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Edited Date/Time
4/22/2015 6:04pm
I was talking to my dad today about graphics for our bikes and we were wondering how much it would take to make our own. So... I was wondering if anybody had any info on what type of printers, vinyls, machines, etc. that needs to be used. I've looked around and found some similar forums on Thumper Talk, but they weren't quite exact on the info. Any info would be appreciated.
All of the graphics companies will custom make whatever you need. It would cost a small fortune to do it yourself if you wanted a quality decal.
The Shop
There's a lot of good companies out there but I have to give a plug for my friends at DeCal Works. They are not the cheapest but then again the best quality usually isn't.
Their stuff wears extremely well, the design staff is second to none, and there are no graphic companies out there that support the privateers like DeCal Works does.
Good luck!
Reprinting and/or altering them without permission can cause some issues, especially if you have any plans to sell or distribute these graphics.
Entry level you're looking at a minimum of 15K + the cost of the rip, spectro, profiling app. The extras will cost you anywhere from 4-15K. That doesn't include the design computers and software either. The set-up I have is easily capable of printing top notch graphics for MX, but I spent about $70K. I avoid doing it because there's not a lot of money in it and it's a pain in the arse. You need special vinyl and laminates that can adhere to the plastics on MX bikes and handle exposure to solvents and gasoline. The stuff is not cheap. Plus you need the dielines. They can be bought, but again like the rest of the stuff they are not cheap. Mine ran about $600. There's another type of machine you can use. A thermal based printer. It prints great spot colors, but hates blends/graduations and is very expensive on the consumable side as it uses ribbons of color instead of ink. It simply can't print photo quality worth a damn. I wouldn't recommend going that route as it's very limiting compared to what you can produce with an ink based system. Although it does allow you to use reflective/metallic foils and print florescent colors. Quality reflective foils run megabucks. Cheap foils, like florescent colors, don't last very long and either fade or look like crap in short order. Plus they're a pain to work with.
Your cost on materials and time will work out to be more than what people can buy non-current graphics for on ebay. It's a very limited market with a large amount of competition. Trying to compete with the guys like one industries or throttle jockey is impossible as they silk screen their graphics in bulk for a price far below your cost. However the cost to screen print a single set of custom graphics is far greater than a digital printer can knock it out for.
If you invest the dough into the equipment you'll quickly find there's far more lucrative use of your time and equipment. Frankly, racers are a f'ng pain. Everybody wants a discount/sponsorship. Commercial work is easier and much more profitable. I can bust out one trade show booth, vehicle wrap or a half dozen banners and make ten times as much as doing a set of custom graphics. With no hassles or haggling and nothing but happy customers. It's nice to be able to do your own, but if you're thinking you can get into the business on the cheap and make a buck off of MX.... well my 20 years of experience in the print business advises against it. A beginner can count on burning through a couple of grand worth of materials, ink, etc. before you get something your customers would consider buying.
If you have the equipment you'd rather print the graphics on the semi than go anywhere near the bikes. Doing one teams trailer(s) would be worth far more than printing the graphics for every pro team.
I can make them, but still buy them half the time.
If he had the name and funds that Decal Works does, im sure he would be in the same boat... (Just hes got the quality thing worked out! His stuff sticks and stays, and looks amazing!)
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion though...
if you got the design skills and some good hook ups to get ure foot in the door along with the cash then go for it. All in all its not that hard, it jus takes money to get your name out there like custom decals and some of the other smaller guys
All graphics are the same....not designed to survive a crash. Just too look nice.
180 decals is going racing and putting the graphics on his struggling privateer buddies bikes.
Buying graphics from a company with 4-5 page ads in transwordtoomuch or nonracerx is pretty much like skipping Glen Helen to save money for NotAheim 1
It's a fucking sticker and should be $25 bucks. So buy from the owner (or his mom) not from some so called company who invested 30-50k and just one post like 527 ink.
Pit Row
All good Guy B.
I'm saving the spider venom for the larger game.
We are going to be selling ready to print custom designs through the site.
$300 If you wanna tediously cut it out and do it yourself with vinyl that will peel back three gripped corners into your first ride....
Wow some serious crap in this thread. Seems like most of the people here are trying to put you off before you even begin. Some of the figures being thrown around are a joke!! Do your research and go for it!!! As a few have said above it can be done with basic equipment, yes there is more work involved but thats life!
It's not always about the funds.
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