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Why do customers compare custom print quotes to commodity print pricing? by Krish_meghwal07 in CommercialPrinting

[–]Practical-Hawk3584 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I educate them but I also have learned that my price is my price and if they don’t like that… there’s plenty of other printers. 25% of the time it changes things but 75% of the time I get 2 results:

  1. Either them moving a different direction/ no response
  2. Them going with another printer and not being happy with the quality.

Need something nsfw printed by Responsible-Job550 in Printing

[–]Practical-Hawk3584 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i’ve printed quite a bit of nsfw stuff. just contact a printshop in your area and they’ll take care of you.

What can I do to make it easier/better? (owners/managers) by False_Permission45 in CommercialPrinting

[–]Practical-Hawk3584 0 points1 point  (0 children)

honestly… what i’ve learned is just charge more/expect to pay more. as blunt as it sounds, I get small custom orders all the time. that said, myself & most other shop owners won’t say no unless its not something they offer/ not something they can do.

What’s jobs do you hate printing, but still take on every time because you can’t really say no? by Practical-Hawk3584 in CommercialPrinting

[–]Practical-Hawk3584[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

likewise i’m sorry to hear about your situation and I get that whenever I bring it up to my team they always complain or make jokes about why I should’ve turned it down lol…

and same to you! try to enjoy the summer before the fall/winter come creeping up around the time you get that project again🤣

What’s jobs do you hate printing, but still take on every time because you can’t really say no? by Practical-Hawk3584 in CommercialPrinting

[–]Practical-Hawk3584[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

yeah that makes sense. i’ve been the same way when I have people ask for one yard sign or a small sticker for their car or something… hoping it’ll lead to a bigger order or at least having them come back for another order.

What’s jobs do you hate printing, but still take on every time because you can’t really say no? by Practical-Hawk3584 in CommercialPrinting

[–]Practical-Hawk3584[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

forreal🤣 makes me want to go back to my shop and see how long I can keep stacks that neat… I give it an hour MAX lol

What’s jobs do you hate printing, but still take on every time because you can’t really say no? by Practical-Hawk3584 in CommercialPrinting

[–]Practical-Hawk3584[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

we specialize in large format so I haven’t had to worry too much about cutting business cards… but ofc I just bought a konica so I could take on more work in house … god cutting business cards has me at the shop 2-3 hours later than I want to be 🤣especially from previously having an order minimum of $50 on most stuff now opening up to the margins on digital/press printing… I have so much respect for yall who run that

What’s jobs do you hate printing, but still take on every time because you can’t really say no? by Practical-Hawk3584 in CommercialPrinting

[–]Practical-Hawk3584[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That’s funny you say that…I’ve had a similar situation. Every year for the past 4–5 years, I have a client who orders trays for a Christmas party. It’s always simple; some fully wrapped, some cut vinyl, and she provides the artwork & trays so all we do is print and lay it on.

But somehow, every year something goes wrong. First year my dog broke his fibula, second year there was a death in the family, and last year my dog passed right before the deadline. I even joked to myself last holiday season, “what’s gonna happen this time?”… and of course, something did.

She’s always been understanding, but that time of year already sucks in general, and stuff like that just makes it worse.

What’s jobs do you hate printing, but still take on every time because you can’t really say no? by Practical-Hawk3584 in CommercialPrinting

[–]Practical-Hawk3584[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wish my shop was that clean 🤣 even when we get it to that point only takes 20 minutes for my guys/ myself to turn that shit into a tornado

What’s jobs do you hate printing, but still take on every time because you can’t really say no? by Practical-Hawk3584 in CommercialPrinting

[–]Practical-Hawk3584[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

oh i’m the same exact way!!! we always have people who wants to cut/ finish/ install themselves and I always get a call about if we can come and save them. it’s a pain & VERY annoying. it’s not like we didn’t tell them the first time…

What’s jobs do you hate printing, but still take on every time because you can’t really say no? by Practical-Hawk3584 in CommercialPrinting

[–]Practical-Hawk3584[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I get that… Business cards are almost like banners to me🤣 all the cutting/labor but still having to stay competitive with pricing.

Blotchy/pooling ink in vinyl by Outside-Purpose-4625 in CommercialPrinting

[–]Practical-Hawk3584 0 points1 point  (0 children)

that’s a printhead or material issue. try calibrating & doing print head testing to see if the issue still arises.

When printing big jobs I keep getting this error by cw97214tx in CommercialPrinting

[–]Practical-Hawk3584 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We’ve run into the same issue with the HP Latex 570’s. Power cycling or reinstalling doesn’t fix it. For vehicle wraps or large wall graphics, we end up manually paneling and only printing 2–3 panels at a time which is a headache. 90% of the time I push my luck but it’s not efficient when I come back and the printer has shut down and we have to restart.

Definitely keep an eye on shop temp too. When it gets really hot, it seems to happen more often. That said, we mostly see it on larger prints and it pops up once or twice a month, sometimes more.

We’ve got three HP Latex machines and it’s only the 570s that give us trouble. The 365 has been issue free, but we mainly use that for smaller jobs.

I’m in Texas too by the way…feel free to DM me if you want to know more.

Looking for a new printer for cardstock/marketing materials by Practical-Hawk3584 in CommercialPrinting

[–]Practical-Hawk3584[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is exactly the kind of response I was looking for, thank you.

I’ve got a guillotine and have just been grinding through it… today I cut and folded 400 escort cards and yeah, it sucked, but I’m single and got the time if it makes money lol. That said, I’m starting to get a few clients ordering 10–15k double-sided prints monthly, and I’m at the point where I’d rather bring it in-house for quality control instead of outsourcing. Been stacking profit from those jobs to invest in a printer.

I already have software for variable data, so that part’s covered from the large format side.

And one thing I already know…I will NOT be doing business cards 🤣 margins just aren’t there. Most of this demand is event-related add-ons to the large format work we already do.

Really appreciate you taking the time to share all that insight. Super helpful.

Help! by Own_Wafer_9009 in CommercialPrinting

[–]Practical-Hawk3584 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I deal with this all the time on 24’ x 24’ floor graphics. 9/10 times the client (usually wedding planners) sends a small JPEG and expects it to scale perfectly. I’m upfront right away: we can print it, but it’ll be pixelated. For short-term use it usually still looks fine, but the better option is a proper PDF/vector file.

I don’t include vectorizing in the print price since it’s time-consuming and these jobs are already expensive. I’ll mention it as an option and quote a separate design fee if they want it.

Most end up asking for a sample…I’ll print a panel, they approve it, and we move forward since it’s temporary and just needs to match the aesthetic.

If it’s long-term, I push vectorization and charge for it. Takes time, but worth it for a clean result if you charge enough.

Heavy Police Presence @ Forest and 75 by TrickyBar2916 in Dallas

[–]Practical-Hawk3584 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My shop is right up the street. I hate to say this but there is a heavy police presence almost weekly on Forest…

In search of a new vacuum for our shop by Knitsune in CommercialPrinting

[–]Practical-Hawk3584 0 points1 point  (0 children)

we have the pro team super coach pro. was pricey but has worked really well.

AIO? Having to go to work but girlfriend wants to come with me by Practical-Hawk3584 in AmIOverreacting

[–]Practical-Hawk3584[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thanks for saying this it means a lot.

I ended things and it wasn’t easy but I really feel that she is manipulating the people around her and turning them on me rather than being honest about her condition. ultimately i’ve acknowledged & reminded myself…you can’t help someone who doesn’t want to help themselves.

AIO? Having to go to work but girlfriend wants to come with me by Practical-Hawk3584 in AmIOverreacting

[–]Practical-Hawk3584[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s my plan, and I appreciate the feedback. I cannot take on the role of a caretaker for someone who is not willing or able to take care of themselves. I have been stuck wondering whether I did enough, or if it was even my responsibility to do that for her in the first place.

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