number plate making equipment set up advice needed

[Chris Wool]

a couple of company’s sell a oki laser based system but depends how far you stray form legal.

apart from that i will go and fetch the pop corn and a couple of tins 😉

[Ian Pople]

Be careful as show plates are illegal.

Anything that looks like a number plate must be a number plate (even names for doors) this is what I have been told by the DVLA and should have the supporting docs.

We use the oki for plates and works well.

Ian

Try NPS ltd

number plates Scotland we get our blanks off them.

[Daniel Warren]

Some plates I have come with sticky reflective vinyl already applied. You can print onto clear (reverse) and then lay on top.

You can also get blanks with non sticky reflective vinyl already applied.

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

Thanks guys I know about the legal side, the order I have is for cars in an exhibition and not on te road, in fact they won’t even have registrations on, they will have driver names.

I just really need to know what equipment I need to make them. I have 3 laser printers now so I guess just the blanks and a jig?

Cheers
Mo

[Daniel Warren]

Do you need them to be reflective then?

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

Not really but I may take this opportunity to start producing road legal number plates so I’m leaving options open.

[Neil Davey]

I guess you know you need to register with the DVLA to be able to purchase the blanks?

If these are not going to be number plates why not just get clear acrylic cut to size and go from there.

[Kevin Flowers]

Mo
speak to Tennants UK http://www.tennantsuk.com/main-contact.php they do an LG System & the Minolta system. I have used both systems and the Minolta is better deeper colours etc. If you are going to use an existing printer ensure it will handle the film with out melting it.

Kev

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

quote Kevin Flowers:

Mo
speak to Tennants UK http://www.tennantsuk.com/main-contact.php they do an LG System & the Minolta system. I have used both systems and the Minolta is better deeper colours etc. If you are going to use an existing printer ensure it will handle the film with out melting it.

Kev

Thanks Kev, that’s exactly what I needed to know

mo

[Ian Pople]

graphtype sell the blanks just noticed at the back of mag.

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

quote Ian Pople:

graphtype sell the blanks just noticed at the back of mag.

cheers ian

[TonyMoore]

I used to do a lot of show plates but became to much hassle.
below find a link to the supplier i used to use, they should be able to tell you everyhing you need to know.

If you are interested i still have my plate roller (used to apply vinyl to acrylic) for sale.
I am looking for £40 for it and carriage at cost

I used to do miny on a gerber edge which is ideal, but if its just for show i would print to clear, reverse apply and back with reflective which you can buy of the shelf.

word of caution, there are two types of blank, with adhesive and without, i found the one with adhesive was a nightmare for bubbles, and when i got them from other suppliers they would come covered in dust and fluf so no good.

Anyway have fun

:police: Please take a moment to look over our Board Rules.

[TonyMoore]

OOPS sorry

[Craig Ross]

Hi Mo.

You will need to register with the DVLA if your selling number plates which are name plaques or number plates. £40 registration and can take up to 6 weeks to process.

No number plate supplier should sell you the components unless you have a DVLA Registration Number as they are breaking the law in DVLA’s eyes.

Also it depends if you plan on selling dfifferent sized plates or just standard car number plate size 520mm x 111mm as this will affect which printer and method you go down…

I am registered, if you have any additional questions or require help Mo I am always just a PM away. 🙂

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

quote Craig Ross:

Hi Mo.

You will need to register with the DVLA if your selling number plates which are name plaques or number plates. £40 registration and can take up to 6 weeks to process.

No number plate supplier should sell you the components unless you have a DVLA Registration Number as they are breaking the law in DVLA’s eyes.

Also it depends if you plan on selling dfifferent sized plates or just standard car number plate size 520mm x 111mm as this will affect which printer and method you go down…

I am registered, if you have any additional questions or require help Mo I am always just a PM away. 🙂

Errr thanks for the advice Craig, but maybe read the whole thread first 😉 eh? I’m fully aware of the legalities of the DVLA, these plates will be going no where near a public road, they are for show room display only, they wont even have numbers on and will probably be printed on pink or green reflective material…..

Not worried now about printer methods either, I bought some plates this week from a reputable supplier ( never even asked about licence ) printed on some reflective with my roland, covered it with an optically clear double sided adhesive and ran it through one of my regular laminators and Roberts yer Relative….. "Show Plate"……

Quoted on the order for 140 pairs, got the job, start next week,…

Thanks all for the help, just needed thinking out as I didn’t want to pay out for all that equipment just for a one off.

Mo

[Craig Ross]

I was only trying to help Mo. 🙂

If you can make them on the equipment you have then that’s perfect. I said it depends what sizes you will make as you can get 2nd hand Thermal number plate printers fair reasonably from certain suppliers.

Technically any supplier of number plate supplies should ask purchaser for their DVLA ID, yes admittedly half don’t but they should.

Sounds like you have got it sorted. If you get stuck, drop me a call. 🙂

If you were closer to where I am located now then I would of just lent you the equipment as its you.

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

Cheers Craig, sorry wasn’t being fartyy just avina poke..lol anyway after some research I found out that the DVLA law is thus:

"A number plate supplier is someone who supplies finished number plates that include the registration number of a vehicle registered with DVLA or DVA"

As i’m not supplying registration marks registered with the DVLA that makes me exempt, it also makes me exempt to suppliers of components as Im only purchasing clear number plates and not the whole set of components, so that covers them too…..

[Ian Pople]

Hi,

Just had a look at this again and I was told by the DVLA when the new law came in it was illegal to supply anything that looks like a number plate even for example a number plate with a name on it to put on a kids bedroom door.

Had a read through the following DVLA web info and now, confused dot com on if you are legally allowed to supply a number plate look alike i.e a show plate, as a kids bedroom door name plate, could be a show plate and if you supply a show plate with ESCORT on it is that illegal?

http://www.dft.gov.uk/dvla/forms/~/media/pdf/l … /V796.ashx

http://www.dvlni.gov.uk/vehicles/vehicl … 180608.pdf

Ian

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

quote Ian Pople:

Hi,

Just had a look at this again and I was told by the DVLA when the new law came in it was illegal to supply anything that looks like a number plate even for example a number plate with a name on it to put on a kids bedroom door.

Had a read through the following DVLA web info and now, confused dot com on if you are legally allowed to supply a number plate look alike i.e a show plate, as a kids bedroom door name plate, could be a show plate and if you supply a show plate with ESCORT on it is that illegal?

http://www.dft.gov.uk/dvla/forms/~/media/pdf/l … /V796.ashx

http://www.dvlni.gov.uk/vehicles/vehicl … 180608.pdf

Ian

Hi Ian, I thinkjit’s quite clear when it says

"A number plate supplier is someone who supplies finished number plates that include the
registration number of a vehicle registered with DVLA or DVA"

So if it’s not a registered number at DVLA it’s ok to make it and sell it, as long as you are not selling it as a car plate, it’s just an acrylic sign. If your not supplying finished number plates with a registration mark held at dva or dvla, then your exempt from getting a licence…..

HOWEVER: If you supply a plate that is for off road purposes ie shows, that has the registration mark of that vehicle, then it must be compliant, and you must have a licence. So If I make a plate for someone with a pink background and with their registration number on it in say IMPACT font, then I’m breaking the law even if I have a licence.

Hope this makes it a bit clearer for you

Mo

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

Ok… just a follow on to my original post… We are now making these.. Here is where I got the equipment http://www.lgplates.co.uk/ and everything we needed to get going… cost me less than £600 to get set up (including the printer) …. covered my complete set up costs in the first 2 months and after 6 month of selling its increased turnover by approximately 8k a year….. Nice little profit center if you ask me……

Oh and thats on the 3part system too!

I seriously recommend doing this. Just a pointer, we are not high street but I have a nice little outlet set up at the local petrol station and we do see quite a few caravaners during the summer period… BUT on the flip side.. I’m in a teeny tiny village in kent so there is probably bigger benefits to better located businesses.

I did do a LOT of research first tho… good investment/return ration on this… Teeny tiny investment and decent "noticeable" increase in turnover! (profit margins really good too!)

That’s just on number plates….. major benefit number 2…. The system I got is big enough to produce decent sized (A3) acrylic signs too… and very very FAST!…. did really well over xmas (there’s a first eh?) selling acrylic fronted photos…… NICE! double whammy… kept me safe from the seasonal downies!

[Martin Pearson]

Not sure what sort of profit margin your working on Mo but I stopped making number plates a good few years ago now when some of the local motor factors set up selling them to the local garages for pennies. Money they were charging for a plate or a set of plates didn’t make it worthwhile for me anymore especially when the garage would phone up & place the order for a number plate along with the order for brake pads or what ever else the car needed & they were all delivered a couple of hours latter.

[Nick Eccles]

I’m glad this topic as just resurfaced, we are located in a busy trading estate with lots of small garages and MoT testers around and have been asked many times about Numbers plates so was just researching.

Thanks for your feedback Mo :thumbup2: it has really helped us, I had been looking at Tennants so will talk to LG as well – we already have an OKI C821 A3 Laser Printed (from The Magic Touch) that is capable of printing to film so hopefully can save some start-up costs.

Cheers,

Nick.

[Denise Goodfellow]

Doesn`t anyone get any returns using this system??

We see loads of 12-24 month old cars with bad plates……. the film seems to lift and wrinkle..

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

quote Martin:

Not sure what sort of profit margin your working on Mo but I stopped making number plates a good few years ago now when some of the local motor factors set up selling them to the local garages for pennies. Money they were charging for a plate or a set of plates didn’t make it worthwhile for me anymore especially when the garage would phone up & place the order for a number plate along with the order for brake pads or what ever else the car needed & they were all delivered a couple of hours latter.

II think its about what your market can bear Martin… obviously your the other end of the country to me so not sure what the situation is up there, we get £10 per plate here and £18 for a full set including fixings (£20 if we fit it). Having said that, its a very affluent area just outside of London.

We are more expensive than Halfords, but a lot of it is emergency work. The garage is only round the corner so when they get an order they ring it through before they start doing the paperwork we make them and take them round…. so its pretty good. If they want fitting they come round to us and we fit for them…. garage mark it up by a bit too…

Not had any returns yet.. but only been 6 months

[Martin Pearson]

Mo one of the motor factoring Companies up here are quite big & supply a lot of small garages, the garage phone in for a part & it’s delivered within a couple of hours. Not sure on the current price but a couple of years ago they were charging £4 a plate & £7 for a set & that’s delivered the same day.
OK they don’t supply the public so maybe if I had marketed it better I could still have picked up some work but the unit was on an industrial estate so no or next to no passing trade. I have said countless times that I am not the best businessman in the world so could easily have been down to me rather than anything else.

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

quote Martin:

Mo one of the motor factoring Companies up here are quite big & supply a lot of small garages, the garage phone in for a part & it’s delivered within a couple of hours. Not sure on the current price but a couple of years ago they were charging £4 a plate & £7 for a set & that’s delivered the same day.
OK they don’t supply the public so maybe if I had marketed it better I could still have picked up some work but the unit was on an industrial estate so no or next to no passing trade. I have said countless times that I am not the best businessman in the world so could easily have been down to me rather than anything else.

Thats ok Martin…. well have a go mate, your a sign maker, make some signs up, stick em out and see what comes back.. Put something up in your reception area. I think if we are all honest, these can be done on our normal machines all you really need are the components and software (software because its just damn easier and saves loads of time.. my mrs odes that bit)…

You know what happens when you don’t take a chance or risk?…………….

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!……….. 😀

[Martin Pearson]

No risk involved Mo, still registered & have the gear to do it so absolutely no outlay what so ever but not really working anymore so not much point really. I only made the post because like a lot of other things where you are located & what other businesses are about seem to make so much difference to what people can actually sell & to who.

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

quote Martin:

No risk involved Mo, still registered & have the gear to do it so absolutely no outlay what so ever but not really working anymore so not much point really. I only made the post because like a lot of other things where you are located & what other businesses are about seem to make so much difference to what people can actually sell & to who.

Whilst I agree partly, in experience I have found that its not always the case. I have traded on ebay for many years with products that are "identical" to other products listed (this is just an example) my wife sells new clothing she never pitches herself lower than other traders but never in the highest bracket (but close) even though there is sometimes over a 30% difference in price between hers and lower priced products that are exactly the same, she still sells them.

Figure that one!

I agree regional location may define what you can set as a maximum price, but one shouldn’t feel that you have to beat everyone on price to get business. I doubled my priced on some products last year and sold less but made more money and I certainly wasn’t the cheapest around, not by a long shot.

Lets not be governed by competition lowering prices, set your price… and some will buy some wont.. Don’t create a buyers market, maintain a sellers market..

If anyone struggles with marketing I’m always happy to help… I stopped advertising completely 18 months ago and rely solely on online sales and word of mouth and networking… I have more work than I can handle and my turnover is increasing year on year. I don’t need to take work on that I don’t like or don’t want to do..

I don’t like being up a ladder outside with a drill….. so I don’t do shop fronts.. I’m happy to produce the signage… but I pass the fitting to someone else.

If anyone needs help please drop me a line… For me the recession, or economic downturn, whatever we like to call it is creating a myriad of opportunities for us as sign makers, its important that we embrace change and adapt to the market forces…

Maybe this is for another topic… sorry lol… I will save it for another time.. but all im saying is… forget what everyone else is doing… do your own thing, you will be quite surprised!

Chin up peoples, we are only limited by the limits we set ourselves! He who dares Rodney, he who dares!

[Nick Eccles]

Mo, thanks for these posts, I’ve been in contact with LG after reading this today, extremely helpful and they are sending through a sample to see if I can print on my OKI C821 (TMT) printer to save me buying another.

Unlike another supplier of similar set up that just told me "that won’t work, you’ll need our printer and laptop pre-loaded with our special software" !!!

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

quote Nick.Eccles:

Mo, thanks for these posts, I’ve been in contact with LG after reading this today, extremely helpful and they are sending through a sample to see if I can print on my OKI C821 (TMT) printer to save me buying another.

Unlike another supplier of similar set up that just told me “that won’t work, you’ll need our printer and laptop pre-loaded with our special software” !!!

Rock n Roll Nick….. as far as i can see, for the set up price…it’s win win… especially considering the production price.. My wife does all the numberplates in reception so I dont even have to get up to earn a relatively small amount.. Even the lasses at Halfords can do it…lol

I dont charge extra for different letter types like halfords do, last set i bought from halfords, by the time i had chosen type face (carbon) and type of plates and fixings blah blah blah.. they ended up being nearly £30…… but there is absolutely no additional costs in production for anything I had.. they even charged me an extra £1.75 per plate for the addition of the coach line lol…..

go make some money……. 😎

[Nick Eccles]

My thoughts exactly, just been talking to the guys that run the garage next door to me and based on what they were paying and what I can produce them for just got my first trade customerfor them !

[Mark Doyle]

Delete

[Nick Eccles]

As far as the DVLA are concerned:

"Can I sell legal plates for a car but without checking identification documents?" – Obviously you could but you would be in breach of the DVLA license conditions and breaking the law

"Or can you sell legal plates that are sold as show plates?" Legally no, any plate which has a Registration Mark on has to comply with the Law.

This is quite a helpful document: Display of Registration Marks and Register for Supply of Reg Plates

I don’t know if the rules are any different for "DVA Northern Ireland", but I would doubt it.

Also beware we were audited by DVLA within 3 month of starting and they are putting a lot of effort into on-line retailers of Number plates and doing random check/secret shopper to test procedures regarding supply of documentation – However there are only 4/5 of the DVLA Auditors/Inspectors !!

[Mark Doyle]

Delete

[Adam McGuire]

From correspondence I’ve had with the DVLA, if it has a registration on it, it must be in the correct font and spacing AND be backed up by relevant documentation. If a "show" plate is required, it cannot have a registration on it, it must be something else.

The term "show plate" has two meaning depending on the customer you’re dealing with. One customer will literally want their club name / design on and maybe a forum username etc. The other customer will want dodgy spacing, pictures, altered fonts and non standard / smaller fonts and or plates. I think the latter is what is being cracked down on. The former is never going to be used on the road.

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

You cant produce anything on a numberplate or anything that looks like a numberplate, except a numberplate.

No matter how you describe it, even as a door plaque, room sign etc etc. If it’s the same dimentions and colour as a numberplate you cant sell it unless you have a licence.

Whatever people are doing on well known auction sites, if they dont have a liscence they cant make numberplates, if they dont have a licence they cant sell any product that looks like a nunberplate in any form.

If they are then they could be liable for prosecution. I would seriously start reporting listings of this type. I tried to sell a paintball gun once, and had my listing removed and my account suspended pending an investigation.

When I did a search on ebay, there was about 10 paintball guns listed… I reported the lot and they got taken down instantly.

Unless we stand united about these numpties trying to make some pocket money as a sideline we will never stop them…

My advice for what it’s worth, if your thinking of this as a stand alone business? I wouldn’t waste your money unless you can sell about 100 plates a week. Even then you would be lucky to make any more than a few hundred quid.

We offer it as a drop in service, basically a loss leader, it brings fresh blood in. Having said that, we probably shift about 50 sets a month..