The Elvis Legacy

My first large sign...5.5 ft x 6.5 ft

Thanks guys for your responses. Nothing worked for me. I did try going in under another user name and I had access to corel and CM2 there. I did have to reinstall the drivers for the cutter under that user name but after doing that, I am back up and running again. Perhaps if I uninstalled and reinstalled corel on the user that I was having problems on, that might have worked...but...I CANT FIND MY DISK....aaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh! lol

Every day that passes is a day closer to my FIRST retirement. I have GOT to get my ducks in a row. I have slowly been purchasing my equipment, software and supplies and have been getting aquainted with them. I have also been learning of places to buy supplies and such. It is about time to get serious about "OPENING UP SHOP" full time. My original plans were to go out right away and get a store front versus working out of my home. I will be opening up my shop about 50 miles from where I am presently located for a number of reasons. I will have a substantial cash backing due to my retirement to buy items such as a large format printer...etc. My thinking is that having a store front and being "visible" will substantially help in gaining customers. On the other hand, close friends of mine have tried to get me to open up shop in my garage and save the extra expenses of a store...I just dont know if I have what it takes to GO OUT AND GET MY NAME AND NUMBER OUT THERE like I will need to. By working out of my house, I would definitely do it legally as far as getting the proper business licenses and charge sales taxes and such. Can anyone share their thoughts and perhaps the way they started out? Also, for anyone that works out of the home, do you find that customers might not look at you as a professional business because you dont have a store front?

Slice&Dice...heck naw I have no plans to commute. I will be moving there...I only added that tidbid to kind of explain why I wasnt doing much right now to build up the business before I actually retire. I am doing SOME stuff on the side now...but just sporadically.

With in the last few days I have gotten very interested in glass etching. I went to HF and at the suggestion of the manager, I purchased the Air Eraser and an airbrush compressor. I made a mistake and purchased 70 grit AO and had to take it back and get the 220 grit. I finally got it all to work this evening...but the "etching line" from the Air Eraser is so small and narrow that it took forever to get the area I was etching filled in. Am I doing something wrong? Should I be looking at returning this and getting some other equipment that goes a little faster? Any suggestions on other equipment?

Just wanted to come back and post that I bought the small table top sand blasting cabinet..and an 8 gal compressor from Harbor Freight. THIS IS THE WAY TO DO IT!!!! Etching is quick and there is no mess. I was using Aluminum Oxide at like $25 bucks for 20lbs. I was told through the grapevine that a local glass company uses it playground sand. I bought a 50lb bag at Home depot for less than $5. I tried the sand on a larger piece of glass that is being used for a large shadow frame and it worked really well also. Again though...for cups and mugs and smaller pieces, you cant go wrong with the sandblasting cabinet.

I will soon be retiring from a career in law enforcement and my plans are to open up a sign shop. I have already bought and am learning to use the Graphtec CE5000 24" cutter. Absolutely love it.I feel like I made a wise choice. NOW...I am starting to look around at the different types of printers available. Just wanted to get an idea if I should be shopping for printer/cutter to contour cut graphics and if one size was better than another. I was looking at 48" printers...but...I know they make larger ones. Any ideas on if there would be much benefit from getting one larger than 48"? In your area, is there a very big market for banners and such that are larger than 48"?

I wont be able to make the expo in Vegas...as much as I would like to this year. I am in AL and I believe the same expo will be in Orlando next year. I will surely do my best to make that one!

An older friend of mine, who has his own sign shop, has a piece of equipment used for applying masking to vinyl. The masking is basically threaded through two rollers. You take your weeded vinyl sheet and stick it between the rollers and hand crank it through. Its a pretty old machine and he does not remember where he got it. Does this sound familiar to anyone and if so...are they still available today? I found an electronic one from Contec called a signmasker 2 or something like that...but it is electronic. I am searching for one of the hand crank ones...

Does anyone know what font "Chappy's" is?

OWJ...that is exactly what I was thinking...Im just trying to figure out what size compressor I need to get right now to handle the job. Thanks though...30 secs sounds a lot better than 5 mins...

Thats pretty much exactly what I was looking for. Thanks! Do you have one of these???

I found a vector file of houndstooth just the other day. One option is to take the file to a local sign shop and have them print you off some houndstooth on white vinyl...then you would just cut the initials like normal. I dont have the file on this computer, but if you would like it send me a message...

Has anybody used the GreenStar 7010 Synthetic Stencil Board-Cut (SSB-Cut) Non-Adhesive Reusable Material or something similar? I make Elvis Jumpsuits on the side and have been drawing out the intricately detailed stud patterns out on a stencil sheet from an arts and crafts store and cutting out with a utility knife. I was just wondering if I drew the designs out on Corel Draw if I could use this product on my vinyl cutter if its something that would hold up for marking the designs out on the fabric? Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Can I get some guidance on what kinds of things are popular right now...that will sell at fairs... Im planning on renting a booth for our local 10-day fair. Im thinking along the lines of car tags and cups. Other than just cutting vinyl monograms for the back windows of vehicles and your basic sports type silouttes with kids names and such...any other ideas? Also...can anyone give me any websites where I can get blank car tags...white..black...colored...zebra print etc... Any assistance would be much appreciated.

I have been asked by a co-worker to make an outdoor sign for his business. This sign will be about 4' X 15' and will be placed on a metal type awning along the front of the store. (The store is one unit in a strip mall type building) I am JUST getting started in this business and am not sure of how to price this. Im not even exactly sure what type of substrate to use. Im thinking perhaps some type of thicker plastic sheet or a thin sheet of metal. It will be screwed into the awning. Can anyone tell me what I need to use for an outdoor application...and also an idea of how to price this please. Any help would be much appreciated.

Does anyone rent booths at fairs and festivals...etc... Does it seem to be a hot item or profitable? Making car tags...or decals for the back windows of cars related to whatever event you may be at? Dog shows? Rodeo? Car shows? I dont normally go to many...but have never seen a vinyl cutter at any of them...

I am about to make my first purchase of vinyl. I have a couple of jobs lined up an waiting. What is the best vinyl to use for coraplast (for outside use), store front windows...and for vehicle magnets and while Im at it for direct application to a vehicle or trailer. PLEASE HELP! Dont want to get started off on the wrong foot by using the wrong stuff. Also...I looked up the difference between calendared and cast vinyl. When is it ok to use calendared?

Im in the same boat you are in. I have only just begun...working on the side now...hopefully moving into it full time when I retire in about a year. I had some business cards printed up. Everytime I see an opportunity, I pass out a card. Lately I have been targetting people doing lawn work. If I see a truck with a trailer full of lawn equipment and no vinyl or magnetic signs on their truck, I give them a business card. Any trailer I see that appears to be related to business, I give them a card. Seems to working. Good Luck!

I just recently purchased a CE5000-60 and it used it for the first time on a job requiring cuts up to 12 ft long. I used avery 15in punched which tracked VERY WELL however...I was also using some 24" Oracal 651 and it was sliding as much as 1/2" - 3/4". Im definitely puzzled...

Hi! I just purchased my first cutter...Graphtec CE5000-60. Can anyone please lead me in the right direction on what kind of vinyl I need to be looking at getting? For indoor and outdoor use as well as a good application tape. There are so many options and I just wanna try to get started on the right foot.

Hi! I posted earlier that I will be retiring in about 18 months and wanting to get into the sign business. I am now wanting to go ahead and purchase a 24" cutter to start the learning process now. I have looked at both Graphtec and the Roland GX-24. Both are comparable in price. Any suggestions on which way I should go?

Hello Everyone! My name is Brad and I am in Alabama. I have been a police officer for over 20 years and will soon retire. I am extremely interested in opening a sign shop but am in the very beginning stages. I am scared to death of depending on myself for a paycheck after more than 20 yrs of having a paycheck deposited in my bank account every other week. At this point of time, I am just trying to get ideas for getting started. My plans are to have a vinyl cutter and the largest banner printer I can afford when the time comes. I know I have a lot of learning to do, but can anyone offer any suggestions on getting started on the right foot? Should I limit what I offer in the beginning? Should I be looking for a good selection of things to offer? I have no idea... I plan on going to a Sign Expo in Orlando next month to get an idea of whats out there... I know this is vague...but any input would be greatly appreciated.