[KevinGaffney]

I too have noticed that over the years while holidaying in Portugal, Spain and Majorca. Little or no stand out jobs you would stop to admire. Florida had some good stuff though. Dont know the reason to be honest

[KevinGaffney]

Went last year and wasnt bowled over so gave it a miss this year. Not sure how relevant these shows are anymore. If youre serious about buying equipment, its all available on the net anyway, videos and reviews. Many longer established outfits like ourselves probably have all the equipment we need and Im certainly past the must have the latest fancy kit age

[KevinGaffney]

quote Jean Oakley:

Well after TEN weeks of chasing by phone and email, After “Holidays” Funerals x 2″ and other excuses i threatened court. Amazed but they have paid me back. Im happy with the result but my god why not just pay it back straight away and not give yourselves such a bad name.

Did you get the one where the guy who manufactures the letters was out with a broken arm or leg or something ?

[KevinGaffney]

Its one of the down sides of the internet, chancers can appear as reputable on their websites. Thankfully there are forums like these where others can be warned.

[KevinGaffney]

quote Martyn Heath:

Hi guys. Found this van and was curious as to how the graphics were done.
I’m assuming all freehand with wrap cut? surely not precut what do you think

Freehand using cutting tape Id say. Nice job

[KevinGaffney]

quote Jean Oakley:

update

So theyve arrived. ordered
PDF 1 4 off
PDF 2 10 off
PDF3 10 off

Got
PDF 1 10 off
PDF 2 4 off
PDF 3 10 off

So although i have 24 panels not the right quanities. Thought id use the 4 that have come to start the job.
ordered 297mm x 420mm items arrived 590mm x 420mm so not correct size.

Looks like its going to be a long drawn out job if others experiences are anything to go by.grrrrr :bangshead:

Your experience was even worse than mine. Wish you luck getting it sorted. Can’t understand how these messers get any work

[KevinGaffney]

quote Jean Oakley:

Yep rung almost every week and been told loads of stories. They have promised (again) that I’ll get it Monday but I’m not holding my breath

A guy called Mac by any chance

[KevinGaffney]

Have you paid in advance by any chance

[KevinGaffney]

Just my luck to have found those twats. Still learning after 35 years

[KevinGaffney]

quote Andy Thorne:

Hi Kevin, yes we do supply letters to the trade but I believe forum rules prevent me from saying who we are as it’s advertising. (sorry)

Rob says it’s ok so can you pm or email for future reference Andy ?

[KevinGaffney]

quote Jean Oakley:

Bugger ive just ordered a couple of hundred pounds worth of panels from these people. That was a week ago and ive not yet recieved my order. Should i be worried?

You might be ok if you get original order right but in my experience, forget it if you have to get a problem sorted. Horrible people to deal with in first place too.

[KevinGaffney]

Cant find an address for them but heres the website I contacted them from.
Are they the same? http://www.smart-group.co.uk

[KevinGaffney]

Hi Any. They were an outfit called the smart group..don’t know if you ever heard of them. Incidentally, for future orders, do you supply that type of lettering to the trade?

[KevinGaffney]

Bought the 2.5m keencut steeltrak at sign uk this year. One of our best ever purchases at under 3k. Cut and v groove loads of composite and our female staff cut tons of correx boards daily, no bother. It rarely sits idle for more than an hour

[KevinGaffney]

Its funny but over the years Ive always used photos of clients vans to superimpose graphics on. Looks better and customers prefer it to the vector type finish with any vehicle outline library

[KevinGaffney]

quote Kevin Busby:

quote KevinGaffney:

Popped into the transport show that was in the nec same day as sign uk specifically to check out shelving options but had little time so only saw a couple. Impressive modular systems but a lot more than I’m willing to spend. What have you guys done, built your own, got kits or some of these modular systems. I wouldn’t mind something second had to suit Renault master

When I got my Renault Master I had the dealer put down a solid level floor for approx £150 and then found a company on eBay that was based around Milton Keynes then contacted them privately and had the whole back panelled out along with racking down the two back sides leaving the middle open for sheets to be carried,this was between £200-£400 depending how many racks, spacing etc but everything had been pre cut and they slotted it in then screwed and sealed the edges. I must admit I was pretty impressed with the quality and the speed even sent me off to the reception to make payment on the way out.

Might have been cheap but first rate job without spending a fortune but obviously depends on what you need to start with.

I just require the shelving behind the bulkhead. I fill the van three times a month with a pallet of 8 x 4,s and rolls so need the full width free for fork lift access

[KevinGaffney]

Sign will consist of four letters mounted between two windows on second floor of a building. Exterior is an old stone wall so only want to feed one cable through wall. Considering fixing letters to lengths of grey channel and hiding cables in the channel. Stone is rough and high enough that channel will be hardly noticeable

[KevinGaffney]

Sounds very like us a couple of years back. Upgraded our printer to one we could trust to print through the night unattended and the big one was installing a flatbed applicator. We’ve also a small crew but have more than doubled our production capabilities. Also sub out any time consuming installation work so our machinery is always working

[KevinGaffney]

Morning all. This thread is good timing for me. Shortly need to replace my roll to roll laminator. Gonna have a look at sign uk but that mounters mate looks
The business. My main question is as follows. We would generally laminate two 50m rolls per day. Can the mounters mate do this comfortably unattended without having to worry about running off
Line or media creasing during process

[KevinGaffney]

Ill be attending on the Thursday for about four hours. Couple of items to buy

[KevinGaffney]

Fitted a 24ft x 4ft dibond panel some years back on a warehouse in three panels. Didn’t get paid despite several attempts so arrived at warehouse on a Saturday evening when I knew client wouldn’t be around and removed the middle panel. He called to me on the Monday and had the brass neck to hurl abuse at me for what I’d done. He finally asked what would it. Take to get the panel back. I explained full payment in cash and he had to refit himself. Took him about six weeks to come up with the money. Got a great kick out of that one

[KevinGaffney]

quote Jean Oakley:

Just going to have to let off a bit of steam. Every customer im dealing with at the monment are doing my head in.

Doing lovely artwork that they are so happy and excited about only for them to contact me saying another company has quoted £150.00 less for the job and would i like to lower my price? They want to keep things local. grr

Questioning an invoice for £45.00 as rather expensive fot alterations on two showroom cars and fitting some supplied graphics to another. They had attempted to fit pne of the 6 panels and made a complete dogs dinner of it. We had to take it all back to our unit, repair the damage to one of the panels and then put application tape on it all to help with fitting. apx 3mts then a return trip to the showroom to fit said decals. grr

Blimely i could on everything ive touched this week has bitten me on the bum. I truely feel like throwing the towel in :bangshead: :bangshead:

You really seem to be almost spoiling you clients. Doing artwork for jobs you have got? Bring a vehicle back for alterations for 45 quid. Get rid of those clients immediately. There are better out there that deserve your talents

[KevinGaffney]

I put Great faith in texting such clowns. Text him day and night, multiple times per day. He may get fed up with his phone constantly buzzing and eventually pay. Even if he doesn’t, you’ve the satisfaction of knowing you’re probably driving him mad

[KevinGaffney]

I find how you spend your time away from the workshop during your time off can be a great motivator. This year, I’ll have had two holidays abroad and a long weekend away with my family. Spaced out roughly every three months it gives me a great opportunity to recharge the batteries. I also don’t do ridiculous deadlines and close up shop at 6pm regardless who or what’s required. That’s family time for me

[KevinGaffney]

Renault master lwb here. Can fit our 13fr steps in back with no need for roof rack. Also use it for my private driving, extremely comfortable

[KevinGaffney]

I always try to determine a ball park figure for their budget first. Regularly get customers
Looking for van wraps when that’s either not what they want at all or they have no idea what a wrap will cost. No point wasting time on artworks if the customer hasn’t the cash

[KevinGaffney]

Time is the problem Ewan. I’m unlikely to get one that quick. Need it for a job in morn

[KevinGaffney]

Problem Martin is I have my illustrator on my MacBook which doesn’t have a suitable port to plug the old serial cable from the plotter in

[KevinGaffney]

We get that from sign and digital over here. They have a uk office but there will be many other suppliers I’m sure. We use 3m cab tape to fix it and maybe a couple of discreetly placed screws for large panels also for extra security

[KevinGaffney]

I use two magnets and a piece of string, Run a plumb line the length of the van, levelling it till Im happy.
Fit all graphics level with plumb line. Its never let me down, hope Ive explained it properly

[KevinGaffney]

Must agree with Denise. If you have enough work to keep a printer going, I’d be looking at the new option

[KevinGaffney]

Assuming both machines are similar price, the three month warranty would be a major factor for me. Id also make sure what items are covered in the warranty in writing. Heads are the most expensive part and would need to be included in my opinion

[KevinGaffney]

A couple of years back when upgrading from our old seiko, I had the opportunity of a couple of second hand machines. After much soul searching, I decided to gp an extra 5k for a new Roland rf640. Great decision.Zero problems. From past experience, and kind of repairs can be ridiculously expensive and rarely come at a good time. Do either of the machines youre considering still have some sort of guarantee or warranty on them as Id consider that a must

[KevinGaffney]

Weve done a lot of this type of work on our cnc for many years. Only requirement is the right software and its dead easy

[KevinGaffney]

We have same thing here but said company have lost a lot of material sales from me over the years for their greed

[KevinGaffney]

I always laminate contravision. Learned the hard way. If customer doesnt want to stump up the extra, they can go elsewhere

[KevinGaffney]

Not going to make it unfortunately but curious to hear views of others who’ve attended

[KevinGaffney]

Doesnt bother me seeing crap work, in fact I prefer it. Ultimately means more customers will come to reputable sign people based on the quality of our work rather than price. Its the only kind I’m interested in anymore

[KevinGaffney]

I’ve steeled on that one Phil in the 2.5m version. Would have ordered at sign uk but not travelling now due to the unfortunate events at Westminster. Wife not happy to fly to uk at moment.

[KevinGaffney]

Thanks Dan. Had originally looked at these but as 90% of our cutting is correx, it’s overkill for what we need and a big price difference too

[KevinGaffney]

We bought a lamidesk a year back and its made life so simple. We preferred it to competing models to to its automatic foot operation. No problem finishing an 8 x 4 in three minutes

[KevinGaffney]

Adobe suite user here too. Great value for the small monthly outlay. If I were you, I’d outsource until
You get to the point where you have too much printing work to make it viable anymore and you won’t have to worry about monthly equipment repayments putting pressure on you. Very easy to get sold on buying the latest gadgets when at trade shows such as sign uk

[KevinGaffney]

Unfortunately the ones who most need to heed that advice will choose to ignore it and carry on with their daft business practices

[KevinGaffney]

Loballers have always been around. Many signmakers arent good business people and explains the daft prices. In my years at this game, Ive probably seen thirty sign businesses come and go, mainly for similar reasons. Crap prices, eventually cant pay for machinery, rent, taxes etc and they move on. Used to worry me but not anymore. Do good work at a fair price and youll retain 90% of your clients and add new ones every year. 70 or 80 quid jobs arent worth tendering for. Only worth doing if for a regular customer who isnt pricing all over the place

[KevinGaffney]

quote Simon Worrall:

Perhaps these awkward customers can be handed off to the cheapo competition currently being discussed in another thread, thus killing two birds with one stone!

Oh if only it was that simple Simon

[KevinGaffney]

Thanks Philip. Roughly how much is that unit? Its the 2.5 one I need. Think they were doing really good specials on those last year at sign UK but I wont make it this year unfortunately

[KevinGaffney]

Laminator is equally as important as the printer and they cost a fraction of the money. Once again I’d recommend new

[KevinGaffney]

If you can, new is only way to go. With a printer for example, there’s no way of knowing how well a machine was looked after. I bought a second hand cnc about fifteen years ago. Didn’t cost huge money but I got maximum three gears out of it before having to bin it. Bought a new acts at that point and its cost virtually nothing in maintenance in last twelve years.

[KevinGaffney]

Oneof the reasons I only work from photos and not vehicle outline stuff

[KevinGaffney]

We bought a lamidesk some months back. Opted for it because of the fully automated foot pedal operation. Love it. Saves hours off our working week. Will pay for itself in first year easily

[KevinGaffney]

Shinycore had a terrific plug in for Illustrator called pathstyler pro.Great for bevelled text. Unfortunately they only developed it up to cs4. They still sell the thing but it wont work with cc version and they dont reply to emails anymore

[KevinGaffney]

Just back. Almost missed flight this morning. Missed last couple of ones, is show getting smaller. Adobe workshops were great

[KevinGaffney]

Have just ordered a lamidesk so will be able to give my opinions in a few weeks

[KevinGaffney]

Might make the trip over after missing a few years. New Roland printer being installed in next two weeks so curious to see what new avenues that might lead to

[KevinGaffney]

Even with the short turnaround times Boyd, could you sub some of the work. Surely there is someone with a large flatbed printer maybe that can get some stuff out quickly for you. I also would worry about all eggs in one basket. My client base over the years is made up from hundreds of clients which gives me the flexibility to lose the odd one if deadlines get too tight or if they become slow payers. Would you consider adding maybe wrapping to your portfolio Boyd?

[KevinGaffney]

We always do. The garages that sell the vans do as do the body builders or spray painters that have worked on them. If customer doesn’t like it he can always remove it later

[KevinGaffney]

I never replace. We buy those units for about 14 euros. Whenever asked I explain 90%of the cost is the printed section. A bit like reusing cortex, not worth the hassle

[KevinGaffney]

Love mine, majority years in business, , never haggle, almost all pay by cheques as soon as job is finished and never bounce. Lot to be said for being a lifetime in this business

[KevinGaffney]

Print max know what they’re doing. Not a cats chance in hell of England winning world cup

[KevinGaffney]

I’ve always used a take up roll. I’d normally allow 24 hours before laminating but with daft deadlines I have regularly printed, laminated and mounted same day. Have had no problems over the years. I suppose it depends on inks used, vinyls and heat ventilation in printing area

[KevinGaffney]

Can I as ask the question, why would you not laminate? I can’t think of any situation except cheap election stuff, only required for a few weeks, where it would make any sense

[KevinGaffney]

Always always laminate

[KevinGaffney]

My squeegee

[KevinGaffney]

quote Jill Marie Welsh:

Yes and no.
I can paint a vehicle far more quickly (for me anyway but I’m fast) than I can p!ssing around with vinyl.
You can make a lot of $$ doing specialty vehicle lettering and pinstriping by hand. Unfortunately what was once a good market for me is now saturated by hacks.

agreed Jill, but a painted vehicle in our market is seriously devalued whereas trading in one with vinyl already removed is worth far more

[KevinGaffney]

Hand lettering is a difficult art to master. Many years now since I’ve used that method. Given prices companies charge for vinyl lettering vans and the ease of removal when trading in, I don’t believe there is a market anymore for hand lettering. Even after years of practice, it’s still painfully slow compared to vinyl. Companies with fleets of vans won’t want anything hand lettered. I would be wary of spending the time now learning the art that I spent on it thirty years ago. The industry, and it is that, has just moved on

[KevinGaffney]

Dibond also for me. Minimal site work required. Probably half hours fitting. For me, the more of the job I can complete in the workshop and less on site the better

[KevinGaffney]

One of many reasons I’ve never bothered with the full wrap stuff. Too many poor jobs out there being done at stupid prices. Twelve months later, there rubbish. Far too much work in the sign industry to be had to get involved in the wrapping rat race

[KevinGaffney]

Apparently there is a product called Avery double gold which seems to be the only one
Gold on both sides. Have any of you used this or have 5 metres available.
So far can only find a us supplier selling a roll at 200 dollars. I’ll probably never use this again so just want to buy enough for this job

[KevinGaffney]

Thanks lads. Will attack it with the oil in morning.progress report to follow

[KevinGaffney]

Thanks Chris. Yes, the first few lines and curves are fine then the lunacy. I wonder if anyone has a similar setup and could check port settings.

[KevinGaffney]

quote Martin:

quote KevinGaffney:

I started out with an epidioscope projector and a set of brushes. Doubt if that piece of information will interest too many today

Yes but is that completely true Kevin or did you start out with some brushes & a couple of pots of paint & the projector came along a bit latter once you had earned some money :lol1: :lol1: :lol1: :lol1: :lol1:

Actually you’ve reminded me Martin, I actually borrowed my first epidioscope from my local school till I had the cash to buy one. Used to blow bulbs for sport and they were a horrendous price. Bit like blowing a print head now

[KevinGaffney]

I started out with an epidioscope projector and a set of brushes. Doubt if that piece of information will interest too many today

[KevinGaffney]

Before enrolling for a course, there are many instructional videos on youtube which would give you a basic knowledge before attending any courses. There is certainly tons more to wrapping than what you’ll pick up on a forum

[KevinGaffney]

I’ve had same experience with contra not lasting on vehicles beyond nine months. The laminated stuff is so expensive, I doubt if many customers would want to pay the cost. It’s the only type of work I now steer well clear of unless my back is absolutely to the wall

[KevinGaffney]

Haven’t upgraded yet, but I’m torn between the subscription service or the normal method. When I do, it’ll be more due to the fact files sent to us will be increasingly prepared in cs6 so I ll feel sort of compelled to upgrade. The present suite is so powerful, it’s difficult to imagine many new features that will be useful to sign people

[KevinGaffney]

Can I have one here too please. Great job

[KevinGaffney]

How about suggesting a logo to cover area that has www on it. That would balance out sign. If they haven’t already got one, you could cut from a waste piece of dibond or foamex and fix over the area you need to cover. Im sure customer would be happier to pay for an "extra" rather than whole new job

[KevinGaffney]

quote Jason Xuereb:

They are in the wrong legally. They’ve used your work and haven’t paid for it.

We once had a customer like that refuse to pay due to the design which he approved.

We gave the client the option to return the sign and call it quits. He refused citing he’d already installed it but wasn’t happy with it. Told him to pay up then he shouldn’t of put it up unless he was happy with it.

We got our money and associated costs in recovering our money through small claims court.

Don’t feel bad that’s called business. If they weren’t happy they should have had you remove the work immediately.

Problem here is small claims courts dont usually work with most of these chancers. They still continue to refuse to pay. Stripping lettering off may or may not be entirely legal but its the one thing that will surely grab attention

[KevinGaffney]

Whereas it is a lesson learned, I would have one last try at getting a part payment. Even though your company is no longer trading, they may give you a cheque in your own name as i’m sure they wouldn’t have the original invoice. Failing that, I would surely strip the vans just for the satisfaction of it

[KevinGaffney]

I use all Adobe now, Illustrator and Photoshop. Prior to switching it was flexi. Still use flexi on the large format. It is the least painful way of making the pc to mac switch. If you need to move old files to the mac, you can always save them in illustrator format and import as you need each one

[KevinGaffney]

Went similar route a couple of years back. You may find simplest solution could be to continue using the pc to run your plotter and use the mac for allotter work. I have old pcs runing plotter, router, edge and my wide format. One program only on each specific to each machine. All design work done on mac and exported. Don’t have to worry about any conflicts that way

[KevinGaffney]

I find you need to be careful with this type of letter. On the odd occasion it may work but as often as not will get a clients back up. Personally I prefer to make endless phone calls, send endless emails and texts to the point of becoming a real pain. Will often send a succession of texts, maybe every fifteen minutes to the effect, "Whats story with overdue invoice". "When can we expect payment"."Why are you not replying to my texts". "Please reply to my text immediately to prevent further action". Anyway you get the picture. You see, I have a theory these slow payers probably have a long list of people they owe money to. The trick is to get to the top of that list. I’ve often resorted to " I understand things are tight but I have kids I’m struggling to feed. All I ask you is when you are in a position to write your next cheque, ignore everyone else and please make mine your first priority". Thankfully have picked up no bad debts in last three years.

[KevinGaffney]

quote Robert Lambie:

Sorry sweat heart, i really do need to think before i type! :lol1:

What phone are you running Kev?

once i get these couple of alterations done it might be a good idea as you suggest.

Sweetheart much better.
Anyway i have an iphone4 and ipad so can test on both if you like Rob
You may be aware of it but there is an app testflight which allows testers to log in and for you to pass on a test version of the app. Ive used in the past as a tester, thought id mention it

[KevinGaffney]

Do you need any beta testers Rob. Ive done a couple in the past. And less of the darling please

[KevinGaffney]

Well Rob, are we getting closer?

[KevinGaffney]

quote Jon Marshall:

Bought two of those Evolution ones recently. One was knackered straight out of the box. The other lasted about an hour. Rubbish.

Just got one from Wurth which we’re trying at the moment. Not cheaply made in China which is why I suspect the usual brand name ones are breaking so frequently nowadays

I bought wurth drills in past. Hope heat guns are better. Wurth stuff no better than anything else just more expensive. As far as i can see, you pay extra to cover the cost of their pesky reps calling constantly

[KevinGaffney]

We always laminate regardless how long a job will be in situ

[KevinGaffney]

Excellent Harry. Thanks for that

[KevinGaffney]

Great Rob. Will it be universal for iPad as iPhone only apps can look poor running on iPad. Makes me think how far technology has progressed in past four years

[KevinGaffney]

Terrific work. Approximately how much did the material cost for that job?

[KevinGaffney]

I don’t understand why the webmaster is getting the blame. If someone designed a site for me using a competitors photos, I would spot it instantly and pull the site until the site was properly. That other sign company is 100% wrong and I would follow them. Despicable business practices on their part. Mind you, the three references on their site are pretty pathetic. Sound like three Mickey mouse jobs

[KevinGaffney]

I would make a point of calling in to her shop every time I’d pass by. Only takes a couple of minutes but surprising if the client sees how serious you are, they usually pay up in my experience. Usually best to start off with a nice approach on initial visits I find

[KevinGaffney]

Reminds me a little of some of these franchise operations that have a website showing images of work done, none of which may have been done by the local franchisee but by someone likely to be in a different country with a lot more experience in the area. Talk about misleading advertising. Personally I couldn’t stomach putting a picture on my website that wasn’t my work. Your’e right though to take it as a sort of compliment, but certainly wouldn’t let it go

[KevinGaffney]

One of the simplest jobs. Only tools needed felt tipped squeegee, blade and roll of one inch tape for hinging. Saw some sort of a roller contraption at sign uk at a laughable price. Was a couple of hundred quid I think and probably cost a fiver to make

[KevinGaffney]

The problem I have found down the years David is that even if a client has signed a proof with a misspelling or wrong number, I will still try to remedy at no additional cost. There is no point in getting paid a second time and losing a customer for life maybe. Even though it may be their fault, they usually don’t see it that way.

[KevinGaffney]

Same as Robert, we never laminate. Rollups are relatively cheap here and wouldn’t justify laminating. Never had a problem either. Only tip, I always give them a strong 24 hours to fully cure, less chance of damage when fitting into device

[KevinGaffney]

If you’re not sorted, you can send it to me and I’ll save it for you

[KevinGaffney]

We would usually use the vista sign range of stuff for this. Very professional looking and not at all expensive

[KevinGaffney]

Problem I see with that designs is it’s not obvious what you do. The graffix message is lost. Problem with us being in the sign game we have to produce something extra special

[KevinGaffney]

Lorraine, colourconfidence.com is the people I’ve dealt with for my Pantone bridge swatches and a spectrophotometer. If you’re printing and you don’t have these swatches, you’ll get caught out eventually and it could cost you a lot more than the cost of the charts. Also make sure your profiles are properly calibrated for the materials you’re using, otherwise Pantone charts will be useless. It’s amazing the confidence you will have when you can see you have the correct colours.