Planes, Trains, Automobiles...and Vans and Trucks…

The playing field for vehicle graphics remains a vast “canvas” for creative designers and the firms that can print colorfully on vinyl film. There are one-off wraps, and then there are larger fleet applications—ranging anywhere from two to hundreds and even tens of thousands of vehicles, depending on the client. Large is a relative term, of course, when it comes to describing wrap-job volumes. 

Wrapping fewer than 100 vehicles is the “sweet spot” for ER2 Imaging Group, a wide-format print provider based in Hanover Park, Ill., near Chicago. “Any job bigger [than that] is difficult for us to compete on,” explains VP/partner Gary Schellerer, Jr., whose father founded the company, then called Bloomingdale Signs By Tomorrow, 28 years ago. In 2014, the name changed to ER2 Imaging, which today employs 55 people and prints approximately 500,000 square feet per year. “Vehicle and fleet graphics accounted for about one-fifth of our business in 2018,” reveals Schellerer, referring to the ability to message on vehicles as a “proven method of advertising.”

The biggest benefit of vehicle graphics, according to Tom Sitkowski of Bannerville USA, is their 24-hour, drive-by marketing effect. “It really is fantastic,” Sitkowski notes. “We get five to 10 calls a week from our own trucks out there on the road every day.”

Jessica Franklin, segment marketing manager at vinyl film media manufacturer 3M, concurs. “Fleet graphics remain popular for large fleets who often make graphics a key part of their brand identity. There is also growing interest and adoption of fleet graphics among smaller fleets and small business owners,” Franklin notes. “Continued investment in new equipment over the last couple [of] years, particularly for heavy-duty trailers, is favorable for graphic film application. She adds that growth in last mile delivery vehicles has presented significant opportunity for graphics. Last mile is a term used in supply-chain management/transportation planning to describe the movement of people and goods from a transportation hub to final destination in the home. (Think Amazon.)

Schellerer says that while ER2 has increased its capabilities to compete on larger wrap runs, the firm’s management team is content to service cars, vans, buses, and some ambulances on a smaller scale—and leave the mega-transportation graphics jobs to others, such as Reidler Decal Corp., which specialize in fleets of thousands. Based in St. Clair, Pa., in Pennsylvania’s southern coal country, the 93-year-old firm prints fleet wraps for the trucking, rail, and air-cargo industries. That’s a whole different business, he warns: “Wrapping box trucks and tractor trailers is much more cut-throat.” (Also see some of Reidler’s train freight and commuter train-car wraps at http://reidlerrailgraphics.com/graphics-gallery.)

Wrapping Trains & Trucks

President Ted Reidler says his family’s firm can coordinate wrapping anywhere from one to 60,000 vehicles. Sales affiliates extend their footprint to a much broader scale, he added. “Our own crews can install wraps in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Phoenix,” Reidler explains, “but we use 3M’s certified installer network for jobs in other states.” (See https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/graphics-signage-us/resources/find-an-installer/.)

Projects that massive can spread out over the course of an entire year. “We might produce and install 100 [wraps] per month,” Reidler notes. One big fleet client is JDog Junk Removal & Hauling, a national franchise that, incidentally, is veteran- and military-family owned and operated. Manufacturer Mack Trucks is another high-profile customer.

To compete more cost-effectively on such large-scale fleet work, Reidler Decal recently has invested (this past April) in a new, EFI Pro 32r roll-to-roll LED digital printer. The unit was sold through Nazdar SourceOne, an EFI-authorized inkjet partner based in the Chicago area. “Our digital market is the fastest-growing segment of our business,” says Reidler, who represents the third generation of the family-owned business. “We did a lot of research and comparing of presses, and we found the EFI Pro 32r gives us the most competitive advantage in speed, cost of ownership and pricing of ink.”   Reidler Decal needed more capacity, and “we wanted to upgrade our capabilities,” Reidler notes. “The 32r is around two-and-a-half times faster than our previous equipment, has more capabilities to print on diverse substrates, and the ink is much more economical. It increases our capacity with higher speeds, while at the same time lowering our cost per square foot.”   The 126-inch wide device is an economical and versatile production-level printer, with four colors and optional white inks, an integrated mesh kit and wrinkle analyzer. Designed for high-quality output with mid-level production, it prints up to 2,227 square feet per hour and offers EFI’s proprietary, seven-picoliter UltraDrop Technology imaging for high-definition quality.   The printer’s “cool cure” LED imaging helps to lower power consumption, plus it gives Reidler Decal the ability to print on a variety of flexible substrates, including thin or specialty media that cannot withstand the heat required with traditional UV or latex printers. It also features a built-in EFI Fiery digital front end (DFE), ensuring high productivity in Reidler’s digital inkjet workflow, together with EFI FAST RIP acceleration technology, RIP-and-print-on-demand functionality, and the ability to print pre-RIPed files at the printer interface.

Contour Wrapping on a Smaller Scale

Back in the Chicago area, ER2 Imaging staffs 10 installers who are certified by United Applications Standards Group (UASG). Like Reidler, “When we have vehicles spread out across multiple states, we use our vendor network that we’ve built up over three decades,” Schellerer says. “We print the graphics here [in its 35,000-square-foot facility], then ship them for installation.”

In addition, a creative department of seven designers makes advertising art functional for ER2’s customers. Positioning and alignment are key, according to Schellerer. “We can’t have letters in the middle of a door handle. Our designers ensure that wraps don’t fail from an installation standpoint,” he explains. “We use template libraries, too, to avoid obstructions.”

ER2’s go-to output device is the HP LX3600 Latex Printer, he adds. “Latex stretches well,” Schellerer notes, “so there’s no discoloration. And it comes off the press without the need to out-gas, so it can go directly into the laminator.” He refers to the LX3600 as “a true production machine” with a monthly duty cycle that tops out at 350,000 square feet. “It’s 10.5-feet wide. We can load two rolls side-by-side. It’s also bolted to the floor, so we even can load 900-foot rolls,” Schellerer explains. Another element he likes is HP’s “unattended” feature, allowing operators to monitor production off site from a smart-phone app.

Nearby, Signco, Inc. in Melrose Park, Ill., a near-west suburb of Chicago, wraps vehicles for customers with landscaping, moving, and security businesses. “We also do quite a bit [of this work] for municipality police and fire departments,” says Chris Ruffino, who directs the Art Department and has worked at Signco for 12 years. Fleet sizes range from 15 to 30 Ford Explorer Police Interceptor Utilities, the pursuit-rated SUV used by many local law-enforcement agencies.

Ruffino attests to the sustained popularity of vehicle wraps but believes that full wraps have become less commonplace than, say, five to seven years ago, at least in his experience. “It can be very expensive to wrap a full vehicle,” he says. “From the square footage of the material to the installation and labor, it’s not always practical. We are seeing a lot more quarter- and half-panel wraps, which are more cost-effective.”

In Burr Ridge, Ill., another Chicago suburb, Bannerville thinks the demand for mobile graphics may be strong enough to warrant a company name change. “We are developing a marketing plan” to bring in more vehicle wraps for the second half of 2019, says Sitkowski, VP of business development, whose grandfather started the business in 1973. “We want to be a one-stop shop for all signage,” but the word banner in Bannerville often pigeonholes the firm.

Employing a four-member graphics team, the company produces and installs its share of wraps on service vehicles for heating/air conditioning and plumbing customers as well as non-profit organizations. The fleets are generally small, “no more than three vehicles,” notes Sitkowski, “mostly [Mercedes-Benz] Sprinter vans, minivans, and Ford trucks.” Bannerville outputs its clients’ vehicle graphics on water-based, 64-inch HP Latex 360 and 570 printers. Sitkowski agrees that partial wraps are a less-expensive consideration for many jobs: “A lot of customers only need their logo, a phone number, and website information.”

Signco, too, runs the majority of squad-car graphics on its HP Latex 570. The roll-to-roll model features four-pass speeds of 334 square feet per hour for outdoor applications—at high resolutions up to 1200 x 1200 dots per inch. “It’s an absolute beast,” Ruffino says. The firm has two full-time designers on staff. Armed with the Adobe Creative Suite of navigation tools, “our designers get involved with scaling and Photoshop,” he explains.

For fire trucks, reflective stripes are mandatory, Ruffino points out. “We use a lot of reflective vinyl, which is visible at night. There are a lot of standards and regulations for fire and police vehicles,” he explains. Police-car wrap designs generally are simple: “They typically print white and gradients of black, with an accent color like blue for a badge or shield [logo].”

3M’s Franklin chimes in about reflective films: “While they’ve been around for many years, the technology has evolved a lot.” The manufacturer recently introduced Scotchlite Print Wrap Film 780mC-10R White. “Since launching this product, we’ve seen more truck fleets as well as buses adopt full coverage in reflective film,” she notes. “Our 780mC is highly conformable, removable and offers heat-recovery properties from bruising that may occur during installation. This printable reflective film offers fleets endless design possibilities.”

3M recently wrapped a critical-care mobile transport unit with a vibrant design, printed on reflective film. “The Minneapolis Children’s Hospital opted for a full coverage reflective wrap in 3M Scotchlite Print Wrap Film 780mC,” explains Franklin. “Their design is whimsical, fun and engaging. It really stands out and makes a statement.”

Hammered gold-leaf vinyl is another popular choice among other Signco clients. “It has a classic, old-school look,” Ruffino describes, especially when used in tandem with a script-like, Old English typographic font. In addition, engine-turning imaging effects (also known as jeweling) can mimic the fine, geometric patterns inscribed onto metal as a finish.

Media of Choice

3M is the media partner of choice for Bannerville, ER2 Imaging, and Signco. “We prefer Controltac Graphic Film IJ180,” Schellerer says. “Its air-regress pattern has the ability to push out bubbles” when applying with a squeegee. Sitkowski adds, “3M 180 vinyl comes at a premium cost but is the best product out there. It’s one media I don’t have to worry about ever failing.”

“If it’s vinyl, 3M is all we print on since we switched to digital [output],” Ruffino says. “It’s easy to remove and protects the paint.” Signco’s in-house installers also are big fans of knifeless tape, especially for striping. “Knifeless tape is changing the industry,” contends 3M applications engineer Alan Miller. “Cutting tools can be a harsh instrument to fragile paint,” Miller explains. “Knifeless enables creative graphic designs with varied elements, including adding dimensionality and/or texture.”

Miller adds that rivets can pose challenges. “Installers should be aware of the different types of rivets and how that may impact installation technique,” he cautions. “There are flat-headed rivets, rounded rivets, reverse rivets, etc. that can change the expectation of performance. Resources on the 3M website (www.3mgraphics.com) or via its COSMO app can assist with installation challenges that may arise.

3M supports the use of rollers, such the RollePro, for rivets. “This will help with the speed of installation. 3M continues to evaluate other techniques as they become available in the market space,” Miller says. “There are changes to the rivet styles, which can affect the installation techniques and speed.” 3M provides updates on rivet styles and various techniques through instruction bulletins, which again can be found on its website or the app.

On the ink/consumables side, “We are seeing more flexible UV options,” says 3M lab manager Kristen McNamee. “An example is EFI using the Super Range XF inks in their grand-format printers. HP has launched their new-generation latex ink series, which can be used on fleet applications,” McNamee reports. 3M partners with these hardware OEMs to provide a co-branding option that honors its full MCS Warranty, providing a seven-year outdoor, durable graphic solution.