More Vehicle Templates Added!

One of the top requests we’ve had for a while now was for more templates. Well, thanks to our new fleet graphics partner, your requests have been answered!

New Vehicle Wrap Templates

We’ve added some of the most widely requested vehicle wrap models to the site. These include:

  • 4 Door Sedan Wrap
  • Transit Van Wrap
  • Transit Connect Van Wrap
  • Pickup Truck Wrap
  • Traditional Cargo Van Wrap
  • Box Truck Wrap

More Vehicle Wrap Templates On The Way

We have more wrap templates in the works, and want to know your feedback! Let us know what wrap templates your shop or business would like to see next on the site, and we’ll do our best to add them! Thanks to everyone that provided feedback on what templates they wanted to see leading up to this addition, and we hope that we were able to put up most of the main vehicle models that you needed. What would be next for you? Tractor Trailers? Exotic Sports Cars? Trains? Lets us know!

Fleet Graphics Templates

Many of the new templates are great for fleet graphics for commercial fleets, covering many of the most common types of fleet vehicles that are out there on the roads today. If there are more fleet vehicle models that are not covered by one of the categories of vehicle graphics templates we have, please let us know!

Why Wrap a Vehicle; Why not Paint it

Why Wrap a Vehicle; Why not Paint it

It is common practice for our customers to request quotes for the price of wrapping a vehicle from local wrap shops.  What is unusual is that when the quotes come in, the customer reacts something like , ‘Maaco  was only a few hundred dollars for a paint job’ or ‘That’s a lot less than painting!’  So we became curious, why do some of our customer think a vehicle wrap pricing is reasonable, while others scream bloody murder over the cost compared to painting?  We found the simple answer to be that painting varies just as the quality of a wrapped vehicle varies.

We are no expert on vehicle painting but it is our understanding a vehicle should be sanded, painted and primed before it is actually painted.  Just like other processes, the quality of the paint can make a huge difference.  The vehicle is usually out of commission for two weeks.  That being said, we have recently learned you can skip the first steps and go right to the painting to decrease the cost.  So, a $500 Maaco paint job can seem like a great deal, but not include all the extras and look awful in a few years when it needs to be redone. And, how are you going to paint your logo and artwork?

If you have been considering a vehicle wrap in lieu of a paint job, consider why you might choose a wrap.  A car wrap is removable.  Wrapping a vehicle means you can include various visual tricks you can’t achieve with paint. This might mean logo vehicle branding or digital logo images.  Wraps last about 5-7 years and are completed in just two days.  The box truck wrap can go over rivets, too.  Wrapping, once removed, does not lower the value of your car. So go ahead and design that wrap on custom-car-wraps and get the quotes from your local wrap shops.

Full van wrap

Some Great Advertising through Vehicle Wraps!

On a recent business trip, we came across some great wraps on larger vehicles, the tour bus in Manhattan’s Soho district and the Mercedes Sprinter on the streets of San Francisco. These wraps work!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 Reasons to Wrap your Vehicle Instead of Painting

Earlier this year, TKO Graphix wrapped a Toyota Hybrid for Indy School on Wheels. The vehicle was a raffle prize, which was driven to events and publicly displayed for several months. There was ample opportunity for the finish to be damaged, but when the winner took possession of the vehicle, they had a brand new bright and shiny prize. When the wrap — promoting School on Wheels — was removed, the vehicle’s unblemished finish remained intact.

Why Wrap, not Paint?

Cost – If we eliminate discount paint jobs, which often reduce pricing by eliminating proper preparation, wraps or decals may be more cost effective. In this HowMuchDoes.com article, painting a car may range from under $1000 to $8000. Decaling or wrapping a car can run $500 to $3000+.

Resale Value – Protecting the manufacturer’s original finish maintains the resale value of the vehicle, and the saleability of basic colors is much higher than exotic colors. Do you love bright chrome yellow? Does your company use pink vehicles? Vivid colors may limit potential buyers in the resale market. Buy a white vehicle, wrap it to your heart’s desire, and have a white vehicle, again, when it’s time to resell. As Listverse explains—

“Ever drive’ down the road and notice most of the cars you see are colored in four colors (mostly black, white, silver, or gray)? Part of the reason why is resale value — people who want to resell their car later know they are far more likely to find a buyer if the car is one of these common colors.”

Options — Tired of the bright chrome yellow? Remove the wrap and re-wrap it. Let’s try a matte black finish, or maybe camouflage?

Time — Especially if you have a complicated multi-vector design — a wrap can be done in days; paint may take much longer.

Coverage — Using paint limits vehicle advertising to the painted surfaces. By incorporating window film in a wrap, the entire surface of the vehicle may be used for promotion.

Vehicle graphics don’t replace the need for paint, and aren’t always the best option. However, vehicle graphics should be considered. Research the options and make the best decision based on use and needs. Before painting a vehicle, compare vehicle graphics to painting – you may be pleasantly surprised. We’d be happy to share ideas.

What are the best vehicles to wrap?

The good news is that whatever kind of vehicle you wrap, it’s going to stand out. Period. Whether you’re in a Honda Civic or a custom Lotus, if it’s wrapped, you’ll definitely get extra attention. The best vehicle for you will depend on the needs of your individual business. Still, we love sharing our knowledge, so we broke down some of our favorite kinds of vehicles into a few categories to keep in mind when you’re shopping for your next wrap…..

Wild and weird

Chevy HHR, Toyota Scion, Honda Element. There’s definitely been a trend in square vehicles in recent years. Whether you love the angular look or you’re not a fan of the boxy shapes, you can’t deny that the unusual shapes of these cars stand out . Everyone has an opinion! In addition to being a little unusual, the broad sides of these vehicles give them a somewhat unique place in the world of vehicle wraps. You gain the fuel efficiency and maneuverability of a smaller car, but the broad canvas size of a mobile billboard! Definitely a win-win situation. Because they tend to have less curves than other vehicles, it becomes very easy to use the wide spaces for big, colorful graphics.

Curvy and Cute

Mini, VW Bug, PT Cruiser and of course the Fiat 500 and Smart Car. These rounded vehicles may be a little trickier when it comes to the wrap installation, but they pack a powerful marketing punch when they hit the road. Turning one of these cute cars into a vehicle wrap is a great way to harness their already potent attention grabbing powers. These are cars that either stand out for their coolness or because of some game associated with them. For example, remember all of those backseat games of “punch bug” (or according to my little cousin, its newer incarnation “PT cruiser bruiser”)? These car wraps look especially great when they’re wrapped in a full pattern. “Punch bug yellow!” how boring; try “punch bug leopard print!”

Big, Bold and Brawny

Sprinter vans, Ford F250, Hummers. Enough fooling around with those silly little vehicles, you’re in the market for something BIG. Sure trucks and vans are fairly common, but when you wrap an automotive giant like a truck with a full size crew cabin or an enormous Sprinter van your sheer size will definitely get you noticed. These vehicles offer the most space for larger than life graphics for your vehicle advertisement. One enterprising client told us that he’s planning on having his truck lifted to make it stand out even more!

 

 


A Few Tips for Great Vehicle Advertising

Good Design is Key!

This ad for AST (Advanced Security Technologies) on a windowed van can be easily seen from a distance and it looks classy and interesting from the street.  A great combination of good design and creative positioning. Another example from is from the UK, this wrap for a printing company is loud enough to get a lot of attention but understated and elegant enough to convert viewers into customers. This design is stark contrast to the huge-text, in-you-face, explosion-and-fire designs of most commercial wraps on the road. No one has ever been annoyed into becoming a customer.

Good design in vehicle wraps is surprisingly hard to find. A clever, well-designed vehicle wrap is an easy and immediate way to set your ad campaign miles ahead of everything else out there.

Be entertaining!

All advertising must be either entertaining or informative. Anything else will be immediately forgotten at best, and at worse will hurt your brand. With mobile and outdoor media like vehicle wraps, there’s usually not enough time to inform so you have to entertain. If you can get drivers laughing and pointing, they’ll talk about it for days and become evangelists for your brand as well as new customers. An easy way to be entertaining is to put advertising unexpected places. In this economy, almost everyone is ready to cut a deal. If you have an idea to put an ad in an unusual spot, don’t be afraid to so some digging and find someone who can say yes. You may even end up saving a lot of money. Here are a couple more examples:

 

Think outside of cars and buses

Everyone’s seen mobile ads on the side of a bus, but trains are a relatively untapped medium for ad placement.  They also offer some interesting creative opportunities that buses so not offer.  Imagine the entire army of Verizon’s support engineers as a part of their “we never stop working for you” campaign or a giant shark eating up the track for a zoo promotion. .  Here are a few more creative ideas, some of these from Japan.

        

 

 

Window Decals and Wraps

Window decals or partial wraps are a sensational way of getting your advertising done in a very cost effective way. Considering that they can be used by car owners in car, suv or truck windows, on busses, on trains and on glass building doors and elevators, you can imagine the extensive exposure you can enjoy. Irrespective of what industry you are involved in, you will have to promote and market your shop, your brand and your company.

Vehicle Window wraps and decals can be designed and printed to look like a part of your vehicle wrap or just for the rear window or back windows of your vehicle. The material used for the window decals and wraps is perforated and you can still see out but will hardly notice the perforations from a little distance on the outside.

Most Relevant Vehicle Wrap Answers!

Get This:

Consider these statistics compiled by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America:

    • More than 95% of Americans are reached by media targeting vehicle drivers and passengers.
    • One vehicle wrap can generate between 30,000 – 70,000 impressions daily.
    • Fleet vehicle advertising boosts name recognition 15 times greater than any other form of advertising.
    • 30% of mobile outdoor viewers indicate they would base a buying decision on the ad they see.

What is a vehicle wrap?

Car wraps can take many shapes, colors and sizes. A full wrap covers the entire surface of the car or vehicle. A partial wrap covers only a specific portion of the vehicle and uses the vehicle’s paint scheme as the backdrop for the full design. Vehicle wraps are done with vinyl materials (think of it as a large decal) that conform to the shape of your vehicle. They can be done in solid colors as “paint replacement” or can have digitally printed designs on the vinyl to really make your vehicle stand out.

How effective are vehicle wraps as advertising

A quick comparison in typical advertising mediums suggests the following:

    • Radio attracts 900,000 listeners in six weeks with 10 to 12 30-second spots.
    • Value Pak mailings offers a reach of 600,000 with 100,000 addresses per drop and your client is just one of many advertisers included in the packet.
    • Direct mail reaches 20,000 names with one post card mailer.
    • Seven city buses get 600,000 impressions in two months.
    • Billboards receive 700,000 impressions in one month.
    • An ad in the yellow pages can cost up to $15,000 per year—with your competitors listed right there next to your ad.
    • The same is true for pay-per-click advertising—at an even higher cost per month.
    • Car or vehicle wraps have the potential to garner thousands of impressions each day, they last up to three years and cost, on average, between $2,500 and $4,500 for a standard vehicle.

Does it affect the paint on my car?

Car wraps material vinyls are formulated with removable adhesive that does not harm your car’s paint. In fact, many people find that by wrapping their vehicle, it can possibly assist in keeping a higher resale value for the vehicle due to the protective benefits of the wrap.

How long does a vehicle wrap last?

Car Wraps installed with vinyls from major manufacturers such as 3M, Oracal, Avery, etc. are guaranteed not to fade, crack, or peel for up to 3-5 years in most locations. Your Custom Car Wrap selected specialist will be happy to explain the warranty program prior to purchasing your wrap.

Does it matter what color my car is?

No, a car wrap is not translucent; you cannot see through it.

It looks like there are graphics on the windows, will I still be able to see through the windows?

Yes the window graphics are printed on a perforated vinyl that allows you to see through the rear and side rear windows.

Can you wrap the front side windows?

No, state laws prohibit the use of wraps on driver and passenger side windows, as well as the windshield.

Can you wrap the roof?

On most automobiles the roof is included. Generally roofs are not wrapped (vans, trucks or SUVs), unless it is requested by the customer.

Can you wrap a fiberglass or chrome bumper?

A painted plastic bumper can be wrapped without any problems. In the case of fiber-glass or chrome bumpers, application of vinyl on these areas are not recommended or guaranteed to adhere for the duration of the life of the wrap.

Can you wrap my hubcaps or rims?

No, wheels are in general not wrapped, although newer wrap materials such as 3M Dinoc in such patterns as carbon fiber or matte silver are sometimes used to wrap specialty rims.

Can you wrap trailers, trucks, vans & SUVs or even boats?

Absolutely! If it rolls or floats, you can wrap it!

What if I plan to change my company logo or phone number in the future

Not a problem. Most wrap providers can print and install graphic overlays, so that information may be removed or replaced if you need to change or update your car wrap.

Your Company and Your Vehicle Wrap!

Design your wrap like a huge ad!

Come up with a creative idea, and keep it simple yet eye catching. The whole point of a vehicle wrap is to catch the viewer’s attention while they are in motion. Regardless of the overall messaging, be sure that your company brand or logo is easily visible against the background imagery. After all, the entire point of a car or truck wrap is to advertise your brand or product. Make sure people know what it is! Don’t place logos between panels or half on a window and a quarter panel, because the different materials will often print irregularly, and your logo will end up looking incorrect.

What we can learn from the big guys

Around the year 2000 I was working for a large internet agency and we got involved with FEDEX, they were creating the first on-line tracking system for international logistics of shipping packages based on bar code readers, revolutionary for those days since it was all EDI or in other words a nightmare. Along with it they changed their brand from Fedaral Express to simply Fedex, it was already a household name to “Fedex it” if you wanted to make sure it got there. New logo and and brand image and it went on anything that moves packages around the world.


What we can learn from this is don’t be afraid to change and get your message across on your vehicle, be it you have just your van or truck or an entire fleet of vehicles to advertise on.  There are no secrets and while you design a wrap for your vehicle or your fleet, keep in mind what you do and how you want to be perceived by your potential customers. If you deliver bread around, say so, illustrate it with a picture of bread and plug in your logo, web site name and phone number. For most of us, the kiss method works the best, people look at your wrap and understand what you do in a second, that’s all you get when you drive by. Use background images for more detailed look of what you do, plumber put a big picture of a drain or a faucet in your background and splash your name in front of it.

Take advantage of that moving billboard!

Most of us will have a van, truck or trailer with a flat surface to advertise on. This can make the design and application of the wrap fairly easy, you can create that awesome background and get your message across quite large with plenty of room to work with. But, if you do not need a van or truck for your business, think about the (fairly) unique vehicles out there on the road that stand out by themselves already and can create a unique messaging opportunity. Mini Coopers, VW Bugs, Smart cars and Hummers are very popular for their shapes: the more unusual the better. Hybrids are wonderful for conveying that your brand is concerned with the environment.

Here is an example of a well executed message from our friends at Loring Studios, a great background and large message, environment anybody?


If you are a local business keep your website and your telephone number visible and big. Beware of having any essential information, including logos and text, wrap around corners and edges. Instead, keep messaging in easily readable areas and be sure to put logos and taglines on all sides of the vehicle.