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16th Mine Operators' Conference  
"Tackling Today's Mining Challenges"
October 19 - 22, 2003
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

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On each side is a logo, about 16" high and 14" wide.

How long should it take us to complete this project, including cutting, weeding, premasking, transferring, and finishing up? Working by myself, it took me about 4 hours total to finish it.. I assume that's way too long, but then again, I am new at this.

Also, please post some other examples to give us an idea of how quickly we should be completing these jobs.


Thanks in advance,

Dylan Cooke
 

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Posted by Rick Chavez (Member # 2146) on :
 
When I worked at a vinyl sign shop, we did that in around 1 hour with what you described, not including design/layout,print-out and fax for approval, misc office time, billing, etc. If it was a simple layout and a cutomer who wasn't to picky, the misc. can take about an hour or so as well and would sell for around $200-250.00. One time was rubuked for taking 3 hours because the customer was picky. You will get faster in time, though I learned to be fast after working at a production vinyl shop.

Rick
 

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Posted by Jean Shimp (Member # 198) on :
 
With a very simple logo that required minimal lay-out time, I would figure the job to take approx. 2 hours.
 

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Posted by Glenn S. Harris (Member # 2190) on :
 
In a high production vinyl shop I used to work at me & the production guy made 12 4'x20' 3 color on white banners in an 8hr day. We were rollin' that day.
 

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Posted by Mike Clayton Graphics (Member # 723) on :
 
You will get quicker, but like you said you are a newbie

Take your time, learn what you need to know, and it will come to you..

Good Luck!

MC
 

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Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
 
4 hrs. isn't really all that bad IMO. As you learn you can eliminate wasted motions, know when to slap 4 or 5 feet or more of lettering in one pc. w/o cutting into 2 or 3, apply dry to save time over wet, layout by eye w/ quick check of level & so on, but myself believe a $50/hr. shop rate is fair w/o looking to set speed records all the time. Save that for when a sudden deadline is looming on the horizon, or some good excuse to bail out early. Without knowing the complexity of the logos, I'd say start to finish... 2 hr is good enough, 3 acceptable for a fairly new employee or owner, so shave an hour off the next one & don't beat yourself up for it too bad.

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...including cutting, weeding, premasking, transferring, and finishing up? Working by myself...

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Re: apples to oranges, I don't believe for a minute that the twelve 4x12's were done in 8 hrs, unless some, if not all, of the cutting, weeding & taping was done by someone else. I've blazed through plenty a high speed production pace in my time & 40 minutes flat-out aint enuf time.
 

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Posted by Dave Draper (Member # 102) on :
 
The shop around the corner from us prints billboards and they have 4, 16 foot wide, ink jet printers. ( the ones that cost a cool $$ million)

By turning this project sidways, they could print a full full 15 foot banner in less than 20 minutes 36 wide, the cost at $3 per square foot, file ready to load, no set up. Yes, $45 bucks.

They will do it for beer money at the end of the day if its grouped with one of their larger projects....when they let the printers run all night.

I reveal no sources....hahahaha my secret!
 

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Posted by Sheila Ferrell (Member # 3741) on :
 
......As a one person shop the bottom line is really important to me an' I've had to learn to move as fast and as efficiently as possible to make a profit.....After it's all said an' done, subtract every dime it cost from the full amount they paid for the job. Then figure every hour/minute you spent on that job from the phone call an' faxes to the day they pick it up an' stand around an' shoot the bull. Divide the profit by the hours.....then, you get to decide if you CAN actually work faster or simply charge more for the job or if your satisfied with the hourly rate. (Also, I personally feel you should factor in if the job was actually enjoyable...if so, life is great! You get to do what you love for an excellent profit. Your a good employee to yourself: Give yourself a raise . Likewise factor in if the job was a real headache- bummer...if so, you should be compensated for your suffering: raise your hourly rate .)
 

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Posted by Carl Wood (Member # 1223) on :
 
Hey ditto what Sheila said - it do make a difference how ya feel about a job - money ain't always the most important factor - Is Selma closer to Birmingham or Montgomery? - Carl
 

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Posted by Ray Rheaume (Member # 3794) on :
 
Dylan,

That one took 4 hours. That's what it took YOU.

There's really no right or wrong amount of time as long as you make your deadline and show a worthwhile profit at the end of the day for the work. With experience, you'll find yourself going a little faster with each job.

We all have our pace where we feel most comfortable and productive.
Being new to the sign biz, you might tend to worry about the "speed" you're at compared to other, more experienced, shops. It just takes a while to get the hang of things.

The trick is to know when you're pushing it out too fast. It tends to make mistakes more frequent, the quality can drop and you won't enjoy it as much.

Ask me how I know...
Rapid

By the way, welcome to Letterville!
 

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Posted by Rick Sacks (Member # 379) on :
 
What can you do to make the layout more intriguing?
What can you do to give the community that this banner will be displayed in a more attractive product? Please, do the world a favor and seek to better this place with your work rather than focus on what you can get how fast. Speed will come.

[ September 27, 2003, 08:35 AM: Message edited by: Rick Sacks ]
 

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