Need information on Decal Printing

[joeycuccaro 0]

Hey guys,

I hope this section is okay for my subject, wasnt to sure where to post the question.

Anyway, i am very interested in starting a vinyl decal business on the side. The majority of the work would be simply printing decals for car windows.

Can any of you help me get started with this venture by providing me with information on what i need?

From what i have researched i need a printer/cutter. I have looked into the Graphtec CE5000, which seems to be a good model printer. Any objections? Overkill?

Is there anything else i will need in order to print besides the vinyl?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance all!

[bamafan2277 50]

Do you plan on doing alot of multi-color decals or a lot of 1 or 2 color decals? The printer will be great for multi-color stuff but is on the expensive side. Many decals can be done with a standard cutter and layering 2-3 maybe 4 colors on top of each other.

It mainly depends on the type of customer you will be catering to as to what equipment you will need.

[joeycuccaro 0]

Do you plan on doing alot of multi-color decals or a lot of 1 or 2 color decals? The printer will be great for multi-color stuff but is on the expensive side. Many decals can be done with a standard cutter and layering 2-3 maybe 4 colors on top of each other.

It mainly depends on the type of customer you will be catering to as to what equipment you will need.

Thanks for the reply! I would say the decals will be mostly a few colors at most. Looking to do decals like this...

All stuff similar, maybe a few colors more. Im mainly looking to do a bunch of smaller sized decals in bulk.

Besides the printer, is there anything else i need to start? If i decided to go with the printer i mentioned is there room to expand to bigger stuff with it? I.E banners, posters etc? ID like the decals to be the ones you stick on and then peal off the top layer.

[Guest fivestar]

The Graphtec ce5000 is just a cutter not a printer.

[joeycuccaro 0]

The Graphtec ce5000 is just a cutter not a printer.

Really? So what am i looking for to do the stuff i mentioned above?

[James605 7]

Here is the smaller 30" model of a printr cutter...I bet the price tag is alittle more than i think you were getting into compared to the graphtec. 16k for this model new

[bamafan2277 50]

Printer/Cutters don't come cheap

Here is a 30" on UScutter's site http://www.uscutter.com/Roland-VersaCAMM-VP-Series-4-color-PrinterCutter-with-FREE-CorelDRAW-Graphics-Suite-X4_p_571.html for $15,000.

a couple of colors you would be better off with a $500 cutter.

[Guest fivestar]

The Graphtec ce5000 is just a cutter not a printer.

Really? So what am i looking for to do the stuff i mentioned above?

You could do those above with a cutter, but I just wanted to point out that the Graphtec is a cutter not a printer.

[joeycuccaro 0]

Thanks for all of the help guys. It is a little confusing at first so i apologize for the questions.

So how does the "cutter" work then? Simply connect it to my computer when the images are at and then it will send them out?

After the decals are out, i will then need some sort of cutting tool to cut the individual decals off the large sheet?

[bamafan2277 50]

You found the right place to get some answers so feel free to ask!

With the cutter you will load your vinyl in and use the software that came with it to cut your image out. Generally the images will be in a .eps format that the cutter will recognize and know what to cut.

Once done you can take your vinyl out of the machine and cut it into individual stickers in many ways. I prefer a straight edge and xacto knife. Some people use scissors or a paper cutter with the long blade. It's all a matter of prefrence and budget.

Then you will "weed" the stickers. Which is remove the excess vinyl from around the lettering or decal that you cut out. Once you have done this you will apply application tape to allow you to remove the vinyl from the backing paper when you get ready to apply it.

I'm at work right now but you can find alot of informational videos on youtube. also check out the help section here on the forum. Many users have posted videos of how to do stuff.

Welcome to the board and don't feel bad about asking questions. We all started out in your shoes at one point!