Viking Designs & Graphics is a graphics shop in Lubbock, Texas. Terry B. added The Wall Printer® to the work the shop already did, and he’s spent the last year learning to print it and sell it. We sat down with him for an owner review call. Everything in quotes below is his, word for word, with the ums taken out.
Why he picked a printer from a company in the States
Terry didn’t buy on the first look. He compared machines for a year before he made a call, and support was the deciding factor.
I’d been looking at wall printers for about a year. Different companies, different price ranges. The reason we went with The Wall Printer was they’re here in the States. Customer service is local, quick, and we can talk to people we can understand.
He’d been on the other side of that before, with equipment supported from overseas.
I’ve been down the road where your tech support is across the world and the time zones are so different you can’t work together outside of email. It’s not something I wanted to do with a business this new.
Yes, we spent a little more on the printer. In turn, I have access to customer support within the hour or less.
Training over video, printing by lunch
Terry trained from his shop in Texas over a video call instead of traveling to Wilmington.
We started printing at nine or ten in the morning. I was printing by one o’clock. It was what I expected, completely.
The day a print went wrong
Every owner has one. Terry’s is worth telling because of how it ended.
I picked up the phone and I heard three people in the background trying to help me figure out what happened. We finished the print.
It wasn’t the printer and it wasn’t necessarily me. My ink had expired. Once I swapped the ink, the printer was perfect.
That’s the kind of thing worth asking any owner about. A clean demo tells you what a printer can do. A bad day tells you what happens next.
How he sells it
Viking already gets calls for vinyl wall graphics. Terry turns those calls into printer jobs.
Any time you get a vinyl call, pitch the printer. Our margins are better with the printer than with vinyl.
Do your research in your area on what painted murals and vinyl wall coverings are going for, and land on your price point. Introduce it as a premium product, not an optional one.
In the year I’ve been trying to sell it, I’ve never had anybody who wasn’t interested in at least seeing what it is.
His advice to the next buyer
If you’re price-oriented, if you’re looking to get into this as cheaply as possible, you’re going to have trade-offs. We spent more because we were going to get more.
If you’re afraid to talk to people, that’s going to be your biggest hindrance. You are generating your own leads. No one’s going to help you do it.
What to take from Terry’s story
- Support decided it. He compared for a year and chose the team he could reach.
- Virtual training works. He was printing the same afternoon.
- A shop that sells vinyl has a head start. The calls are already coming in.
- The printer doesn’t sell itself. Talking to people is the job.
See Viking Designs & Graphics at vikingdesignslubbock.com.
Questions people ask
Can wall printer training be done virtually?
Yes. Terry trained over video from his shop in Lubbock and was printing by early afternoon. Training is one full day, in person in Wilmington, NC, or virtual if travel does not work.
Should a vinyl shop add a wall printer?
Terry’s shop already sold vinyl. He pitches the printer on every vinyl call and says his margins are better with the printer than with vinyl. Vinyl still makes sense for graphics that come down within a week.
How fast does support answer?
In Terry’s words, within the hour or less. Our support team works 9 to 8 Eastern, seven days a week, and support is included for the life of the printer.
Run a shop like Terry’s? Tell the team in Wilmington what you sell today and we’ll show you how a wall printer fits next to it.
Owner stories: real owners, in their own words.