Vehicle Graphics: Opportunities in commercial and personal graphics

by all | 4 February 2013 8:30 am

By Megan Kranzler
Based in Vaughan, Ont., vWrapz is known for digitally printing and installing large-format, full-colour vinyl advertising wraps on vehicles, including cars, sport utility vehicles (SUVs), minivans and buses for clients like Crate & Barrel in Toronto and Vancouver, the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) and Escarpment Pet Retreat in Burlington, Ont., as well as for suppliers, sign shops and advertising agencies as far away as California. The company’s president, Charlie Halpin, has more than 25 years’ experience in marketing, creative design and graphic installation.

In addition to commercial wraps, however, vWrapz has developed expertise in customizing and installing solid-colour personal-vehicle wraps, using a wide range of matte, metallic, carbon fibre and brushed-steel films. The company’s qualified trainers have even been hired to teach courses in Toronto, Montreal and Halifax in the art of installing these films, primarily on luxury vehicles.

“We started out supplying printed wraps to corporate users,” Halpin explains. “The personal wrap market just came along and we embraced it.”

Customizing cars
While the majority of clients for digitally printed wraps are businesses that want to turn their vehicles into moving billboards and promote their branded design elements, logos and contact information, solid-colour wraps are often intended for personal use. Rather than advertise or help generate income, their purpose is simply to change a car’s appearance, without the cost and time needed for a paint job.

“Restyled vehicles are becoming more popular and customers who don’t want to spend money on a high-end paint job can look toward vinyl to get the same result,” says Josh Culverhouse, senior product support specialist for film manufacturer Oracal. “The more customized you can make your car, these days, the better. With the wide variety of matte finish, metallic and textured colours available, it’s easy to see why restyling enthusiasts are excited.”

For its part, vWrapz has specialized in matte vinyl, wrapping a Chevrolet Camaro SS and a Hummer H2 in black, a Cadillac Escalade in white and a BMW X6 in black and pink, to name a few examples.

“Matte black is popular,” says Halpin. “Chrome, on the other hand, is garish—and potentially litigious. We do not want to be responsible for any accidents due to someone being blinded at night by a wrap! So, we will not install chrome wraps.”

All about the install
Solid-colour wraps represent savings over not only custom paint jobs, but also digitally printed graphic wraps. While both types of wraps are installed similarly, advertising graphics require more time for design, printing, outgassing and lamination—and high-quality equipment, including a computer, design software, printer, printing software, inks and laminator.

For restyling, sign shops can skip that entire list and just stick to what they need for wrap installation, as solid-colour films are ready for application right out of the box. Depending on the individual circumstances, the overall process can be days or even weeks shorter than for a commercial wrap.

“In the personalized wrap market, it’s all about the install,” says Halpin. “The clients are very particular and rightfully so. For the most part, their cars are luxury vehicles. If you screw up one personalized wrap, that person could post on an online bulletin board and cost you all future business!”

Despite that need for careful attention to detail, solid-colour film installations are typically easier than with graphic wraps, as installers do not have to worry about where the seams fall or make sure the panels all line up.

“Solid-colour wraps are great to train new installers on,” says Culverhouse. “They can really work on their installation techniques without having to worry about distorting an image or ruining a print. And if they mess up a panel on a solid-colour wrap, they can just cut off a new piece of the material.”

Personal vs. commercial
While restyling may seem like a slam dunk over commercial wraps when it comes to startup costs, time and equipment required, digitally printed graphics still represent the bulk of vWrapz’s business—including ‘surface wraps’ at special events and venues—and the equipment pays for itself over time. There are endless graphic design possibilities, but if clients operate a full fleet of vehicles, they only need to go through that design process once.

So, while restyling may cost less, the potential to stand out in the market on the basis of design is more limited. And it means a sign shop is relying on individual customers, rather than larger client orders.

That said, the benefits of solid-colour wraps extend beyond the consumer market to businesses, as well. Even the simplest wrap is helpful in protecting a vehicle’s original paint job, preventing scratches, damage and fading in the sun. And if it is time to sell a vehicle or simply return it to its original colour, the wrap can be removed, with no need for repainting.

“The best customers for solid-colour wraps are companies that lease or purchase fleets of vehicles,” says Culverhouse. “Wrapping their vehicles with a solid colour—and perhaps accentuating it with plotter-cut striping or text—is a clean and simple way to boost their image. They’re protecting their paint finish and making a statement at the same time.”

Reaching this market is, in part, an issue of increasing awareness of how the films can be used besides graphic wraps.

Increasing awareness
Even in the more established commercial market, Halpin says further education is needed.

“Very often, the client is not aware of the intricacies involved in producing a commercial vehicle wrap,” he says. “They do not realize how long it takes from beginning to end, including the time required to design the art. They think the entire process can be done within a few weeks. It’s important to educate clients about the multi-step program before getting their vehicle wrapped expediently.”

Halpin says these false assumptions also plague new players in the industry, which can lead to false promises to clients.

“Inexperienced companies tend to drop their prices to get work, but vehicle wrapping is a very difficult business to stay in,” he says. “There can be an intense amount of time spent on artwork, a few days of production and then anywhere from eight to 30 hours to install, depending on the size of the vehicle. As well, you are using premium cast vinyl. If you don’t charge enough, ultimately, you won’t last. Installation in the wrap industry costs a lot more than in the basic sign industry.”

Despite the premium price for clients, Halpin sees sufficient market demand, particularly among small businesses that need wraps to get their name out to the public quickly.

“If you divide the price of the wrap by four or five years, that’s pretty cheap advertising,” he says. “Our clients sometimes admit they’ve made a lot of money from a wrap. Maybe we should give away our wraps for a percentage of our clients’ sales!”

Megan Kranzler is the graphic design co-ordinator for Oracal, which manufactures pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) films and industrial tapes for signage, vehicle graphics and related applications. For more information, visit www.oracal.com[5] and www.vehiclewrapz.com[6].

 

Source URL: https://www.signmedia.ca/opportunities-in-commercial-and-personal-graphics/

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