LakeshoreVinylExpressions 0 Posted January 9, 2009 Hi everyone! My wife and I are just getting into the vinyl cutting business. We are located in West Michigan. Our focus will probably interior vinyl, car and window decals, and coroplast signs and banners. We've got a Creation P-Cut and we're designing with Publisher and cutting with Signblazer. I already have a friend asking for a quote on 400 decals . They're 2"x3" and he needs them RTA. Any ideas on what I should quote him? TheSignExpert said $17?.00. and the $9/sqft rule comes in around $160 ish. Having no experience whatsoever your ideas would be very helpful. We are also wondering what the best way to apply that much tape is AND how to cut the vinyl into individual decals neatly and efficiently. I am also wondering what it generally takes to get a small business started. What do we need besides vinyl, application tape, a computer, and a cutter? I absolutely LOVE this forum! You folks are so helpful. Reading through so many of the posts makes me feel more at ease about getting into this line of work. Thanks in advance for your advice that I will undoubtedly take and benefit from. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2GuysSign 4 Posted January 9, 2009 Welcome to USCutter from Jersey What you need is Computer, Cutter, Vinyl, App Tape, Squeegees, Xacto Knife and a nice pair of scissors! I've done mass production of vinyl with my PCUT. Very simple, just cut 3 to 5 vinyls at a time, basically enough to make a complete row, then just keep cutting. After 4 rows, cut them off and weed them. then just apply app tape from the center out. We have plenty of tutorials on how to do things, just look in that section. I've been in the sign business for 4 years and now im getting into actual illuminated cabinet installs with the purchase of our first bucket truck/crane! As for quoting, i use a program called Estimate. easy to work with and a great program all together! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LakeshoreVinylExpressions 0 Posted January 10, 2009 Welcome to USCutter from Jersey What you need is Computer, Cutter, Vinyl, App Tape, Squeegees, Xacto Knife and a nice pair of scissors! I've done mass production of vinyl with my PCUT. Very simple, just cut 3 to 5 vinyls at a time, basically enough to make a complete row, then just keep cutting. After 4 rows, cut them off and weed them. then just apply app tape from the center out. We have plenty of tutorials on how to do things, just look in that section. I've been in the sign business for 4 years and now im getting into actual illuminated cabinet installs with the purchase of our first bucket truck/crane! As for quoting, i use a program called Estimate. easy to work with and a great program all together! I checked out Estimate. Not quite ready to invest that much though. I'm not doing big projects or cabinets, this is more of a part-time thing. I've been working on a spreadsheet though after reading several other discussions, getting quotes from other businesses, and by checking online calculators. I think I'm getting it figured out pretty well. Thanks for the advice on cutting the large amount of decals. It was a little overwhelming to get such a large order for my first order. Haven't started the work yet but now I'm confident I can do a high quality job efficiently. Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cre8tiveCutter 7 Posted January 10, 2009 Welcome lakeshore! If you do a search on youtube for vinyl cutting etc you will get alot of great videos on how to's! This forum alone is a wealth of information! Renee Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Benr98 40 Posted January 10, 2009 Welcome to the forum Lakeshore, you have definitely come to the right place to get the help and support you need to get your business going. I agree that's a large order with you just beginning, but I'm sure it will go well....The more detailed your friends design the more time it will take at first. There are always something you could add to your collection for vinyl cutting, but some may be wants more then needs! I love having a self healing cutting mat and a roller cutter, now you don't need that, but it makes things easier. The most important thing is enjoy what you do and it will show in your work. Jenny Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zodiac matt 0 Posted January 11, 2009 self healing mats are great, work would suck without one, i deffinatly reccomend getting one Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haumana 1,221 Posted January 20, 2009 to the forum! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
