lights do not work but their electrician said there is power out to the ballast. So my electrician said he would replace he ballast, at cost plus 2 hours labor @ ~$70/hour Also the plastic face is gone. Here's what I do not know: How much should I charge? I haven't done a job like this so I don't wanna price it wrong. Using the "shop rate" plan from another thread I came up with: Materials not including the plastic because I don't know where to get it 165.22 + 3.5 hours labor ($75/hour) = 427.72 + tax (Plus the [plastic for the large light box) In addition to this they would be paying the electricians fees for the light repair. Any thoughts? What is the plastic? I'm guessing Lexan Polycarbonate which could be pretty expensive but I don't even know where to get it or how it mounts/sits/stays in the sign box? Thanks in advance guys!

You know I looked at athome(garden ridge) but could only find frames with a backing. I'll look again at these other places. Just thought there might be some place to order them wholesale. I assumed walmart ot hobby lobby would be more expensive and that I might be able to find them a some ~supplies warehouse~ or something online cheaper. Thanks though. I'll see what I can find.

Would anyone know where to find wholesale framed glass? I am referring to glass in a frame with no backing, so it is see through. Taking backing out of standard frames doesn't seem to work as the glass is no longer held securely. I just cant seem to find it anywhere online. Thanks

So, I am cutting vinyl for most of my work, however, I plan to use my HP home printer to print some simple decals on aqueous friendly 8.5x11 vinyl sheets I also was given an old 18" double sided laminator. I was wondering if anyone has done this and if it would work. I don't know if there's any way to only laminate the face of the vinyl with a double sided, so I thought i might be able to laminate the entire sheets as the machine does, and then let the cutter do the contour cut, followed by trimming the individual decals, so that the laminate on the back will just peel off with the backing... Any better way to do this? Or any foreseen problems?

Update: after some research i've noticed the option to use "kraft paper" for the bottom role. Is there something most use as a standard? And what laminate would be used for 18"? I don't know if I should be using hot/cold ..? Sorry for the noobish questions... Just no experience with graphic yet.

I am new to printing my signs, and have just been making vinyl layered signs previously. I have the a GCC Puma iii, and a Epson 7600. Currently looking at getting a laminator. I am unsure of which vinyls to use for printing. and have a few questions: I am guessing that its probably best to get standard 20" rolls? Maybe in white and/or clear for different purposes...? Any specific thoughts based on usage? (I'm primarily going to stick my printed work on indoor woods, as well as glass and plastic items.) Thanks for advice!

I wondered if anyone might be able to help with an issue I'm having with my cutter. Problem is that when I turn it on the motor makes a noise like its pulling the knife to its original position, however the knife makes a slight "twitch" and stays where it is. If I move it to the "far right position" the machine setup button doesnt work to find the vynil size. Here is what I have done and discovered while working on it: I bought a new motor (the knife motor obviously). I also checked the belt and cleaned the slide/rail that the knife moves on. None of the above fixed the issue. On a side note: I noticed that if I unscrew the motor and allow it to be away from the gears, it still does not turn when I turn on the machine, but makes a small twitch. If I start moving the knife by hand to the right, the motor will then kick in and finish moving it, but still does not allow the "setup" button to be used. (I take that back, I think out of a hundred times, the setup light cam on twice and let me run it). Any ideas? doesnt seem to be a bind anywhere, or the motor, so I'm not sure what it could be. Thanks in advance!

Update: I called an old service center and they did some troubleshooting with me. We tested all the sensors and they read successfully. Also, we swapped the plugs for the two motors, to see if it was in fact the motor (the vinyl feed motor shouldn't do the same thing). It did the same with that motor, which shows that it had to be something on the main board. I can't really find problems on the main board that stand out to me. Both fuses show no resistance with an Ohm meter. and the only thing I see is a little build up under a couple of capacitors (not sure if these means the capacitors leaked...? none look busted on top. I'm not great with circuitry, and not sure what would cause it, but both the service man and myself agree it seems as though the board isnt putting out enough power to the motor. On a side note they no longer service boards, so sending it in for repair doesnt seem to be optional.

I was looking at purchasing the Titan 2 servo, and I know it comes with software, however we have signlab 7.1 and 9.1 and I was wondering if anyone knows if it would work with those also? Thanks

Im not missing something with the cutter being able to do contour cutting right? I mean later if I buy a printer and laminator i can basically put the printed vinyl in the titan 2 and it will cut it based on its printed cut points? Sorry if my terminology is incorrect, like i said, vinyl printing is new to me. I dont understand the difference between manual and automatic contour cutting... would i be better off with a roland gx-24 or the graphtec ce-5000? or maybe the titan 3? (which comes with razorcut)