Photos courtesy Canawrap
By Peter Saunders
In early April, at the 2012 Vancouver International Auto Show at BC Place, vehicle graphics specialists from Canawrap Imaging unveiled North America’s first chrome-wrapped Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder. The custom wrap job, valued at some $17,000, took more than 70 hours to apply, using chrome films from start to finish.
This style of refinishing work has seen limited applications recently in the U.K. and elsewhere, but due to its high cost and specialized properties, very few graphics professionals in North America have attempted it yet.
“Most people have never seen a chrome-wrapped vehicle, much less thought it was even possible,” says Jonathan Glen, owner of Canawrap, based in New Westminster, B.C. “While our core business is commercial wraps, we knew promoting our brand and services by releasing the chrome Lamborghini at the Auto Show would get us a lot of attention. We used an optical clear gloss overlaminate on the chrome film, which was very sensitive. We had to learn how to use it first, as it wasn’t like anything we’d done before.”
This Nissan Cube was wrapped for Chinese Laundry’s newest footwear store in Vancouver.
Eye-catching finishes
Glen, who was raised working in the sign industry, launched Canawrap three years ago to specialize in high-impact vehicle graphics, incorporating a range of finishes, from matte to gloss to dimensional elements. His goal was for the shop to be completely self-sufficient by designing, printing, laminating and installing all of the wraps in-house.
“When I set up shop, I already had a printer, a cutter and a laminator,” he says. “It was perfect for the transition away from other types of graphics. As we do our own production work, we can break down a design and get the colours correct before sending samples to the customer for proofing. We also outgas our graphics for two to three days before application. Slowing the process down prevents heartache later on. We’re totally anal-retentive, but you have to be personally responsible for what goes out your door.”
Almost all of Canawrap’s commercial graphics to date have been overlaminated with a gloss finish, using a 1.6-m (64-in.) hot and cold laminator. At the same time, film and laminate manufacturers have targeted the vehicle wrap market with a host of new specialty products.
“Typically, wraps are delivered with a lustre finish, but I want the images to look painted on, not like a typical graphic,” says Glen. “While a glossy laminate will look brand new and slick, you’ll also see more of the imperfections. We’re doing a project right now with a matte finish mixed with a gloss finish. We’ve also used dimensional embossed lettering with a full matte white wrap overtop. It’s all a question of how best to use finishing for what the customer wants the wrap to communicate.”
