splash0321

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Posts posted by splash0321

  1. Posted

    You need to find a niche of your own to sell in. Its all about what gets you the best money for your time. Sure, you can sell 100+ decals a day and spend all day making those decals because of the weeding and prep work and time involved in packaging and shipping. Or, you can find a niche (possibly bigger items) that you can sell 3 a day, it takes you 2-3 hours to make and get packaged. I teach at the college level and if Im not making more money in my side business (vinyl) then I'll just work extra hours in my day job. The niche Im in I make 100$/hr easy but I only put in about 10 hours a week total. Make these cutters work for you...they are money making machines but you have to go about it the right way. Make small decals for friends....you wont make any good money trying to do it for a living. Find a niche (top dollar with little effort).

    • Like 2

  4. Posted

    I have done a pretty thorough search of this topic and cant seem to find an answer. I sell online and what i want to do is cut out my kits, apply premask, then perf cut the whole thing...premask and all. I have purchased kits that clearly have had this done to them but I havnt been able to find any literature on it or any tutorials. It just makes everything look very professional and thats what Im after. I have attached a picture similar to what im looking for.

    I have a graphtec fc7000-160mk2 if that makes a difference.

    perf cut example.jpg

  5. Posted

    I dont really advertise and pretty much stick to just online sales but I was out in my pool house (sign shop) and my pool guy came to clean my pool and saw me making up some graphics kits to ship out. He races cars and was in the process of pricing out getting both sides of his car done. He showed me a picture of what he wants but hasnt emailed it to me yet so this is the best I could find. I dont have the exact dimensions so Im guessing the total length of the graphic would be in the 100" range (each side), would be less than 30" tall.

    Basically he wants the main graphic to be all black, but his numbers would be 3 layers with black on the bottom, then yellow, and white on top.

    The car is yellow, main graphic would be all black. Number would be layered (black, yellow, white). I dont know if my numbers are even in the ballpark. I am quoting him two ways: making the kit and he installs, or making and installing the kit.

    I was thinking $400 just to make it and hand it off to him. $600 total to install as well.

    I dont do installs unless they are my own or its just signage so Im sure my pricing is a bit off.

    arutemustang.jpg

  7. Posted

    I want durability for sure. I'm not interested in cheap (quality)...I think there are more affordable options available to us that achieve a high quality. My base products are oracal 751 but I upcharge if they want something more. I just don't want to order a roll of vinyl for 400$ if I can buy something of equal quality for less. Matte gray is just one of those colors I'll have to  figure out if it's worth stocking and offering. 

    Thanks everyone, I appreciate the input.

  9. Posted

    Real quick question. For the past few months I've had numerous customers each month ask if I could do some vehicle graphics in matte gray. I cant source the vinyl anywhere reasonably priced!! Looking at oracal's translucent vinyl, they have several shades of gray in a satin/matte(ish) finish. Would this be something I could install on a vehicle without having to worry about the vehicle color altering the color of the vinyl? Any insight is appreciated.

  10. Posted

    On ‎2‎/‎24‎/‎2017 at 0:03 AM, Mike Jolly said:

    I have been searching and comparing for days now.  I cannot find any comments, discussions or feedback on this!  

    I'm looking to use a vinyl cutter to cut out some logos using carbon fiber vinyl.  After searching here are my assumptions:

    1. Avoid any textured carbon fiber (I would assume textured would affect the accuracy of the cuts and possibly ruin the blade)

    2. Look for printed, untextured carbon fiber vinyl

    3. If possible, get unlaminated vinyl (I would assume the laminate would affect the cuts and make a mess of the blade).

    Has anyone done this before?  Can it be done?  If yes, does anyone have a vinyl recommendation?  Most of what I'm finding is textured and/or laminated (like a 3-layer vinyl) which I'm not sure about.  Again, I've searched and everything is geared towards vinyl wraps.  I'm looking to use a roll of carbon fiber vinyl on a vinyl cutter then apply transfer tape to later apply it to a vehicle (not looking to do a wrap).  I've considered ordering a sample or small roll for some testing but was hoping to get some research and suggestions first.  A customer is requesting some decals using carbon fiber vinyl and I want to make sure it works, and if it does, give him an accurate quote based on the one I would buy.  The 2 I am considering are "Avery Dennison Printed High Gloss Real D Black Carbon Fiber Vinyl Wrap" and "3M Printed High Gloss Real D Black Carbon Fiber Vinyl Wrap".  Any advice would be appreciated, preferably from someone who has tried this before.  Thank you!

    So I hadn't been offering carbon fiber to my customers until recently because I just wasn't worth the investment cost. I primarily sell on ebay and people just don't want to pay a whole lot more for carbon fiber than they do for a typical color like matte black. I recently found one by general formulations called Dragon Wrap...the price was decent (240-250$ for a 60"x10yard roll) so I bit the bullet and tried it out. While it is thicker (5.6 mil) and is textured, I actually prefer it to the printed carbon fiber....it just looks more realistic. The only changes I make is cutting at 100g force instead of 90g. Ive had no issues. I boutght it from Ordway and it only comes from them in 60" rolls. They do offer a 12"x60" piece for just under 12$ though so you could just order a couple of those as a trial.

    Where are you located? If you tell me how much you need I could price you out a section of mine (at cost). I cut my roll down to 30" so just let me know if you want a section to try out.

  11. Posted

    Im bringing this old thread back to life just to see what advice some of the full-timers have on building a production table. I want to build one and my local sign shop has a solid glass (3/8" thick) probably about 6'x12' table. I like the idea of the glass top table over the self healing mats that are available because they are smoother, and are easier to clean, and they dont gouge.

    Anyone have a legit production table that they'd be willing to share a picture of?

  12. Posted

    12 hours ago, aguilar said:

    Roland camm-1 Pro CM-500 48" vinyl plotter with stand.

    tem location:
    Hemet, California, United States
     
    price right now on ebay $700

    eBay item number:

    332128822966

    Ive had that on my watch list. Same one as the local guy here is selling except my guy is offering the laptop running XP to go with it...all for 500...he told me hed take 400...I offered 300 so im just waiting him out. I'll pick it up and use it as a backup if I can grab it for less than $400. Looking at the specs on this CM-500 it looks pretty good.

  13. Posted

    Found a local guy selling a roland CAMM-1 Pro CM-500. Its a 48" cutter, looks good and works good (according to him). Wants to sell me the cutter and stand with the laptop it runs on all for 500$. I know its an older cutter and no updates after windows xp. Am I going to have issues with compatibility or is that a non-issue? Im trying to talk him down on price but is it worth it or should I hold out for a newer one?

    • Like 1

  15. Posted

    On 2/9/2017 at 7:19 PM, mark-s said:

    Check ebay for one of these   48" Redsail Vinyl Sign Cutter with Contour Cut Function about $550.00 shipped.

    Comes with software.

    Not a bad machine, I have a 24" for back up.

    mark-s

    I think I'll hold off for a higher end cutter with servo motors. I considered a redsail but unless it's a significant difference from the mh series then I don't feel the upgrade is worth it.

     

    • Like 1

  16. Posted

    1 hour ago, Go-C Graphics said:

    Yea I don't know where that got the idea to call the town Mt. Dora.

     

    I'm a biomed here.  I have to fix all the crap you nurses break.  LOL

    well, i appreciate what you do. Im the nurse that goes around fixing all the crap the female nurses break

  17. Posted

    1 hour ago, Wildgoose said:

    Just my opinion but I don't think that if you want to go bigger that you would want to go cheap. I'm sure you are already struggling with off-tracking with your MH on 30" work. I can't imagine trying to cut a 48" graphic and risking $30-$40 piece of vinyl with a budget cutter. I used to run a 48" P-Cut which is a few steps above the MH and I never was happy with the tracking on large stuff. Used the "Step-by-step" feature in SignCut Pro to get me by until I could upgrade but it was limited even with that nifty tool just because of the lack of precision. After getting the Summa and experiencing what good tracking and quality servo motors can do for accuracy I wouldn't want to deal with the old cutter ever again. I originally kept it around for potential back-up but after a month of joy I just got rid of it locally to some guys that wanted to cut their own graphics for a spook alley.

    I'd recommend biding your time and saving up for a good name brand cutter like the Graphtec or Rolland you were originally considering. Be prepared to park your MH permanently once you make the leap. I do a lot of HTV cutting and can't tell you how nice it is to just load up a huge roll and set it to cut hundreds of copies and walk away as it cuts for hours unattended. Really lowers the stress level and creates more free time vs "hovering" over the cutter waiting for something bad to happen and be ready to stop it before it ruins a whole bunch of vinyl.

    Thats really exactly what Im looking for. The "babysitting" i have to do is because I have no other option with these cutters if I want to not waste half of every roll of vinyl i buy.  I'll just have to wait a couple more months and find a gently used roland or graphtec. You talked me out of a cheap cutter.

    • Like 2

  18. Posted

    1 hour ago, slice&dice said:

    Just remember that the larger vinyl will require wider app tape to match!  You gotta wrangle that!

    For cutters in the used market, eBay is the way to go (and perhaps a local craigslist offer might pop up).

    Ive been all over craigslist within a 500 mile radius and no one is wanting to get rid of their high end cutter for dirt cheap....i wonder why that is

  21. Posted

    I dont think I've ever formally done an intro on the forum so here goes.

    Im in my 30s, married, and am a nurse. I have a masters degree and teach nursing at a private college. My wife does the same and we do pretty well in that area. Ive always had an interest in graphics and have even given it a go a couple times before and never really found a niche I felt successful in until now. I do primarily online sales and have found a niche in the vinyl graphics market that allows me to make great money for only working about 4 hours a week as a side business.

    I want to add how much I appreciate this forum and all of those who contribute daily to help newbies out.

  22. Posted

    Not selling anything but Im looking to buy. Basically looking for a cutter that will do 48" or larger. Used but taken care of. Have been looking at used graphtecs and rolands but i feel my price range is below 1k...maybe a tad bit more if its a killer deal.

    I have a MH 30"...it works great so I have no real "needs" for something better other than size so I can expand my options.

    Let me know..

    Thanks

  23. Posted

    FYI to anyone ordering from uscutter, they have a free GreenStar color guide that they'll ship to you. Dont know how long the offer will last but if you are paying for shipping on another order anyways, why not grab this for free?