Four cost lines, not one
Buyers compare the hardware price and then discover the artwork, the mounting hardware and the access costs. A welcome sign gobo projector is a system: light source, optics, a piece of custom glass, a bracket and somebody's time on a ladder. Quoting only the first of those produces budgets that do not survive the first year.
- Hardware — the fixture, lens and bracket
- Custom artwork — the gobo, and every re-cut after it
- Installation — access, power and making good
- Running cost — cleaning, power and replacement cycles
What you pay for the fixture
Price follows the thermal and environmental specification more than the marketing category. A welcome sign gobo projector built for a lobby floor will cost more than one for a hotel entrance for reasons that are entirely justified — better seals, better heatsinking, better finish. The saving is real only if you never needed them.
| Specification | Lower cost | Higher cost |
|---|---|---|
| Output | 20 W class | 100 W and above |
| Ingress rating | Indoor rated | IP44 for exposed positions |
| Optics | Fixed lens | Zoom with lockable focus |
| Artwork | Metal gobo | glass gobo with fine detail |
The recurring line
The artwork cost hides in the reorders. Engraving a glass gobo is not expensive per unit, but minimum quantities, shipping and the time spent re-approving artwork add up. Keep the original vector file, record the gobo reference, and every future reorder is a formality rather than a redesign.
- Engraving per unit, and any minimum quantity
- Artwork preparation if the supplied file needs work
- Shipping, especially on small reorders
- Lead time, and the cost of waiting
The line that surprises people
Price the site, not the fixture. Two identical welcome sign gobo projector installs can differ by a factor of three depending on access, power availability and whether work has to happen outside trading hours. Get that number before the order, not after.
- Access equipment — ladder, scaffold or powered platform
- Power run and any making good afterwards
- Out-of-hours or trading-hours working
- Fixings, bracket and cable management
Running cost over three years
Over three years the honest ranking usually changes. Add the hardware, the artwork reorders, the cleaning and the electricity, and the cheapest welcome sign gobo projector on the unit price is rarely the cheapest to own. The two variables that dominate are servicing access and gobo replacement frequency.
- Hardware, once
- Artwork reorders, every rebrand or new site
- Cleaning, twice a year
- Power, continuously
| Cost line | Frequency | What drives it |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware | Once | Output and ingress rating |
| Artwork | Every rebrand or new site | Number of sites and change frequency |
| Cleaning | Twice a year | Access method, mostly |
| Power | Continuously | Wattage and daily run hours |
Cuts that cost you later
Save on image size, not on output. Halving the projected area doubles the contrast at the wall for nothing, and it lets a smaller welcome sign gobo projector do the same job. Do not save on the ingress rating, the bracket, or the artwork file — those three cuts cost more than they save within two years.
