whats the best way to apply large graphics?

[Robert Lambie]

hi martin
is the print all in one peice?
in the time that i have to make this post, i would advise nailing the banners to a table, pulled tight. if you dont have a table big enough you could lay sheets of plywood on the floor and pin it with nails or screws to them.

remember knee-pads 😉

im probably stating the obvious & there is reason, but could you not have got the banner printed rather than vinyl then to banner?

[Martin Pearson]

Yes Robert the prints are all in one piece, why not printed banners ? Because the guy is using them for a special promotion and then wants to use just the banner material to cover the scaffold after the event. So the graphics will be getting removed. They will only be on for a short time but I thought I’d better use banner vinyl as they will get taken down and put back up a few times.

[Nigel Fraser]

ooooh not a nice job, hope you havn’t got the job to take that much banner vinyl off Martin 😉
Couldn’t he just have turned them over and used the back ?

Nigel

[Steve Lamb]

Martin

Have you had the vinyl printed yet?
If not, as Nigel mentioned its going to be a pain removing that much vinyl from a banner.
The time spent in labour on this job will be considerable and if the printed vinyl leaves glue behind then you have a further headache.

Would it not be best just to sell the customer extra blank banners for the cover up job?

If this job has been already printed but the banners not made up, then another option may be to apply the graphics through a laminator.

Good Luck

[Joe McNamara]

I may be wrong, Martin, but this seems like a customer who thinks the “cheapest” way to get this job done is to get a reusable banner.
You need to be firm and TELL him how it’s going to be done.
Option 1: Reusable banner with vinyl, labour, etc. etc. 750 quid -tel them about the LABOUR COST of this job….most other tradesmen aren’t afraid of their labour costs, just look at plasterers – 40 quids worth of plaster= 800 quids worth of plastering – I think we look at our material costs too carefully sometimes and then don’t charge for our time enough.
Option 2: Printed banner 350 quid and further banners at 350 quid each time…you buy em in at 120 and go and stick em up in an hour.
These are not actual prices but just to illustrate the point.
Cheers
Joe

[Simon Clayton]

I with Joe on this…
A customer wanted the date changed on a banner, charged her £65.00
When she picked it up, she told me her usual sign man only charged £70.00 for the whole sign, I then had to explain about all the labour involved removing old vinyl and glue, and maybe next time her sign man would be able to do it cheaper. 🙄

[Martin Pearson]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, it has to be done like this because the customer is not paying for the job, someone else is. He wants the graphics stuck on so they can be removed after the promotion and he has a brand new set of covers for his scaffold.
I’m not going to remove it he can do that himself !!!

[Robert Lambie]

Hi martin
Well, having read the other replies & then yours. I guess you are stuck with applying this to the banner mate.
I would suggest cutting the vinyl into 3, leaving you 3 @ 2m x 2m
Apply it wet or dry, whatever you feel best suits you! I would do it dry, but that’s just me.
I would suggest doing it on the floor, lay 3 8×4 sheets of ply on the ground and pull it tight pinning the eyelets down to the wood. Once the first 2 tiles are down, move it along & complete the 3rd.

If I was doing it and doing it dry, I would tack the width down at the start. Have someone holding the other end taught & making sure it is running straight, and as you work towards them applying it with a “felt” squeegee. The person starts to pull more app tape away from underneath you, as you get closer.

The reason I say cut it. Is because if it does start to run it is much harder to cut a print up straight on a banner as it before hand. Remember, if you try cutting it quick when in bother. You could end up slitting the banner. Unless using scissors of course but that’s even harder to get a straight, quick cut.

hope this helps mate. best of luck