Vehicle Wraps and Graphics

A vehicle wrap is essentially when graphics are printed on vinyl with an adhesive backing and installed on any vehicle. Other terms for vehicle wraps are car wrap, truck wrap, bus wrap, trailer wrap, etc. Partial wraps are when only a portion of the vehicle is covered with graphics. These are also also call half wraps as they often cover half the vehicle but can also cover less or more depending on the design. People also sometimes refer to vehicle graphics as decals. Decals usually consist of simple logos or text being places on vehicles rather then covering large portions of the vehicle surface with graphics.

The entire process begins with design. this stage usually takes the longest. A customer may have an idea in mind or have no idea what they would like to do. Our designers are very creative and can design great vehicle wraps from scratch or can take a customers idea and translate it into an attention grabbing mobile billboard. In cases where companies have their own design departments we take on a support role to where we can advise and review to ensure the graphics come out perfect.

Once the design process is finished. Production can take anywhere from 2-5 days depending on the type of project. It takes roughly one day to setup and print the graphics. The printed graphics then need a minimum of 24 hours to out-gas and dry before lamination. All graphics must be laminated with the proper laminate before being installed on a vehicle to prevent fading from UV, rain, wear and tear, and to give then a long life after installation.

When the graphics are ready for installation our professional installer can install then on the vehicle. This can take anywhere from a couple of hours for simple decals to 2-4 days for 53 ft trailers and food trucks. A regular car wrap usually takes 1 day. Some people ask us why does it take so long. And the simple answer is because we do it properly.

Why do the prices for car wraps vary so much from company to company?

Every company in the industry will most likely have a different answer for this question. In the end it boils down to 4 major points: Size of company, materials used. quality of installation, and quality of printing.

Size of Company: A price from a company which operates out of a persons garage will most likely be much smaller then an established business with a facility and employees. Going with an established company will most likely ensure they will be around in 5-10 years while someone just starting out may not always make it. Professional staff, proper equipment, and a facility have certain costs and too many companies undervalue the labor and cost of materials which go into vehicle graphics.

Materials Used: There are many reputable companies which make vinyl products. 3M, Avery, Oracal, Hexis, etc are some of the larger ones. We use primarily 3M and Avery because of the quality of materials they manufacture. Companies try too hard to compete on price without explaining the differences in materials to customers. This often leads to the wrong materials being used on vehicles. If you begin looking at vehicle graphics in detail you can easily tell which ones last and which don’t. Too often print companies use the cheapest materials they can find which only leads to failures down the road. The results can be from graphic peeling off or completely falling off the vehicle to the vinyl cracking or fading over time. There are hundreds of different types of vinyl made by numerous companies for different purposes. Some of the difference in features include:

1. Air Release Technology – allows the vinyl to be installed without air bubbles underneath because it escapes through air channels specially designed for the purpose.
2. Conform-ability – some vinyls are manufactured in a way that allows them to be stretched up 150% of its original size while some are not. This is a very important feature when is comes to vehicle wraps because of all the different curves on any vehicle.
3. Adhesive Type – some vinyl adhesives are made to be permanent, temporary or removable. choosing the wrong one on a vehicle can damage the paint upon removal.
4. Life – Some vinyl are made for short term application such as 1 month while other are made to last 10+ years. A vehicle wrap done using the proper materials and installed correctly should last 5+ years.

Quality of printing: Today’s large format printers are amazing machines. The do however need to be cleaned and maintained to function properly. Most poor quality prints are a result of one of 4 components:

1. Design Quality – no matter how good the printer is, if the design files are low resolution they will print terribly. It is the designers job to ensure the design files are high enough resolution for the size of print that is required. A good print company will double check files and advise customers of the quality before printing.
2. Resolution – printers have profiles which tell them how much ink to drop to make a certain color. These profiles have different resolutions which they print at. The higher the resolution the more ink the printer drops and slower it prints. Companies often choose the low resolution setting which allows them to print much faster and do more jobs per day with 1 machine.
3. Printer Maintenance – a printers head takes a beating from printing graphics all day long. because of that it needs to be cleaned regularly. If it is not cleaned regularly then the head will clog up and produce poor quality prints.
4. Printer Setup – Every printer has internal setting and mechanisms which need to be adjusted over time. If these adjustments are not done then the print will come out looking poor. These settings adjust the speed at which the printer prints, the distance between passes as it prints large panels, the alignment of the head as it moves to ensure it drops in in the right place, etc. These are all vital to ensure good quality prints.

Quality of Installation: The quality of installation plays a major role in the life of a wrap. If installed improperly the wrap can begin to fail the next day and not last longer than a couple months. If, however, the installation is done properly while using the correct materials a wrap on a truck or trailer can last 10+ years.

Vehicle Wraps are an exceptional way to build brand awareness. They take advantage of a vehicle which already drives around and transforms itself into a mobile billboard. MYC Graphics can wrap anything from a small car to a 53 foot trailer. No matter the size of the fleet we can accommodate it in our facility in Mississauga.

When you compare the cost of a vehicle wrap to other forms of advertising, it’s easily seen how inexpensive they are in comparison. The table to the right shows the cost comparison between vehicle wraps and other forms of advertising. The table below shows the annualized average cost of wrapping various vehicles.