 TIPS FOR THE TAKING
5-Point Plan to Success
To Designwerks of Hillsboro, Ore., presentation is paramount, and since 2006 the company has greatly invested itself into creating visually stimulating vehicle wraps such as this latest wrap, a 2008 Scion xB. After adding a Roland XC540 printer and a 60-inch laminator in November, Designwerks immediately completed almost a dozen wraps. Designwerks owner Chris Clement shares his 5 tips to business success:
1. Attention to Detail
Spend extra time fine-tuning the installation process and pay attention to the smaller details. You’ll end up with a product that’s much more professional than your competitors. Designwerks chooses to use commercial software only during the proofing stages, leaning on Sharpies and pre-masks during the design layout to help map out the correct patterns of vehicles.
2. Organize the Design
Designwerks uses shop walls to group the design mock-ups together as layouts are displayed in plain view. Then, high-resolution photos are taken of them and the files are dropped into a tracing program. Finally, they are pieced, rotated and resized in CorelDraw. Clement says Powerclips and Outside Contours are the two most widely used tools in Corel and they make the layout simple to finish.
Once the layout is done, Clement exports everything into Photoshop for a final adjustment on colors and resolution before sending them off to the Roland VersaWorks printer.
3. Watch the Color
Clement believes his image export process reduces the amount of color shift when converting to CMYK and allows him to readjust images to a more natural color. According to Clement, Photoshop handles large files much better than Corel, so he can accomplish this in a fraction of the time Corel would take.
4. Printing and Prepping
Normally, a Designwerks print job runs overnight, then laminates are applied to the vinyl the following morning. While the film is laminated, the vehicle is cleaned and prepped to be transformed with graphics. Before any graphics are applied, the mirrors, wings, door handles and taillights are removed for easier maneuverability around the vehicle's body. Clement says such preparation will make the installation go smoother and completely hide the edges.
5. Inspect After Installing
When the installation is complete, the vehicle is checked one last time for quality. Clement believes it is better to perform this step individually rather than as a group because one person will find things that another may not.
When the inspection is completed, the vehicle is cleaned again and all stock parts that were removed are re-installed. Clement post-heats all of the edges before the vehicle is turned over to the customer.
If possible, Designwerks tries to hold onto the vehicle for at least one extra day to make sure nothing was missed and no vinyl edges or bubbles pop up overnight.
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Wrap Rules: Design to Install
When wrapping, decide what's most important for your new potential viewers to see. Do you want something basic with just a logo and phone number, or do you want to brand your business so it is easily recognizable and sticks in the minds of everyone who sees it? Here are some quick tips from Rod Voegele, owner of Gator Wraps in Phoenix, The complexity of the design will determine the cost.
Designing for Profit
You want something that stands out, but also makes a statement about your business. With today's technology, you can bring in prints or files and use them in your design without having to pay to have them re-created.
An important part of the design is placement of the information. Installing a full wrap as opposed to a partial wrap – which only covers a portion of the vehicle – gives the designer more space to use, and can get a company name on all sides of the vehicle if desired.
Software
We use The Bad Wrap software because it has precise templates that allow us to see exactly where each part of the graphics will lay in reference to the contour of the vehicle. This is important because you don't want information or important graphics to be on a body contour, or too close to an edge and have to be cut off. Second, this allows customers to see exactly what their ride will look like before the print is started. Visit www.gatorwraps.com.
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 NEWS AND TRENDS
Wraps Event Set for Indy
NBM Shows, in association with WRAPS magazine, announces it will launch WRAPS Hands On, a wraps training event preceding The Sign Business & Digital Graphics Show in Indianapolis on Wednesday, September 3, 2008. WRAPS Hands On will be a full-day event covering vehicle wrap installation, taught by some of the industry's leading wrap veterans. The event will highlight tips for quality wrap techniques and attendees will become educated in an application-based environment. WRAPS Hands On attendees will also be admitted into the Thursday and Friday seminars at the tradeshow, and receive free admission to the exhibit hall. For complete details and registration information, visit www.nbmshows.com.
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Fellers Remodels Web Site
Fellers, Tulsa, Okla., has reconstructed its web site to align with its new company tag line The World's Largest Wrap Supply Company. The web site can be found at www.fellers.com and it features clearly identified links to products, news and support personnel. According to Fellers, all indicators point to wrapping being future for the advertising world as wraps have an unlimited customer base and are the most effective form of advertising a business can utilize. For this reason, the new Web site aims to offer visitors a one-stop place to find wrap supplies, the most important wrap-related news and updated events for education.
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 FEATURED PRODUCT
Super-conformable Film/Overlaminate Combo
3M Graphics Market Center, St. Paul, Minn., releases a revolutionary inkjet film and overlaminate for extreme vehicle wrapping – 2-mil 3M Controltac Graphic Film IJ380 and 1.2-mil 3M Scotchcal Gloss Overlaminate 8580. The products feature a new construction, allowing for soft and stretchy characteristics that give the film virtually no memory. The advantage of wrapping complex contour and convex surfaces with this film is that no lifting occurs after the film is applied.
"The characteristics of the film itself make it possible to adhere – without the use of adhesion promoters – to challenging concave or convex surfaces without lift," says Tim Boxeth, marketing supervisor, 3M Graphics Market Center.
The products are appropriate for extreme surfaces such as those found on a Dodge Sprinter van, Chevrolet Express Van and Chrysler PT Cruiser.
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WRAPS EDITOR'S QUICK QUESTION
Is wraps training important to the success of your business? Share your experiences about any training you've received from wraps-related classes by emailing rfugler@nbm.com.
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