Sign in to follow this  
trendsbubble

Trying to start a decal business for xbox and ps4 game console

Recommended Posts

Hi everyone,

 

I want to start a xbox and ps4 game console and kinetics sticker business. Already selling a lot through my website and i source them from China, which is a long and tedious process.

 

I want to start my own xbox and ps4 decal printing business in USA and ship from here. To be honest I have zero experience in this field.

 

can any one tell me, what are the basic equipment and tools I will require to start? I assume decal for xbox and ps4 will be different from decal for wall or glass surface, if yes, what should be I looking for?

 

Regards and thank you in advance. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

"To be honest I have zero experience in this field"

 

Printing full-color decals (and then contour-cutting them to the desired shapes) will require the following  ---

 

A. Large up-front invesment --   thousands of $$$   (nothing 'basic' about it)

 

B. Without licenses for the graphics, you are heading down a road to lawsuits and "cease and desist letters" from legal teams retained by major trademark and copyright holders.

 

C. Learning curve for designing your own graphics. How well do you know Corel?

 

D. If you do buy a printer, make sure you understand the relatively high MAINTENANCE costs (including cleaning print head with ink, which needs to be done to prevent clogging when the printer is sitting idle).

 

There's probably more to consider, maybe others will chime in.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

If you are making a profit from outsourcing stick with it.  For the reasons Slice&Dice mentioned you would need to be on the other side of 100k sales to start putting a dent in your investment. Licensing fees are not cheap. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

We just had someone on here recently doing the same thing and got caught without the proper licensing.

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

It all depends on the designs that they are currently selling. Importing from China means anything trademarked is most likely illegally reproduced without the consent of the trademark owners.

There are a lot of generic designs that could sell well. I would guess that China can sell you a finished product cheaper than you can even buy the material for in the states.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I have good experience with graphics software and have access to licensed garaphics materials.

 

So what I need is -

 

1. Digital printer to print full color vinyl, any recommendation?

 

2. contour-cutting vinyl cutter machine, MH series will do the job?

 

3. What else?

 

Regards. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You state  you have "access to licensed garaphics materials."  BUT  Do you have a license to create and sell them?  A license to sell copyrighted/trademarked works from each of these companies?  It costs many many thousands of $$$ to get these licenses.  Plus you have to sell a certain quota and meet their specifications.  If it was so cheap and easy to do, we all would be doing it.

 

No a MH cutter can not contour cut.  It's a bottom of the barrel cutter.

 

The info on copyrighted items have been mentioned on  here too many times to count.  Here is a most recent guy that got caught.  And that is mild.   Go talk to a copyright/trademark attorney first.

 

http://forum.uscutter.com/index.php?/topic/50730-paypal-refusing-to-let-me-sell-the-stickers-other-sellers-are-selling-on-ebay/

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

1st easy question is...........

 

What's your budget?  

If you're serious you should already have a budget in mind.  

From there we can tell you if it's doable or not. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I sell generic decals like ghost in the woods and stuff like that. So yeah I have all the copy rights I need to use the graphics. 

 

My budget is around $2000.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't think $2000 will get you very far with a printer, let alone a cutter that is decent enough to do what you are looking to do.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I would estimate $5-9k for a printer/cutter and a several hundred more for some vinyl. $5-6k would get you a used 30"-54" printer/cutter. $8-9k would get you a new 20" printer/cutter. Printing "retail quality" decals is not a cheap venture. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I sell generic decals like ghost in the woods and stuff like that. So yeah I have all the copy rights I need to use the graphics. 

 

My budget is around $2000.

 

That is why that's always the 1st question.   $2K just isn't enough to get something you want.   

 

 

I would estimate $5-9k for a printer/cutter and a several hundred more for some vinyl. $5-6k would get you a used 30"-54" printer/cutter. $8-9k would get you a new 20" printer/cutter. Printing "retail quality" decals is not a cheap venture. 

 

Pshawny is right.   

There's alot of equipment you're going to need. Your best bet is to keep outsourcing your prints and keep saving.   

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This Mimaki printer I use is over $20,000. I'm sure there's cheaper one's, but not real cheap.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

For gaming console skins and especially controller skins or anything else that is going to be handled, you're going to need to invest in a solvent based printer - aqueous printed vinyl will not hold up to that kind of handling.  Then you'll need to add a laminating machine on top of that (and no, I don't mean the 3M type of thermal laminator, I mean a multi thousand dollar machine).   Then  you're going to need several hundreds of dollars worth of vinyl, ink and laminate to get started, plus the software and computer necessary to get things from idea into implementation.

 

Plan on spending a minimum of $10,000, assuming you buy the cheapest, lowest quality, used gear and double that for buying new.  Then figure in monthly maintenance costs, print head replacements (which can run $800 or more) and the fact that you'll need a lot of space for all of that equipment, and adequate ventilation unless you want your house to smell like an industrial print shop.

It takes a real dedication and desire to want to do vinyl printing, and for 99% of us, it's just easier and cheaper to sub the work out to someone else to do.

  • Like 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this