The first 90 days with a wall printer: what actually happens

The first 90 days with a wall printer are mostly about three things: learning the machine, building a set of walls you can show people, and getting into a maintenance routine you can keep. The printer arrives on a date the team gives you with your quote. Training is scheduled around that date. After that, the pace depends on how much printing work you line up.

Jason Ott, who runs business development at The Wall Printer®, puts it plainly: “We do sell a machine, but you do have to build a business around it.” This article walks through what that looks like in the first three months, and what to track so you know how it’s going.

Before the printer arrives

New printers are built to order. When you buy, you get a delivery date with your quote, and the training day is scheduled around it. Use the weeks in between. Decide who on your team will run the printer, where it will live between jobs, and how it will travel. Most owners put it in a van.

This is also the time to pick your first walls. Your own shop, office or lobby is the obvious one. A friend’s business, a church or a school you already have a relationship with can work too. These first walls are for learning and for photos, so pick ones where a small mistake won’t cost you a client.

Training day

Training is one full day in Wilmington, NC, and your whole team is welcome. It’s recorded, so you can go back to it later. Virtual training is available if travel doesn’t work. Setup, running the printer, file prep and maintenance are all covered hands-on, which is why we don’t send setup videos ahead of time. It’s easier to learn on the machine.

It was kind of like having a newborn. It needs daily attention.

Weeks one to four: your own walls

Print the walls you picked. Time everything. Setup and breakdown take about 30 minutes, so most of a job’s time is the print itself, the travel and the wall prep. The printer prints 10 to 20 square feet an hour depending on resolution and surface, so a 100 square foot wall is five to ten hours of printing before you count setup. Those real numbers from your own jobs are what you’ll quote from later.

Photograph every wall before, during and after. Owners who post the printer at work tend to get questions from people who’ve never seen one. The Wall Printer® reposts owner work to its national following, and every package includes stock images and videos to help you start a web presence.

Weeks five to eight: your first quotes

Most printed jobs sell for $20 to $40 a square foot, and most owners set a $500 minimum for any job. Where you land in that range depends on the surface, the artwork, the travel and your market. Put time in every quote. A client who expects a wall done by lunch will be unhappy with a two-day job, even if the price was right.

Expect some quotes to go nowhere. That’s normal for any new service. What matters early is that you’re getting in front of the right people: property managers, schools, gyms, restaurants, contractors who already do the rest of the room.

Weeks nine to twelve: a routine

By now the maintenance should be a habit. It takes about twenty minutes every other day the printer runs. The pump box circulates the ink every twelve hours on its own, so the printer is looking after itself between jobs too. Support is there from 9am to 8pm ET, seven days a week, and you log in through thewallprinter.com when you need it.

Once a year, timed to when you start a new ink cycle, the team does a health checkup with you on a video call.

Take the plunge. There are going to be peaks and valleys, but when you’re in the valley you learn just as much as you do on the peak.

What to track for 90 days

Keep a simple sheet. Each week, write down:

• Inquiries: how many people asked about a wall
• Quotes sent, and the square footage in each
• Jobs booked and jobs printed
• Square feet printed
• Hours on site, including setup, travel and breakdown
• Ink used

At 90 days, that sheet tells you your real price per square foot, your real hours per job and where your work is coming from. It’s worth more than any projection, ours included.

Questions people ask

How long does it take to get a printer?

New printers are built to order. You get a delivery date with your quote, and the training day is scheduled around it.

Is training included?

Yes. Every printer package includes one full day of training in Wilmington, NC, for your whole team. It’s recorded, and virtual training is available.

How much maintenance does the printer need?

About twenty minutes every other day the printer runs. The pump box circulates the ink every twelve hours on its own.