ready to start

[PCD]

my name is dennis, i'm 29 yrs old and from central nj. i currently work for a pharmaceutical company which has nothing to do w/ signs or art. my only experience in sign making was working for my uncle's sign business from 1993 to almost 1995. i really didn't do much work w/ designing layouts but worked alot w/ preparing plexiglas, magnetics, aluminum, etc., weeding vinyl and masking and applying. i've been contemplating on starting a sign business for years, only seriously though for about past 6 months. due to my current work schedule(4 days on/4 days off), i have alot of extra time. in the process right now of deciding on which plotter to buy. thinking of either a 24" panther from signwarehouse or a 24" graphtec from sign warehouse. leaning more towards the graphtec. doing as much research as possible and asking many questions. my uncle started his sign business out of his basement in 1990 and is still very busy. 1 advantage i have is having him in my corner to help me out if i need it(sure i will). glad i found this site and i'm sure i'll make good use of it.

[Dennis Raap]

Dennis welcome to Signs101 glad you found the place. We bought our first plotter from Signwarehouse. I think I would go with the Graphtec from what I hear they are a excllent plotter :signs101:

[geb]

Hi Dennis. I agree with Dennis R., of the two, many reccommend Graphtec.

George

[dccas]

welcome to a great site, and I agree, Graphtec, imho, is
a very good product.

dennis

[SignRover]

My first plotter was a 24" Lynx. In retrospect, a Graphtec would have been a better investment in terms of reliability and availability of replacement parts.

[PCD]

i have a question. i hear that support kinda sucks from time to time at signwarehouse, even when in need of support of their plotters( panther,etc.). support must even be worse w/ them when in need of support for a graphtec plotter. if i run into this will contacting graphtec directly for support be possible even though i will have bought it from signwarehouse?

[geb]

Why not look into purchasing from a local supplier? Check out a demo version and make sure its what you have in mind. Also allows you to talk face to face about the warranty and support. Plus if you need parts or service you do it local and get it faster.
Never dealt with signwarehouse, except have bought supplies, and service went well.

George

[smullen]

I don't think we have any local suppliers in my area.... We have local sign makers, but none that would want to sell rolls of vinyl, cutters, software or tools...

[geb]

Try grimco, their site is www.grimco.com, not working at the moment though.

Also try:

http://www.standardsign.com/ - they are located in St. Louis.

George

[rsantos97]

Try www.beacongraphics.com (http://www.beacongraphics.com) , They are located in Perth Amboy, NJ. I bought my SummaCut D60 from them, they had the best price on the net and great service. Check them out they carry many supplies, software and equipment.

[PCD]

i tried beacongraphics. their price is ok but for a couple hundred more sign warehouse gives u the plotter, stand and some software and clipart.

[SignRover]

The Signwarehouse booth at the last ISA show in Las Vegas was massive. I think they had more sales reps than Roland. The average clerk at Signwarehouse would have a tough time answering questions from most of us, but they make up for it with screaming great prices on hardware. As for consumables, shop around.

I love these guys: http://www.sign-mart.com/ They're still in the process of overhauling their website, so it's not fully functional, but they've got one of the best catalogs I've seen. Order it and compare their prices on consumables with suppliers in your area.