can anyone recommend equipment for a newcomer?

[Michael Kalisperas]

Just search the net for a used roland Sp300 print and cut all in one machine seen them go under £4k 😉

[Simon Williams]

quote Michael kalispera:

Just search the net for a used roland Sp300 print and cut all in one machine seen them go under £4k 😉

hi
thanks for the advise, ill have a look but i prefer to stick to new equipment and have a decent onsite warrenty with it..

so do you think the above kit i mentioned is suitable for the job ?

thanks

[Martin Pearson]

Not sure why you have decided on that make and model printer but just remember that consumables are generally more expensive for dye & pigment ink due to the fact that the madia needs to be coated so it’s receptive to the ink. This also limits the types of media you can print on and the number of suppliers as not everyone stocks it.
If it were me setting up a new business I would be looking at a solvent printer as I wouldn’t want to restrict myself to indoor graphics. Will only be a matter of time before people start asking you for stuff that you can’t really produce in-house.

Sorry can’t help with any of the questions as I am not familiar with either the plotters or the printer.

[Simon Williams]

quote Martin:

Not sure why you have decided on that make and model printer but just remember that consumables are generally more expensive for dye & pigment ink due to the fact that the madia needs to be coated so it’s receptive to the ink. This also limits the types of media you can print on and the number of suppliers as not everyone stocks it.
If it were me setting up a new business I would be looking at a solvent printer as I wouldn’t want to restrict myself to indoor graphics. Will only be a matter of time before people start asking you for stuff that you can’t really produce in-house.

Sorry can’t help with any of the questions as I am not familiar with either the plotters or the printer.

hi martin
thanks for the response and advice..

could you recommend a solvent printer alternative to the epson pro 3880 ??
ive not looked at solvent printers so wouldnt have a clue where to start…

thanks for your time

edit: i think solvent printers are out of our starting price range… having had a quick look.

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

I would definitely recommend a solvent print/cut machine. I started with an epson 7880pro but mostly for doing photo printing and canvas printing.

We added a Roland sp300i and then later a larger one for solvent printing, it was the only way to go really. The pigment inks fade quite quickly, we coat all our canvases with a liquid laminate after printing to preserve the colours, obviously with vinyl based products you can get an overlaminate too, but this will generally require a laminating machine.

It can’t be done on the cheap if your really serious about providing a decent product and service.

Just my thought’s and experience, your bound to get lots more advice and from more experienced people than myself too….

[Simon Williams]

quote Mo Gillis-Coates:

I would definitely recommend a solvent print/cut machine. I started with an epson 7880pro but mostly for doing photo printing and canvas printing.

We added a Roland sp300i and then later a larger one for solvent printing, it was the only way to go really. The pigment inks fade quite quickly, we coat all our canvases with a liquid laminate after printing to preserve the colours, obviously with vinyl based products you can get an overlaminate too, but this will generally require a laminating machine.

It can’t be done on the cheap if your really serious about providing a decent product and service.

Just my thought’s and experience, your bound to get lots more advice and from more experienced people than myself too….

hi
thanks for the advice and we would love to get that machine as its one we had seen but we just cant afford it at the current time.

we are hoping to upgrade to something like that in the future.. hopefully..

so getting back to my original questions, would the equipment mentioned in my original post surfice for what we want to do ie. internal wall decals ??

[Peter Mindham]

Simon,
I think the answer has already been given to you. The considered opinion of those that have posted is that you cannot do an acceptable job with the equipment you have suggested. Solvent print is the only way to go. There is no cheap way to produce quality.

I am in this business and I can assure you that you will not be able to compete on price or quality by using the equipment you propose.

If new is out of your budget, you can find used kit with warranty from any of the suppliers listed on this forum. Additionally, they will sell you a service contract which will cover any breakdowns you are likely to experience. Failing that, you could find a local printer who could print your work for you until you can afford a new machine.
As a footnote, if you are thinking you can make a living just selling wall decals, you might be in for a surprise. You will need to augment your income with other work. This fact just supports the choice of a solvent cut and print machine over any other.

Good Luck in your business venture.

Peter

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

@ Peter

Hi Pete, I agree with pretty much everything you say, but I don’t think we could confidently say that an income can’t be made just from providing wall decals. Some people just want to follow a niche market, and having done an extreme amount of research in to that market in particular, I think there is definitely mileage for running a business just based on that product.

I identified at least 2 companies turning over in excess of £5k per month on some well known auction sites just on wall vinyl.

I think that if someone concentrates solely on one product then they have the potential to run a business around that product. In some ways I would prefer to run like that as it would mean having to wear fewer hats and you could concentrate on the quality and sales of that one product. It is possible.

I started from my office at home just doing canvas prints and photo prints on a 24inch epson printer it’s possible, but given the product that Simon wants to produce, and if indeed he is looking to work in that niche market, he needs to produce an exceptional product, and like you say, given that I don’t think the choice of equipment will be able to support the product.

[Peter Mindham]

Yes I agree with you also. Perhaps my comment was a bit general. I know from experience however that it is difficult to compete with some of the auction site vendors as they use cheap materials and cut corners. Unfortunately for the coinsumer it is too late when they have spent the money and received inferior goods. I know we meet that challenge in all businesses, but I feel to do it right, the investment is needed and it can be a long slog to make a profit. I do accept it can be done of course.

I wish I was making 5k a month on my sales of wall art however!

Peter

[Andrew Martin]

@Mo

With all the cheap vinyl wall art, canvas prints and banners etc on fleabay auction sites I find it hard to believe that excess of £5k per Month can be had, everything is so cheap there with people just trying to be competitive with others, some even offer free postage !! you would have to be working 24/7 just to make ends meet.

Back to Simons original post.. IF you can get printable vinyl for the Epson 3880 it may be possible to do internal wall decals but I was under the impression that this printer is aimed at printing photo paper only.

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

quote Andrew Martin:

@Mo

With all the cheap vinyl wall art, canvas prints and banners etc on fleabay auction sites I find it hard to believe that excess of £5k per Month can be had, everything is so cheap there with people just trying to be competitive with others, some even offer free postage !! you would have to be working 24/7 just to make ends meet.

This is information I have had from a research tool that I use and it’s definitely legit, if you think about the size of the potential customer base, I actually think it’s possible to be much higher. Also they where not cheap. I have stuff on there, and it’s not cheap, as an example I sell tshirts via ebay for £15-£20 each, and I sell quite a lot because I have a niche market.

Just because some things can be bought cheap on ebay doesn’t mean you HAVE to sell cheap to compete. Some of my items are twice the price of my competitors, but I still sell them!

[Andrew Martin]

I guess when you say niche market you mean exclusive t-shirt designs, thats slighty different if your the only source.

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

Well I wouldn’t classify "niche" as only source. There are a couple of competitors on there much cheaper than me. As another example I sell canvases for 3 times what others sell them for and I still sell them. Not everyone is looking for the cheapest……! AND I sell more from enquiries I get from those auctions than I do in the auctions itself……

I think this is probably getting off topic a bit…sorry 😳 Probably worth a completely different topic. I have been an ebay trader for years and I think that there are a lot of misconceptions about the site… which is good, because it means more sales for me 😀

[Simon Williams]

thanks guys for all the posts, given me stuff to think about for the future

ive ordered the equipment i mentioned and ill post how i go on so that others may get an idea if im sucessfull or not.

i actually know someone who sells wall decals on ebay, thats all he sells, just plain colour vinyl wall stickers and he clears £6k a month before costs so not to bad.. and he only uses 2 vinyl cutters really and doesnt do any printing vinyl work. A lot of it is down to the fact he carries a lot of designs and his ebay shop looks very professional, and he has nearly a 100% feedback over 4000 transactions !!!

we wanted to incorporate printed elements into the wall designs to give them a bit of an edge sale wise so ill let you know how i get on..

ive found appropriate media for the printing side of things here –

http://www.colourbyte.co.uk/content/blo … /112/1674/

and it works out at £1.50 a meter so not to bad.

as for vinyl ill be using Ritrama 3-5yr 70 micron stuff for most of the stuff and ive found this @ £1.25 a meter – is this a good price ??

again thanks for all your input
simon