So my husband has just told me that I need to have the graphics done for one car for a local police station by MONDAY!! I’m still very new to this whole thing and I’ve definitely never done anything like this with this machine! My first thing I feel like I need to figure out is what kind of vinyl i need to use so I can try to get it by Monday! Any and all help would be greatly appreciated! I will attach a picture of the car they are wanting it to look like, but instead of Grenada police it will say Lexington police. I’m so overwhelmed and I really want to do a good job bc if I can do this one and they are happy with it they said I can do all of their cars!
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Need Help Police car graphics
- Thread starter Ataylor19
- Start date
SignMeUpGraphics
Super Active Member
What machine do you currently use?
I have a titan II from us cutter. I had a cricut and I was doing huge decals like some big enough to go all the way down the side of 18 wheeler tow trucks and I was just having to piece all the pieces together so I just recently got this cutter and I still have a lot to learn! But I can already see that there’s good money to be made in this industry and my goal is to open my own shop! If I can get this job though that would be a huge step for me so I really want to do a good job on it!
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James Burke
Being a grandpa is more fun than working
Facing the same situation here as well....
I picked up my 6-year old from his first day at little league practice today...and dropped him off at the Dodgers training camp.
JB
I totally agree and I don’t think he even gave them a price. It’s a tiny little town and the guy he works for has a repair shop and towing business so he does a lot of work on the police cars and I think he was the one who really talked to them. I don’t know. I don’t like when he just comes home and is like ok you need to do this because he’s never gives me all the information I need. And my first thought was by Monday? Like how in the world would I even be able to get the materials I need by then especially considering it was Friday night so like all the stores would be closed plus I’m almost positive it would have to be ordered. We live in a rural part of mississippi. We live like a hour from Jackson which would be the closest place to us that has any vinyl store and I can’t even get vinyl wider than 12” there so I know they won’t have the vinyl needed for this.
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Billct2
Active Member
Nope, you are over your head and besides looking bad it will be an expensive lesson. These are almost always done with reflective vinyl which is $$$ and harder to work with.
We do lots of this stuff and if my best repeat customer told me Friday to match a new design and have it ready to go on Monday I'd tell them they were out of their minds, or
if they were serious, they were out a lot of money
We do lots of this stuff and if my best repeat customer told me Friday to match a new design and have it ready to go on Monday I'd tell them they were out of their minds, or
if they were serious, they were out a lot of money
Johnny Best
Active Member
The husband is in jail and lettering the cop car will cover his bond on Monday.
Notarealsignguy
Arial - it's almost helvetica
Everyone has to start somewhere. I was just wondering where you'd get the vinyl from on Saturday. I have a hard enough time getting it during the week seeing as how everything is always backordered.
One day I hope to be skilled enough to do this. I can tell there’s money to be made in this industry and where I’m at in my life I just feel like I’d be stupid to not give this a shot. There’s really only 1 other sign shop in one of the towns I live close too but the one I’ve done most of the work for doesn’t have any kind of sign shop or anyone that makes decals at all. They would have to travel 30 minutes that the other town i mentioned. I just have no clue where to really start.
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Yea that’s one of first things I thought when he told me Monday! I mean I feel like next Friday maybe have been a little better, but Monday really?
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Thank you everyone for the advice! I definitely agree with you all! I guess I’m going to go talk to my husband and his boss and explain everything you all have told me and then I’ll let them decide what they think we should do about it! There’s no way they will have it done by Monday though I can already see that!
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Getting into the sign business because there seems to be a lot money to be made is the wrong reason. Gino may seem mean, but He's a real sign man and a good one. I can tell by his posts. Notarealsignguy is just being funny. You better have a sense of humor if you want to make it in this business. Where to start? I started as an apprentice to a fine signman at the age of 23. Layout and design seemed natural to me, but I wasn't great with a brush. But I could weld, fab, wire, service, operate a bucket, crane or posthole digger. I wrote down or memorized everything the man taught me. Whether it be positive vs negative space, or the weight limit on the load line of our old 45 ft Skyhook. Three years with him and I only left because I got a ten cent raise and his wife got a new minivan. If I'd gotten a quarter I might still be there. Sold mobile homes for a few months and hated it. Went to work for another mid sized sign company (a dozen employees). To negotiate the salary I wanted, I told him I would work a week for free. Either he paid what I wanted or I went on my way. Hired me after a week, and paid me for the first one. This company had a Gerber system. Came in on me own time early the second Saturday, opened the manual and left around midnight. I could design basic lettering and cut vinyl come Monday morning. After a year there I was forced to go on my own. Scared and a baby to feed, I barely made it the first couple years. I have read dozens of sign design books. I studied Mike Stevens, Mike Jackson, Dan Antonelli; the list goes on. Before digital everything I used to cut ads and lettering that impressed me from mags and newspapers. Reference library. Tradeshows, seminars, trial and error. Never quit learning in this business.
I know this seems long winded, but I'm trying to make a point. Many of us on here have gave our time, life, heart and soul to the sign industry. I takes both talent and skill to make it work. Although the machine allowed me to unleash my skills, the machine don't make signs. It does what I tell it to do. I'm not trying to discourage you but James Burke may have summed it up. Buying a cutter and getting in the sign business is like dropping your six year old off at Dodger stadium. Baseball does pay real well though.
I know this seems long winded, but I'm trying to make a point. Many of us on here have gave our time, life, heart and soul to the sign industry. I takes both talent and skill to make it work. Although the machine allowed me to unleash my skills, the machine don't make signs. It does what I tell it to do. I'm not trying to discourage you but James Burke may have summed it up. Buying a cutter and getting in the sign business is like dropping your six year old off at Dodger stadium. Baseball does pay real well though.
SignosaurusRex
Active Member
This is not one of those jobs that you want to "Cut Teeth" on. You can't give a newborn a good steak (no matter how tender) and expect it to chew. Spit it out to a big dog that's been around awhile and make a few bucks on a finders fee. You can't swim in the ocean if you are still learning to dog-paddle in the kiddie-pool.
newparade
New Member
Vehicles aren't my specialty so I just had to look up a 10yd 24 inch roll of that stuff just to see. Expensive is no exaggeration. $310...wow
The other issue are fonts etc - the police will have a retained sign company to do such work - they'll have the complete vehicle map and vinyl specs - unless you've got that, theres not much point even thinking about it.
Especially money wise.. They'd have specified expensive vinyl, the body shop wouldn't know that so would give them an all in one price - he'd probably end up not paying you.
Especially money wise.. They'd have specified expensive vinyl, the body shop wouldn't know that so would give them an all in one price - he'd probably end up not paying you.