posted
Steve, These are some "MUSE HAVE" items, Computer, printer and a scanner and corel draw At least a 24" plotter seperate fax line digital camera table saw, not a panel saw jig saw and maybe a used 14" band saw ladders and plank if you are planning on a 1 man show Pick up truck, expertly lettered of course good business cards good sign and regular hours
-------------------- John Arnott El Cajon CA 619 596-9989 signgraphics1@aol.com http://www.signgraphics1.com Posts: 1443 | From: El Cajon CA usa | Registered: Dec 1998
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posted
To determine what type of signs to focus on, I would study your competition, and find a niche. Chances are that there are lot of vinyl shops around, but maybe nobody doing sandblasted signs. Accordingly you can choose what equipment you will need. Good luck, and welcome here
posted
digital printing is another niche to consider. With your photo-restoration background working with rastor images will be something you will better be able to take advantage of.
If you were hand-lettering 20 years ago, it will be great that you will be able to offer that unique service, but with the limited 15K budget, I can guess you will want to start serving the immediate needs of your marketplace in a profitable manner. There are many talented hand lettering artists here, but I think as a new business you will probably get more demand for quick vinyl signs initially.
You could build up a reputation for whatever direction you want to specialize in, but providing the common vinyl signs may help pay the bills, unless you specifically want to steer clear of that type of work.
As a vinyl & digital printing one-man-show, I can say that I don't have a table saw or a panel saw, & I almost never get out my ladders. I spend most of my time in an air conditioned office designing & producing cut & printed vinyl graphics. I get a lot of my substrates cut by the vendors I buy them from, & I have saw horses, jigsaws, skillsaws & metal straightedges for the rest of the cutting.
posted
Thank you very much for all your input. This is just the type of help I was looking for.
I have given a lot of thought to this, and we only have 3 commercial shops within a thirty mile area. There are no hand letters or sandblasters in town.
The shops in town only have the ability to cut vinyl! No hand lettering, sandblasting or airbrushing, all their signs have solid color letters some with a little shading around the edges and that's it!
Over the years I have done a few lettering jobs, not enough to keep any speed and I think it would take awhile just to get back up to speed.
I have most of the wood working tools I will need, ladder's and a sign kit. I have an older pickup in great shape that can be dedicated to the shop and painted as needed. I also have enough computers, scanners, monitors and digital cameras to last a lifetime or at lest until the next upgrades come along!
I was thinking about getting the 24" Roland ColorCamm PRO and a good compressor for sandblasting and airbrushes.
These are the thing no shops in town have and I think it would fill a needed niche.
These are also things I can do right now. (Well, as soon as I buy the proper equipment that is.)
I just wanted to get your opinion and it seems that most of you are telling me I should go this direction.
Is the equipment I named the equipment you with get? Or is there something better or easier to use out there?
Thank you very much for your help.
Steve
-------------------- Steve Levitt Signs Of All Kinds Okeechobee, Fl. 34974 Posts: 64 | From: Okeechobee, Florida | Registered: May 2003
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posted
How about writing a real solid business plan and taking it to a bank. If not for a loan, than at least for a line of credit. Most businesses fail due to being underfunded.
I can send you mine if you want it.
Mark
-------------------- Mark Rogan The Great Barrington Sign Company 2 Stilwell Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230 mark@gbsignco.com
"Sometimes I think my head is so big because it is so full of fonts" Posts: 332 | From: Great Barrington, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
Steve, You will find differing opinions on the ColorCamm and this has been debated thouroughly here. In my personal experience it is not the machine to get, and most former Colorcamm users will agree. I think for now I would sub-out work digital work to someone with a Gerber Edge, Arizona/Scotchprint for vehicle graphics or try someone with a ColorCamm. Sub out your indoor stuff to anyone with a inkjet and half a brain to color match. I think with your experience a good plotter (Graphtec or Summa) Hand Painting supplies, and woodworking tools for sandblasted signs is a good start, then grow from there. You can always get the digital stuff as you grow. Start with what you know, build from there. I think if you market yourself right, you will have more fun doing quality hand painted signs and sandblasted dimensional signs than printing it out. And with subbing it out, you can keep your money on your experience.
Rick
-------------------- Rick Chavez Hemet, CA Posts: 1540 | From: Hemet,CA U.S.A. | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
Everyone has been just great here! Now with plenty of things to think about and Mark sending me a copy of a great business plan I guess my next step is to really figure out what equipment I just really have to have to get started
Rick, your idea about subbing out the digital work sounds very intriguing but there are no shops close that have the ability or the equipment to do the work. (That's the void I am thinking about filling.) To sub out the jobs I would need to send them out of town and I’m not real sure about the turn around times.
I do plan on sandblasting and hand lettering, but being away from lettering for 20 years? I can see needing a vinyl cutter/ pounce capable machine would be a necessity.
Is there that much difference between the ColorCamm POR and the Gerber Edge? "Arizona/Scotchprint for vehicle graphics?" I have never heard of this. Can you explain please?
Once more, Thanks everyone, you're a huge help.
Steve
-------------------- Steve Levitt Signs Of All Kinds Okeechobee, Fl. 34974 Posts: 64 | From: Okeechobee, Florida | Registered: May 2003
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posted
try out the "search" feature on this board, & in short order you will have more reading on the roland/gerber debate then you could consume in a day. I am on the Gerber side of the fence (I've owned both like many Gerber fans, but unlike many roland fans)
posted
For Subbing, you might try someone here or a mail order vendor Gregory (http://www.gregory1.com) coming to mind, but there are others with low wholesale pricing and fast turn around. The ColorCamm plain and simple does not deliver a quality print and durability of the Edge. Plus the cost of making a print per square foot makes it difficult to charge enough, cutting into profits. The only thing that is attractive about the Color Camm is obviously, the price. The Arizona or Scotchprint machines are way out of most people range 50k-150k but I mentioned it because there are mail order and possibly local (non sign shop) vendors that will do it for you. When it comes to digital, it's good to ask yourself, with a technology that is ever progressing, how will you stay on top of it by getting cheap, sub-par equipment like the Color Camm and over extending yourself on just the one technology for your shop, when there are so many other thing you can do.
Rick
-------------------- Rick Chavez Hemet, CA Posts: 1540 | From: Hemet,CA U.S.A. | Registered: Jun 2001
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