Starting quantities

[Busyman]

Hello,

I'm just starting to tint again and I need a start up inventory (automotive only). I have tried searching this forum and found some good info. but I am just looking for a little more.

I will be working in Illinois and starting off small. Future plans are to open a shop, we will see how that goes. My partner has a 54" wide plotter.

Do you guys think that this is a good start?

3 boxes of 50% - 24" x 100'

3 boxes of 35% - 24" x 100'

3 boxes of 20% - 24" x 100'

1 box of 5% - 60" x 100' (mainly for b/g)

I read in some other posts about cutting the bigger rolls down. Is that worth it?

Thinking about using Llumar or EWF.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks

[Guest filmslayer]

slow down there brother , thats an awfull lot of film for starting this time of year . buy 36" or 40" of what ever is legal ( i dont know where your at or i'd tell ya ) cut it down outta the box , so maybe 3-4 rolls if you think you will or can use 5% ...

[shwusyrtnts]

24" rolls will not cover the Back glass in one piece you know?

I would say why not 50,35,20,5% all cut 38/22 then you have all you need to do sides and B/G

[Guest thatsnappyguy]

i made an order of film that worked out great for me to get started...i got one 60" of each shade, cut 24"/ 36" and it worked out perfect. then later on for your next orders, you get 60" rolls and get that cut to however you need to stock at the time.

[Busyman]

Thanks guys for the experienced ideas. Sounds like I will order 60" rolls and cut them down out of the box.

Do 60" rolls (after being cut down) affect how the tint lays on the b/g? This is hard to explain.

Lets say I need 24" high by 50" wide for b/g. I can use a 24" roll or a cut down 60" roll however, when I go to shrink it will the tint react different because of the way it is made? Kinda like going with or against the grain, if there is such thing in the tint.

Thanks for the info so far, it is helping.

Busyman

[mlemm99]

Thanks guys for the experienced ideas. Sounds like I will order 60" rolls and cut them down out of the box.

Do 60" rolls (after being cut down) affect how the tint lays on the b/g? This is hard to explain.

Lets say I need 24" high by 50" wide for b/g. I can use a 24" roll or a cut down 60" roll however, when I go to shrink it will the tint react different because of the way it is made? Kinda like going with or against the grain, if there is such thing in the tint.

Thanks for the info so far, it is helping.

Busyman

Yes there is a grain. You can only shrink fingers that are perpendicular to the factory edges. Its does not, however, matter where you are shrinking the film. As long as u shrink in that direction.

I believe I read each film has coefficients of how much they shrink in each direction. The coefficient for shrinking in the direction I mentioned is much higher than if the fingers were parallel to the factory edges. So the film will shrink in that direction but very very little before it creases

[FBO]

I started a month ago also. What i bought was

5% 40x100

20% 40x100

30% 40x100

50% 24x100

With the film handler it makes life easy to cut the 40s in two 20s. Next order will be 36x100's Hope that helps.

[VIP tint + glass]

just buy 40s to start

[Busyman]

Sounds good, I do like the price on the 36" and 40" rolls better than the 60". Regardless, our plotter is only 54" wide so now that I think about it, there would be a lot of waste on a 60" opposed to a 40" roll.

Thanks for the input.

Busyman

[EWF]

Hi Busyman,

This is Howard at Express Films.

One important factor in managing your inventory level is the time-in-transit from your supplier. If you are in a one-day zone, there is little need to keep more than a 2-3 working day supply of film. If the time in transit is longer (perhaps 3-4 days) than you need to keep that much more film on hand.

Keep enough on hand to make sure you don't run out in the event of unforeseen circumstances. UPS could lose or damage a shipment, your supplier could make a human error, or you might have a problem with a roll (gasp!). Make it your goal to always be prepared and you won't find yourself in a position where you have no inventory to work with.

If your customer selects a film that you don't normally keep on hand, take a deposit and tell the customer you will call them as soon as the film arrives.

You don't have to stock too much more than you need. That's your supplier's job.

-Howard