Full Colour Lorry Graphics – Going Rate?

[Robert Lambie]

if handed the artwork ready to go, sized etc about £4000+ (all depending on your location of course)

[Pryam Carter]

Cheers Rob. If there was numerous to do would you go in cheaper or would you stick to your guns at about £4000?

[J_J_O]

Could you specify that price (the calculation) Rob?

[Robert Lambie]

its very difficult mate, like many jobs miss interpreted on this site, there is more to it than just an idea of a quote. there are many scenarios of what i mean by this is.

how many guys will you have fitting as opposed to how many will i use.
how long will the fitting take you to what i have in mind?
how long will it take you to print is a big factor. what i mean is, lets say your using a versacamm, not only narrow media widths its a slower printing machine to what im using so much longer printing on slower machine so should reflect on the quote. then there is laminating etc

were i wouldn’t get anymore than £4000 up here, others say in the London area would get fair bit more?

although you are “promised” multiples of this job, price it as competitive as possible on the first one and keep all the rest the same.
on large fleets, very seldom do you get to do the lot! if its a dozen or so, then fine, you get the lot, but normally under customers conditions…
this is normally standing waiting on the truck arriving late at their depot, then it has to be cleaned and so on… hours wasted and you can do little about it as you have given the quote.
if you are getting them indoors and straight out a spray booth you have won a watch, but 9/10 times things go wrong. charge per vehicle competitively and keep it at that for the rest ide think. 😀

[Pryam Carter]

Cheers Rob. Made some good points there.
The promise of plenty lorries to be done is there from the customer.
It means travel and accomodation, being away from home for a week and so on.
I wouldn’t print it on the versacamm, having done the last one on the versacamm i found it took a long time to fit with the strips been 730mm. I would prefer to buy the print in at 1300-1400 wide and then the fitting will be far less. I’ve been given a good price by a trade supplier fro the print.
I’d love to get it for the experience and the possibility of more vehicles.
And the money!! 😀

[Robert Lambie]

another thing to think about is how many you will get done in a day, that being the case. if your on site first thing and the trucks are all prepped and inside. you should be able to get upto four done a day once you find your feet. the backs are the only real time consuming parts of it. i.e. cutting round the locking poles and hinges.
another thing, make sure you ahev a good sided catwalk and ste of tressles. makes life so much easier.
i have heard many times fitters charging by the day “fitting that is” so they look for a couple of hundred pound set fee for a shift. to me thats NOT the way to go, that is heavily under valuing your workmanship.
i mean, lets say they are upto speed and do 4 artic trucks in one day, whats the point? in that case, why not make it one a day and get £800 at end of week?
i guess many are happy with that sort of pricing system, but its not for me. 😕

[Peter Normington]

Rob and Billy
£200 a day is above average pay, = 1k for a 5day week.
if fitters can do it for this the way to go is to employ them and and make a bit on top.
Bricklayers put the bits together, and its an art, but the days are gone when the could get much more than £200, a day If you can get 800 then that equals £192,000 per year (48 weeks for 5 days)!
So if you have the work and doing it all the time, you would be getting more than Tony Blair!

Peter

[Robert Lambie]

it works for some i agree mate… but thats IF you have work like this coming in on a steady basis. for most, thats not the case.
if i priced the fitting of a truck at £200 and i managed 4 in the one day, i still want my £800 if i have a stack of them like billy is promised, then by the end of the week you have £4000 in labour fees.
i dont mean i want to sub it out and get onto something else. ill do the labour, but i want paid properly.
if im subbed to “fit only” med sprinter type vans with average coverage im looking for about £65-75 per van. so a 45ft artic lorry completely wraped ide think £200 each is not much at all to ask?

[Peter Normington]

No rob its not much to ask, but to fit a trailer you are looking at 2 people to do it for a start, if a fitting team can do four a day its a bonus, all considered 2 would be more realistic. and we all have to compete with the big boys, they either pay their own fitters an hourly rate or sub it out, anyway its unrealistic to say that anyone can charge £800 Per day for a person to fit, for 2 people yes maybe,, but dont want any one to think that it is easy money.

Simple maths 2 chaps on £20 per hour for 10 hours = £400 double it for your profit, = £800, still looks expensive to me!
I’m sure there are plenty that could compete for a lot less.

Peter

[Robert Lambie]

if i was fitting ide have at least one fitter with me. an aprentice if one spare.
52inch wide x 100inch drop panels fitted dry is not easy mate. even if fitted wet it still has to be done correct.
like i said to billy, the trucks should be priced “each” so if you get the job for one, no matter many you do in the one day, you should be paid that amount.

[Peter Normington]

Your average artic needs 80msq of print + art + fitting.
so work out your print an laminate costs add your estimated fitting charges, subed out or done yourself, then that is what you should quote, +gross profit
not being funny here but if you have to sub the printing for a large or multiple job, you are unlikely to compete with the firms that dont sub, or if they do, have the buying power to get it done a lot cheaper.

Wish you luck with the quote, hope you get the job, but always, always make sure you have complete control, what would happen if you subbed out the print and the client wasnt happy with the colour?

Worth a thought?
Peter

[Peter Normington]

Rob,
we are actually barking up the same tree here,
always make sure when quoting that you cover all circumstances and eventuallaties, or at least, give a detailed quote, so that if the client delays you in fitting, they pay extra. Quote by the day, hour, or tailer is not an issue, get your figures right and make a profit, thats what it’s about.

Peter