Industry Surveys

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Industry Surveys

7th May 2012

How do you keep track of your supplier's pricing?

30th April 2012

Have your terms and conditions in your contract been formally checked by a solicitor to ensure they are binding?

23rd April 2012

What are the biggest wide format printing problems you experience, ie static, drying time, etc.?

16th April 2012

Do you ask your clients to sign a contract before work starts. A contract with your terms and conditions to protect you against payment default?

10th April 2012

Do you give finished artwork free of charge to a client that wants to use it elsewhere in their business?

2nd April 2012

How do you charge for artwork? Include it in the price (deliberately not itemising it) or itemise separately?

26th March 2012

Do you think it is a better business practice to diversify or extend your business into similar areas of business (embroidery, T-Shirt printing for instance)?

19th March 2012

Do you have an hourly rate for your non printing work? If so, what is it?

12th March 2012

Do you know of any supplier reps doing wide format printing work on the side to earn extra income?

5th March 2012

How do you get rid of your waste inks?

27th February 2012

With many objecting to newcomers to the industry, how long do you consider a newbie has to stay a newbie before being accepted as a legitimate member of the industry?

20th February 2012

Can we expect an increase in health issues from solvent ink exposure in the years to come?

13th February 2012

Are you making more or less profit than you were 5 years ago?

6th February 2012

Do you employ females on the shop floor, if so do you find they take more care in their work?

30th January 2012

Have you ever bought consumables online? If so, would you say it was a good way to buy?

23rd January 2012

Are you optimistic about the business prospects for 2012?

16th January 2012

What is fair compensation for sales people? Base with % of sales, or what?

12th December 2011

Are you up to date with the new OH&S laws coming into effect next month?

5th December 2011

Do you find that graphic designers who are perhaps not familiar with the industry create more work for you?

28th November 2011

Do you price your work using one of the industry pricing guides? If so, do you generally win business by using these prices?

21st November 2011

Following on from last week's survey, do you respect or resent a supplier who chases their outstandings with you? If so, Why?

14th November 2011

Would you stay with a supplier that took legal action on an unpaid account of 61 days? Or would you change to a more understanding supplier that gave you a bit more time to find the money when money is tight?

7th November 2011

Are you finding that your customers are demanding environmentally friendly products more so now than a year ago?

31st October 2011

Have you done install work for other sign companies only to find that the sign was not made correctly and they expect you to fix it?

24th October 2011

Do you provide an artwork concept to a prospective client before you know that you have been commissioned for the work?

17th October 2011

Have you incurred any bad debts this year? Should we have a list of bad payers made available to us?

10th October 2011

Given the amount of time spent on producing quotes should the industry consider charging for them even if the charge is credited back to the job once confirmed?

4th October 2011

In your opinion, is vinyl and application paper quality the same as it used to be?

26th September 2011

When commencing work for a new customer, do you ask for a deposit before starting work. If so, what percentage do you ask for?

19th September 2011

Are Yellow Pages print ads still working for you?

12th September 2011

With last week' survey showing that most companies are making only about 10% profit each year, can you advise what you think are the major causes of this low profit?

5th September 2011

Can you advise the average profit your company makes per annum?

29th August 2011

Would you consider clubbing in with one or more associates and buy media in bulk and hopefully save plenty?

22nd August 2011

Out of your arsenal of equipment, which machine generates the most turnover and profit for you?

15th August 2011

Does your company have a Mission Statement that outlines the values that your customers should expect from your company?

8th August 2011

Have you ever been targeted by scammers requesting quotes or any other type of scam?

1st August 2011

What are you doing in your business to reduce your reliance on oil-based consumable products?

25th July 2011

Do you employ a computerised Management Information System (MIS) in your business, if so, which one and how has it helped your business?

18th July 2011

With the Greens having so much control in parliament, will it affect your business confidence in the next few years?

11th July 2011

As the business owner can you advise how many hours per week you work?

4th July 2011

Finding yardsticks - what would be the percentage of wages to gross sales of your business?

27th June 2011

What are the biggest operational problems encountered with wide format printing, ie static, drying time, etc?

21st June 2011

What are the median pay rates for Digital Print Operators. Can you advise what you are currently paying your Digital Print Operators?

14th June 2011

Should the sign industry be regulated like plumbers, electricians, builders etc?

6th June 2011

What is your preferred design software?

30th May 2011

If your supplier told you that your media and ink would last 5 years outdoor, would you issue your customer with an outdoor guarantee for 5 years on your printed product?

23rd May 2011

Do you understand the concept of Cloud Computing and what it can do for your business?

16th May 2011

Do you have a role model in the industry outside of your own business. If so, can you name that person?

9th May 2011

What are your feelings about the importance of social media to your business, ie, Twitter, Facebook, etc.

2nd May 2011

If you are going to the Printex/VIIE show, are you shopping for anything in particular or are you just looking around and networking?

18th April 2011

Will you be attending the Printex11/VIIE show in Sydney next month?

11th April 2011

Do you run a bulk ink system on your printer/s, if not why not?

4th April 2011

Do you believe that our industry associations are doing a good job?

28th March 2011

Do you believe that we should have a carbon tax in Australia as proposed by the Labor government?

21st March 2011

Do you believe that you are making the most of your web site to attract new business?

14th March 2011

Do you think the government should protect our industry from overseas dumping of cheap products?

7th March 2011

If you could only choose one, which supplier of Wide Format printing products would you like to say "Thank You to?

28th February 2011

Do you consider yourself to be in the sign industry or the print industry?

21st February 2011

How do you get rid of your waste inks?

14th February 2011

In your experience, what is the best method of recruiting new clients?

7th February 2011

With more and more 3rd party ink suppliers coming into our market, one can only assume the market is growing for them - do you use 3rd party inks?

31st January 2011

Are you positive/negative/neutral about the New Year? Would you like to see business performance benchmarking become an important tool in our industry. Would you agree to participate in such a program?

24th January 2011

Are you positive/negative/neutral about the New Year?

17th January 2011

In your opinion, who have been the most influential people in the sign industry this last year?

13th December 2010

What do you like best about operating in the visual graphics industry and what brought you into the industry?

6th December 2010

How do you feel about the cost of graphics programs and the restrictions placed on the usage of these programs?

29th November 2010

What do you do when asked to price up someone else's layout?

22nd November 2010

Have your profit margins dropped over the last 5-7 years?

15th November 2010

How do you feel about the fact that just about any body can buy a printer and call themselves a sign maker/sign writer?

8th November 2010

Would you consider a central database, only accessible by industry people, showing bad risk clients, a useful industry resource?

1st November 2010

What type of wide format printing jobs do you see growing and what type do you see declining?

25th October 2010

What works better for your business - hiring experienced tradies or apprentices?

18th October 2010

Of all the funny videos that we have published to date, what has been your favourite? Never mind the title, just describe it briefly?

11th October 2010

Given the amount of time spent on producing quotes should the industry consider charging for them even if the charge is credited back to the job once confirmed?

4th October 2010

How do you protect your artwork when showing it to a new client? Have you had problems protecting your copyright?

27th September 2010

When you buy substrates, are you driven by price, loyalty to the supplier, or quality of the goods?

20th September 2010

How frequently do you believe that our national wide format print and sign industry exhibitions should be held?

13th September 2010

Do you believe that the TAFEs should have a dedicated wide format printing course and qualification?

6th September 2010

Are you optimistic that the GFC is over or do you believe we are in for more hard times ahead?

30th August 2010

Do you do the profiling of your machine/media/ink yourself or do you get help for this?

23rd August 2010

Do you know of any supplier reps doing signage work on the side to earn extra income?

16th August 2010

Are you finding that your customers are demanding environmentally friendly solutions more so now than a year ago?

9th August 2010

Are Yellow Pages print ads still working for you?

2nd August 2010

Do you find the cost of servicing your printers good value or overpriced?

26th July 2010

Do you believe that Latex ink technology is the future?

19th July 2010

Shane Drew's recent story on 'Cowboys' in the industry has drawn considerable response. Do you know any cowboys operating in your area?

12th Jly 2010

With a new financial year starting, do you plan to purchase any new equipment this year?

5th July 2010

How are you finding the reliability of your Flat Bed printer? Is the technology still in its infancy?

28th June 2010

How have you adjusted to the new modern awards? Do you have any implementation issues?

21st June 2010

What estimating system do you use?

14th June 2010

Considering that the market for wide format printing has expanded outside of the traditional sign & display industry, would you consider other printing opportunities outside of wide format, ie. roll to roll label printing; offset printing, etc.?

7th June 2010

What is your biggest gripe with Digital Printing? Is it the smell, materials, suppliers, customers (they expect it for nothing), space, etc?

31st May 2010

As the owner of your business, did you complete your apprenticeship and awarded the qualification of a tradesman. Do do you also employ qualified tradesman. Or did you learn your trade on the job?

24th May 2010

In your opinion, do you think the latest budget from Wayne Swan is good for your business?

17th May 2010

When commencing work for a new customer, do you ask for a deposit before starting work. If so, what percentage do you ask for?

10th May 2010

Reports of sign companies doing it tough are still emerging even though the GFC is supposed to be over. Is your business growing, shrinking or just hanging on? Do let us have your comments in this regard.