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Vinyl : Graphics in space next ?
A very basic, simple job.
We’ve been asked to add a name to an existing directory board. Now we’ve seen ‘National’, ‘UK’, and even ‘International’ ….. but now we’re going Galactic !!
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11 Replies
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:lol1:
Just out of interest. How do you go about pricing for such a small job? Is it done as more of a favour for an existing customer while you had 5 minutes?
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Daniel, I’ve recently implemented a minimum order charge… Depending on the customer obviusly.
What might take 5 mins never does! The initial call or discussion with the customer, sorting artwork, loading machine, cuttinb, weeding, taping, then calling customer to tell them its done, raise invoice… Then remember what were doing and pick it up again
I found it filters out small jobs from time wasters.
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My older brother is booked on the Galactic flight. wouldnt be me i can tell you!
as for the job being small, no real money?
different if you have a specific font, colour etc… so then yeh you need to charge accordingly.
but if someone comes in asking for their name, red, 1 inch. then they are given it… if yo are dead, run it while they wait. if your in middle of something, come back in 20 minutes…minimum charge £10 for anything…
dont accept anything bar cash up to say £50, where a card can then be used..
small jobs like this can earn you decent money, just grab scrap out your vinyl bin and cut it. your now making money from your waste.
this is run of the mill cheap as chips stuff.no design work
no specifications other than height of text
you could have 10 fonts on the wall to choose from.
half a dozen small cuttings of vinyl you keep in stock for colour reference.
come back in 5 and you have your sale. -
Exactly rob.
If they pull their face at £10 they can go elsewhere.
My experience is that some of the smaller jobs can be more problematic. Usually a colour I don’t have, or obscure font… Artwork supplied in word.
Some good suggestions there rob to simplify things.
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we are based in a town centre, but still in a small industrial estate.
we get allot of passing trade. culprits of the above is taxi drivers.
if its not their name and number along the tops of their door nice and small, its their kids names or even taxi number on rear window.i have no problem asking them for a set minimum fee.. if and when they gripe i remind them they have a set fee already set when i jump in their taxi.
as for haggling you down…
same applies, whether its a curry house, a taxi driver or whatever…
simply joke and say, if i bought a chicken curry from you tonight and while handing it over you say "£10 please"
my reply is… "come on, ill give you £7?"
what would you say???? 😉same applies for taxi drivers, plumbers, electricians and all others. call out charges, high hourly rates and more…
If you are a good sign maker, designer and installer/fitter… charge your worth and dont be badgered into dropping your prices.
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Great advice.
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Would’ve gone comic sans or papyrus for a font, but thats just me..
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And another thing! They also expect the artwork to be free!
Neill -
This is certainly something that would have a minimum charge.
With this it’s certainly not just a case of ‘cutting a line of text’ as i’m sure we’re all aware of. We’ve had to send someone into Central London to firstly survey the sign to match the font/vinyl etc. Then match the font in the Studio (Courtesy of UKSB). Then create artwork, cut & weed, then send someone back into Central London to fit …… including paying congestion charges etc.
The font used was to match the existing directory, we had no say over that.
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quote Adrian Neill:This is certainly something that would have a minimum charge.
The font used was to match the existing directory, we had no say over that.I demand that you go directly to Branson with my recommendations 😛
And damn, now I have to adjust my space trade pricelist(retail still stands) to account for competition..Edit: and also it’s awesome where some signage jobs can take you.
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quote Robert Lambie:My older brother is booked on the Galactic flight. wouldnt be me i can tell you!
as for the job being small, no real money?
different if you have a specific font, colour etc… so then yeh you need to charge accordingly.
but if someone comes in asking for their name, red, 1 inch. then they are given it… if yo are dead, run it while they wait. if your in middle of something, come back in 20 minutes…minimum charge £10 for anything…
dont accept anything bar cash up to say £50, where a card can then be used..
small jobs like this can earn you decent money, just grab scrap out your vinyl bin and cut it. your now making money from your waste.
this is run of the mill cheap as chips stuff.no design work
no specifications other than height of text
you could have 10 fonts on the wall to choose from.
half a dozen small cuttings of vinyl you keep in stock for colour reference.
come back in 5 and you have your sale.Some great advice there Rob, much appreciated.
The amount of friends etc that have said to me ‘Run me off this will you’ (pointing to a particularly small area of a large piece). Thinking I can practically just send it straight to a plotter with a few clicks and no involvement and not have to see what font it is and trace etc is unreal.
I’ve done a couple of run of the mill bits recently that really were simple and encouraging. For sale stickers for a vehicle, and a horse name for a trailer. Weren’t at all bothered what font it was. Even colour was freedom of choice.
It’s good to see that some aren’t afraid to educate the customer and show exactly why things come out at a certain price.
I must admit, some small things that have come my way I have actually said ‘Look, it’s really not going to be worth me doing and will end up costing more that you are likely to want to pay’ for fear of upsetting someone by quoting say £10 for a 6" logo. I suppose now I can at least say this is what it will cost, and then explain why when they question it.
I really need to get into this and perhaps try and capture more jobs like this before I throw the towel in.
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