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Hi All, You all have been so helpful in the past it's time for me to ask the experts again. That would be you. I'm thinking of getting a printer/cutter. Which one would be the best for the money? I've got a one man shop so lets not get out of hand on the price. Thanks, Mark
-------------------- Mark La May H.B.W.T. Signs & Silk Screening N9205 US Highway 141 Crivitz, WI 54114 Posts: 28 | From: Crivitz, WI. | Registered: Jul 2000
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What do you need it to do? What does your market need?
There are a lot of printers out there. Don't know of any that are the best at everything. Some are better for wraps than others. I've never even been asked to do a wrap & have no interest in doing them anyway so a printer that is great for wraps & sucks for everything else would be worthless in my shop. See what I mean? Need to decide what you need in a printer before you can choose one.
-------------------- Chris Welker Wildfire Signs Indiana, Pa Posts: 4254 | From: Indiana, PA | Registered: Mar 2001
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Hi Chris, That' the thing, I'm not sure what all I need it to do. I know I would need it to do a long lasting truck layout. Digital pictures on signs ETC.
-------------------- Mark La May H.B.W.T. Signs & Silk Screening N9205 US Highway 141 Crivitz, WI 54114 Posts: 28 | From: Crivitz, WI. | Registered: Jul 2000
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My suggestion is to locate a wholesale service and purchase through them. I use Gregory.
As time goes by, you should be able to build your market. As you see patterns develop in your market, you'll have a better picture of what to buy.
I run a Gerber Edge and my market keeps it pretty busy. I don't have a wide format printer because I rarely ever get a call for it. What few I do is farmed out to Gregory, I mark it up and install.
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I agree with Glenn. I have a CJ 500 converted to Eco solvent. I hate it. When I'm doing full color stuff for boats I get them done on a Vutek or Scotchprinter.
-------------------- Felix Marcano PuertoRicoSigns.Com Luquillo, PR
Work hard, party like a tourist! Posts: 2274 | From: Luquillo, Puerto Rico, USA | Registered: Nov 2000
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Hi Glenn, how's things, Glen have you ever imagined that if you had a wide format that the demand would actually find you, that's what I'm finding, Don't think that you would'nt have a market for it, because it is there. I'm printing less on my Edge and more on my Versacam.
-------------------- "Keep Positive"
SIGNS1st. Neil Butler Paradise, NF Posts: 6277 | From: St. John's NF Canada | Registered: Mar 1999
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I needed to increase my production and just added a UV flatbed to cut down on labor. The SolJet still has a huge place for my printing needs. Its ideal for banners and contour cut graphics.
But...Unless you do have a ready market for digital printing, I would suggest you take Glenn's advice. I starting selling digital prints close to ten years ago by outsourcing to Gregory. ScotchPrints hold up very well for outdoor.
-------------------- Bob Stephens Skywatch Signs Zephyrhills, FL
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Hi All, Yah I know all about Gregory. That's where I have been getting my printing done for about 3 years. Before I got my cutter I used to get my vinyl lettering from them too. I still buy 90% of my vinyl from them.
-------------------- Mark La May H.B.W.T. Signs & Silk Screening N9205 US Highway 141 Crivitz, WI 54114 Posts: 28 | From: Crivitz, WI. | Registered: Jul 2000
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I have two competitors in town with wideformat printers. Both of them are struggling to keep them busy trying to do full color banners and partial vehicle wraps.
I chose to go a different route. The Edge compliments the screen printing side of our business better than a WF printer would.
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Hiya Mark, The best printer for your money is something that is going to make you money and it will have a short ROI (return on investment). So, it really depends on your business and the products you're already selling. If you're already selling wide format digital prints on a regular basis and making money on them, that may be where you want to go. Or, if you're doing a lot of smaller, multi-colored fleet graphics, an Edge may be a better solution. The biggest thing you have to remember is that the purchase of the printer may just be a small part of the equation. Once you own a printer, there is training/education, complementary equipment and inventory, maintenance and downtime, and perhaps a shop build-out. And these are just some of the things you must consider before you upgrade. If you don't think the process through from start to finish, you may discover that none of these options are right for you and you're stuck making payments on a very expensive boat anchor
Havin' fun,
Checkers
-------------------- a.k.a. Brian Born www.CheckersCustom.com Harrisburg, Pa Work Smart, Play Hard Posts: 3775 | From: Harrisburg, Pa. U.S.A. | Registered: Nov 1998
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Start promoting and selling the work now then watch your market trends to see where you should invest your money.
You can't sell it if you don't promote it, whether or not you have the equipment isn't even an issue.
I was at another local shop a couple weeks ago getting a price on a print and they had a customer they were discussing a job with. They were talking about stripes, vinyl and paint options for trucks with matching trailers. The customer owns a custom cabinet shop, HUGE HUGE market for that stuff here with all the homes, low end and high end, going up here.
Not once did digital printing come up during their conversation.
By the way, I was standing up, leaning against their VersaCamm which incidentally wasn't printing anything.
I couldn't resist. I peeped into the conversation and asked the customer "What about having large photographs of your installed cabinets printed and applied to your trucks and trailers? You could make your entire rig a rolling portfolio."
His eyes lit up like you would not believe! "You can do that?!" he exclaims. Well, of course he wouldn't know it can be done. No one around here is pushing full color printing. Nobody is pushing design to the limits.
That is why I'm getting a little more aggressive in the local market. If I can convince people of the benefits their businesses would receive and get them to let loose of the money for it, I could clean up in this town simply on design.
-------------------- "If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."
Mike Pipes stickerpimp.com Lake Havasu, AZ mike@stickerpimp.com Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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"If you don't think the process through from start to finish, you may discover that none of these options are right for you and you're stuck making payments on a very expensive boat anchor" How true that is! How many shops have some piece of originally expensive equipment being used as a coat rack.
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Yah Checkers , I hear that! The area I'm in is all recreational. The closes industry or city is about 70 miles away. Supper clubs, taverns, resorts & all sorts of toy stores. (Boats, ATVs, snowmobiles, etc.) The problem is better then half of the sign business still goes to the city. I'm thinking that the ability to do digital printing with out having to take the time to order it out would be a big help in keeping the orders up here.
-------------------- Mark La May H.B.W.T. Signs & Silk Screening N9205 US Highway 141 Crivitz, WI 54114 Posts: 28 | From: Crivitz, WI. | Registered: Jul 2000
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Called Gregory today, mention That I found out about them from the residents on Letterheads.com. And that Several members Had recommended them. Now I am just waiting for my catalog. Thanks Again Everybody Ray
-------------------- Ray Williams Key Advertising /Signs by Ray 301 Elberon Court Chesapeake Va. keyadvertising1@cox.net Posts: 26 | From: Chesapeake Va. | Registered: Jan 2004
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