Think Entrepreneurship Tip #1 – Save Money by Making Your Own Signs

Finding ways to save money is always important to a business. That's why my company ended up deciding to create some of our own marketing materials in-house. We wanted to make our own window decals, vehicle graphics, stickers, and signs. In order to do so, we purchased a vinyl plotter.

Vinyl plotters are extremely handy to have around the office. You can create professional looking marketing materials in minutes. The vinyl plotter will also save you a ton of money.

I've made numerous vinyl graphics for my vehicles, window decals, and stickers to hand out as promotional items. The stickers were an excellent form of marketing for my apparel business. At University events we would hand out high quality stickers to students walking buy. The kids loved the stickers and were immediately slapping them on their long-boards, notebooks, and water bottles.

Now that you are thinking about how a vinyl plotter can save you money, let me tell you everything you'll need to get started.

1. Vinyl Plotter (a 24″ model will be sufficient). It allows you to create stickers approximately 23 inches wide by as long as your roll is. Rolls are typicaly 10-50 yards. However, for accuracy I'd stick to a maximum of 23 inches by 6 feet for your design.

2. Vinyl – Vinyl comes in rolls and is available from companies such as UScutter.com. There are many different grades of vinyl. The more expensive vinyl is called cast vinyl. It is very durable and can last up to 10 years outdoors. Calendar vinyl is cheaper and great for indoor applications. Higher grades of calendar vinyl will work for a while outside, but it will eventually crack and shrink after exposure to the elements for more than a few years.

3. Transfer tape – Transfer tape is needed to apply your sticker to the substrate.

4. Razor blades / Utility Knife – These items are needed to weed the vinyl and cut out your designs.

5. Application Supplies – You will need squeegees, masking tape, and rubbing alcohol to apply your vinyl. Alcohol is important to apply to the substrate in order to clean the surface so the vinyl will bond correctly.

I have really enjoyed my vinyl plotter and use it often. For more information about the plotters visit UScutter's website.