Thanks Fred, doesn't seem like a big issue since you can adjust with the software and test print.
Do you test print on a less expensiveaterial or the material you will use to produce the final project.
Do you factor in the test prints and ink in your price to the client / ie: sort of a set up cost .
Thanks!
You are on a very different page than I am. The price of materials or the small amount of time I may spend correcting color to color registration is very near the bottom of my top ten list of concerns and correcting errors in registration is simply part of what I do. You are still on the page of being concerned about material costs and other costs. I am on the page of being concerned with producing the best product I can and getting paid as much for my time and expertise as possible. I rarely am concerned with being price competitive and my clients are all repeating ones or those who come to me by referral or from having seen my work.
There are two different approaches to the business of making signs and other graphic products. One is in treating your production as a commodity. Here there is little that separates you from your competition and price becomes the overriding concern. The second is in providing custom made solutions to identified client needs. Here everything about it separates you from your competition be it design, superior choices in materials, better production techniques, better communication with your clients and better salesmanship. When I am successful at presenting myself as a solution provider, the client wants me to supply his or her needs and is willing to pay a higher price. And they are much more likely to return and recommend me to others. In purchasing decisions, fear of loss and assurance that what you will get will meet your needs is far more effective than being the lowest price in town.
To put that into tangible statements:
My cost of materials averages between 10% to 15% of gross sales. My return on time ranges between $150 and $250 an hour.
My original investment in a Gerber Edge, Envision 375, software, vinyl and a cartridge of every foil color offered was about $35,000 in 1998 dollars. That investment has been returned at a rate of between two and three times per year. While there's nothing wrong with watching your costs, the first concern should be what you need to do to bring in enough business at rates that are as profitable as possible and that meet or exceed your income goals.
