Vinyl sticker, need help/guidance

tommyjeans

hi all,
i`m looking to start a business making and selling vinyl stickers for cars and catering to my local small businesses.
i`ve been searching high and low for guides or `how-to` choose my equipment and the process of making those stickers.  thus far my search is unsuccessful.
i`ve found plotters ranging from $300 all the way to $5000.  though i`m sure i won`t need the $5k machine, which machine in the lower $300 can i use?
has anyone done or doing this business who can help me?

JBSurfs

Sorry, I can`t help you there, but I do have a few ideas for you.
 
As bad as it sounds, go to a place that makes some, buy a very few and find out what machine they are using.  then, you know the quality of it and can research the price of it. 
 
Also, I live in a beach town, and boating is huge.  Vinyl letters are a big market as they usually only last 8 years and everyone likes to name their boats.

tommyjeans

Sorry, I can`t help you there, but I do have a few ideas for you. As bad as it sounds, go to a place that makes some, buy a very few and find out what machine they are using.  then, you know the quality of it and can research the price of it.   Also, I live in a beach town, and boating is huge.  Vinyl letters are a big market as they usually only last 8 years and everyone likes to name their boats.

very interesting, i haven`t even thought of that yet.  unfortunately i don`t know anything about boats or the sizes of the names.  i wanted to start out small with stickers for the gas cover and windows on cars first to gain experience before taking on a big boat job.
there`s a couple of chains around here, not too many, i doubt they will let me go there and look at it.  plus i`m sure they have industrial size machines, i`ve seen some and they`re HUGE.  wouldn`t be a good starter for me.
thanks though, still looking around.

Dougster

I think it was good advice, try & get in and do your research from a company in your area. Yes, they might have much larger machgines then you need, but by doing so you might be able to make some contacts & gain info. Get the machine manufacturers name & ask them if they have smaller end machines.
I also thought the boat idea was good.
Its something I might consider buying in the future, if we are going to be ripped off from price gouging oil companies then we might as well be promoting our own products & services.
Good luck/skill