Tint Tek 20/20 for free

Now that you saw the word "free" I got your attention..now you'll have to read to see how.

Ok so I've hand cut since the beginning of "tint time" and a couple of months ago I went with the Tint Tek 20/20 system.

I'm a sole employee who has always hand cut and finally went automatic. I would be the least likely to benefit from the system and you could only benefit from it more if you were a busier shop with employees than myself.

Most agree that if your a busy shop with 2 or more employees you will benefit..its a no brainer..more cars = more money.

My discussion is for the self employed who hand cuts because it's a harder sell to want to go the plotter way.

One thing that always bothered me is comparing my "hand craft tinting" with plotter cut" with the competition..I worked harder for the money hand cutting.

Now I offer both but charging more for hand craft..after all, it takes longer and is truly more precise than any machine system..how could it not be if your skilled at cutting ? Funny thing is..only the tinter really cares for the most part ..not the customer ..so since a computer generated cut does a good job and most customers are happy with the outcome , then it makes more sense to divide your talents. If they want that extra personal touch to their car, you can now up sell to hand craft..the very thing you used to do at the same price B4 the plotter. If you do that to an average 1 car a week at $50 per car , you just made $200 towards the system for doing what you always did B4.

***If there is a pattern you do not like..you can modify it to your personal liking ! Wish the patern was longer/shorter/wider,etc ...you can change and save for your own personal way of tinting***

Now sun strips are much easier..now i actually want to do them because you don't need to get lights out for tracing and cleaning of the outside of a windshield , etc.

Fact is most cars you will use the plotter and therefore you can cut out B4 the customer even shows up be it early in the morning or the night B4..sometimes I cut out my whole weeks worth the weekend B4. The time management from doing this is great because you always allow room for extra work without it taking extra time. You either enjoy the extra money made in the same amount of time or enjoy more time off work making the same amount of money.

To sum up:

Forget the age old debate of which is better..hand cut or computer..let the customer decide which is better by giving them the choice and you win whichever choice they make by being able to charge more for hand cut to 5% of the customers that still want that choice + easy sun strips that the program does will pay for the Tint Tek 20/20

Thanks Andy and Becky from Tint Tek 20/20 for making this possible

They are a family based business devoted to plotter cut patterns with very good tech support and good people both personally and in business.

Their number is 613 969 0400 (coming from a long term member this is not spam but an endorsement to any tinter that wants to make more money or gain more time back)

thanks for the info TW

great post.

i have tint tek. its a love/hate relationship. sometimes its the best thing u could ever ask for in a tint shop, and sometimes the patterns suck so bad you want to strangle who ever made it. i hear thats the same just for about every tint cutting system. digi,comp cut, tint tek, ect....

as far as this thread...i guess thats a good idea, but theres alot of ways to make money to pay for stuff. but its like you said, most customers wouldnt ever even notice anything different whether it was hand cut or computer cut. basically this is just a tactic to make more money by talking the customer into paying more for something that they were already getting.

IMO, I see it as putting the experienced hand crafter on a different pay level where they belong ... a cut above the person that can load a machine and print out a generic pattern. Only by owning a plotter and program can you cater to BOTH markets..but get paid now for your extra efforts in hand cutting..or tint more cars using the plotter ..give the customer the choice instead of having the hand cut vs plotter cut debate because thats what the competition has.

It's working for me..when marketed in this fashion ..any full time shop should have one..if your a very good hand crafter already...THAT's how you can have the machine pay for itself..market the difference on the phone..you will lose no customer because you offer both but you WILL find the % of custy's that will appreciate the custom hand craft upsell..how to do that is up to your sales pitch for your area

I have had computer cut before, I wasn't too happy with the results from it, I did love doing sunstrips though lol that was great. In my business I can't justify the cost of the plotter. As it is now It really just takes so little time to cut the patterns out that and extra 10 minutes per car is not worth the $2200 to spend on tt 2020. Now i'm not your average tinter half my work life is consumed by doing vehicle graphics (wraps, police cars, ambulances, fire trucks, forestry commission trucks, etc etc etc... betty boop on the side of the car... whatever they want.. so typically 2 cars a day i'm slammed with window tint... for me at two cars a day being enough window tint.. it doesnt make sense....

Now I can say if I were doing 8 cars a day then that extra hour and 20 minutes would add up and I could justify it... I could definitely justify it if I had more than one employee doing window tint.

I have a 40 inch Rolland plotter and almost never use it for patterns just primarily for graphics! I know many times i wish i had a cut program for cutting certain windows (honda CRVs back windows or truck back windows with toppers) so i definitaly can see this is a great idea to do because i hand cut everything and your right TW no way does it cut as good as someone who can hand cut correctly, but it certainly has it's place in the tinting world if used correctly! What your suggesting is a great way to make money and still offer custom work for the customers who wants that!!!!

It's funny to see how things change. Progressive minded shops realized this 10 years ago-yet were slammed as being "limited" in skill level. Now finding long term and brand new shops/installers that don't offer a plotter cut is becoming the exception.

I went with ComputerCut about 5 years ago now and it was the best decision ever. I WILL say that sometimes precutting can be a love/hate relationship as many times customers that I never think will cancel on me will. Then I am stuck with a pattern that is exclusive to that make/model. I have several of these piling up in a box I keep in the office. Too many in one week or month and there goes your profit.

Overall it was a good decision for me.

Thats my biggest concern, I get no show no call customers every week. I wouldnt ever say that it is better than hand cutting, but I might incorporate it on my dealership work. Those jobs are for sure and the time saved is money earned.

to both of these comments..I to get a little pizzzed when I cut out a pattern ready to go and theres a "no show" , however I usually do a confirmation reminder call B4 cutting a pattern which greatly eliminates the love /hate of that part.

If you do dealer work where the cars are plentyful , always the same shades and you tint them for less yet they want them done quick ..it's a no brainer that the plotter is the way to go for those cars ..then give off the street custy's the choice of plotter cut or a little extra for hand

Hey TW, how much time do you find it is saving you on an average day?

That's a loaded question and not so simply answered.. however here's an example , a guy phoned me just as I'm typing this and wants a 98 Sierra done with sunstrip AND want to wait for it..normally I prefer they drop it off + I Hate doing sunstrips on trucks..cleaning off the whole outside, the whole inside climbing all over it while setting up a light on the inside oh yeah..has rain guards as well. He's going to be here in 20 min..instead of my sitting around doing nothing, I will have everything ready to go on my peeler board for when he shows up and will save 1/2 hr because of time management..not to mention less physical energy exerted per vehicle so you aren't as burnt out at the end of the day.

With dealer cars ..huge savings of time...load up one roll, pump out all rears and bgs , load another roll , all your 2 fronts are now cut, stack them like pancakes and off you go.

(with the popular dealer cars that I KNOW I will constantly get many of ( Mazda 3's , 6's , ets ) whenever I have spare time..I make sure I have these patterns always on hand so when I actually get the car.. 1 -1.15hrs av install time which is good because if they call and need one done asap..no biggie now

Worth it if you have dealer work for that alone or as I say cutting as someone is driving to your shop if your not presently doing a car