Can anyone help out a noobie?

[EternalAudio]

Hey all. I am a small business owner that is moving locations, and am going to expand my business. Dealing with car audio, I also want to do automotive (and industrial) vinyl stickers and signs. Most of the early stickers will be relatively small (rear windows, bumpers, etc) but I will also be agressively pushing to do larger jobs for the city. (Buses, trams, various festival signs etc.) I had a friend about 10 years ago with an airbrushing/sticker shop, but he moved away and I cant get a hold of him anymore.

Basically what I need is some help in what type of machine I might be interested in, and where would be the best places to buy said machines. Also any feedback from people who actually own the machine they are recommending would also be helpful. Thanks all!

[Flame]

http://www.signwarehouse.com/specials/Q60_pkg1.html


One of the best bangs for your buck. Get you all setup to go with a good quality plotter, and just browse around the site to see some of your other options. If you think the price is too steep... stick to stereo's. Going any cheaper would be like taking a spoon to a sword fight.

[mladams7259]

Welcome Aboard and good luck!

[Pro Signs & Graphix]

Ordway and SignWarehouse help a lot of people starting out. Before you decide on anything, call them both and see who you "click" with, as I can assure you will need some help along the way.

Also, pleeeaaaasse....if you you are going to get into this business....do not call them "stickers".

[EternalAudio]

Heh. Thanks for the link. I will check out their website. I read in a few other posts that SignWarehouse was not that good. Good to see two people say good things about them though. As far as price goes, I am willing to spend upwards of $25,000 if need be. I am one of the few people who understand that to get quality product, you need to spend the money for it. I get so many people who come in to my shop asking for a 20000000 watt amp, and only want to spend $100. It just doesnt work. What I dont want is to get a machine that will not do what I need it to do when a large order does happen to come in. I am going to be entering the business and competing with a few companies in the area who have been there a while.

And I appologize for the "sticker" term. I know the difference between a "sticker" and true vinyl.. Just cant come across the correct term :)

Help me out with that too :)

[high impact]

Decal is what most of us say...

I'm sure Bob would have some interesting verbage for a much better term for "sticker" then even the widely used term "decal". lol

[iSign]

some of my more important quotes say:

"2 mil high performance vinyl graphic films with UV stability & exterior pressure sensitive adhesive"

[Ken]

Dont forget "conformability"...lol
Welcome Eternal Audio.
Ken

[EternalAudio]

Thanks for the welcome all!

[gvgraphics]

Welcome.

Remember this: Some don't like a supplier because of a bad experience but yet others wouldn't go anywhere else. It is all in how that one individual is treated and what was done to correct the issue. Some will never be happy and others will except any for of re-payment they can get. It is all in how YOU are treated that matters, not how some one else was. Just my $0.02

[Jackpine]

For making DECALS a good quality cutter would be a Graphtec, Roland, Summa and there are others. Buy good equipment and good software. Buy from reputable dealers that will stand behind what they sell and you won't be sorry.
Good luck....I mean work hard.