By signcraft
Posted on Friday, November 15th, 2024
In every issue, SignCraft gave a few sign makers an imaginary project. We asked them to do a sketch of the sign they might have produced, and to quote a price for the job. Most of the details were left to the designer’s imagination. The object was to see how different sign makers approach the same project. Here’s the scenario these sign makers were given:
A local plumber has been referred to you by one of your customers. He has replaced his pickup with a new white box truck van and it needs to be lettered. Make a sketch of the sign you might have produced for this customer and quote a price.
This appeared in the November/December 2002 issue of SignCraft. While the prices have been adjusted for inflation, they may not accurately reflect current pricing for such signage.
Materials:
Lettering enamel and vinyl: $105
Miscellaneous materials (pattern paper, tape, Stabilo pencil, wear and tear on brushes, transfer tape, etc.): $88
Time:
Sales: 1⁄2 hr.
Sketch: 1 hr.
Make patterns: 2 hrs.
Layout on van: 4 hrs.
Lettering (two sides): 14 hrs.
Cut & apply vinyl: 2 hrs.
Cleanup & bill: 1⁄2 hr.
Total 24 hrs. X $105/hr.: $2520
Total: $2713
Ralph “Doc” Guthrie
Sign Graphics instructor, Los Angeles Trade-Tech College, Los Angeles, California
I teach my students a simple time-and-materials method that keeps them competitive without woefully underbidding, as most “new” painters do. No guessing! They have to come up with a rough, but realistic guess on how much for materials and about how many hours they think it would take to complete. (Because they are students and are still a little slow, they charge $35 per hour to start.)
All of these sketches are about the same in time and materials with maybe a little more on those with panels or outlines. The price is for two sides only, excluding the back.
I would paint everything except the secondary copy (New Construction, Remodeling, Repairs), which I would do in vinyl.
Price:
Two sides: $ 1534
Back doors: $ 394
Total: $1928
Robert Jahnke
Island Graphics, Merritt Island, Florida
Referrals are great customers. They have probably seen my work and like my style. I try to take a clean, straightforward approach that’s bold and legible, yet still has flair.
As for graphics, faucets and pipes are the usual norm for plumbing businesses. A quick scan through the Yellow Pages tells me that the pipe wrench has not been overdone. I decided to incorporate it into the background design with the main emphasis on the name.
Notice the dot on the “I” in Martin is a drop of water, which I also used as bullets on the secondary line of copy. This job would be done in cut vinyl film.
Curt Nelson
Signman, Inwood, Iowa
Vans, panel trucks and trailers make great advertising tools, especially if they stand out from the crowd. One way to make a van stand out is to ignore the bodylines and make the copy big and bold.
I’d first do a rough thumbnail sketch and come up with a price range ($1050 to $1400). If the customer agrees to both, I do a rough sketch in color and figure out an exact price quote. I don’t require a deposit on vehicle lettering—the customer’s vehicle is my deposit. I get a check for the work when the customer picks up the vehicle.
The copy would be laid out with a Stabilo pencil. I’d use some masking, then cut and roll the teal copy. The rest of the job would be hand painted with 1Shot lettering enamels, using thinners and hardener. I might have to reduce the copy on the opposite side of the van to allow for the windows.
I did the design on a standard van, but the same design could be used on a box van.
Price: $1183 with a total of 8 to 10 hours
