For quite a few years, people have been talking about vehicle wraps as being a cost-effective, high-impact way to promote a message, brand or product. Although this is true, a vehicle wrap can only be as good as it’s design and sometimes simpler is better. As a matter of fact, with a little knowledge about the properties of vinyl graphics (both stock colors and printed vinyl), the design process can be used to control your budget too!

Here are some tips to get the most out of your budget and your design:

- When designing a partial wrap, use the color of the vehicle to your advantage and make as many “spot graphics” as possible. One of the best ways to minimize cost is to reduce overall coverage.

- Avoid designing fades or shadows that blend into the background (vehicle) color, as the difference between the paint and the digital print’s appearance will more than likely be quite noticeable.

- Use solid 1-color or 2-color text where possible, this can be produced using stock vinyl colors, which is less expensive than digital printing.

- Using natural breaks in the vehicle’s body is a good way to break up your design (i.e. Doors, hoods, fenders, rain gutters, recesses, etc). This makes the physical edges of a graphic less apparent.

- Lettering or Logos that contain more than 2-colors can be designed for print rather than cut vinyl, as the cost is similar and digital printing allows more flexibility of design, such as photos and gradients.

- Design any elements that may change in the near future as separate spot graphics, which can be easily replaced without having to replace large sections of graphics.

- Minimize or eliminate graphics on vehicle areas that are difficult to see (i.e. van roof, truck hood, etc.). This tends to vary depending on the vehicle, always try to physically look at the vehicle or photos of the vehicle, sometimes templates can be deceiving.

- Call us to discuss your design or send us a mockup! We would be more than happy to offer suggestions and help identify problem areas associated with your specific make/model of vehicle.

Questions? Call us at 800-423-4371 and we’ll be glad to help!

Thierry sent me an email with a bunch of matching truck & trailer wraps, it was all nice and organized and showed a bunch of beautiful wraps we have done. I thought I’d share them! There are quite a bit, so I’ll break it out into two posts.

Nice huh? Call Thierry @ 1-800-423-4371 to get your truck or trailer wrap!