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SignWorks’ Truck Wrap Tells Shop’s Story

Design highlights its crew, production capability

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(Editor’s Note: Welcome to Signweb’s May Vehicle Wraps Month. Every workday throughout the month, we’ll display a new case study that emphasizes wraps’ dynamic nature.)

SignWorks, a Monterey, CA-based signshop (part of the SignBiz network), took its truck’s wrap one step further and transformed the vehicle into a rolling comic strip that touted SignWorks’ capabilities and its workers’ unique skills.

“This was our ugliest truck, so we had to give it a thorough washing,” Tom Carr, the shop’s owner, said. “When you’re wrapping a service vehicle, you must allow extra time to remove the bed liner, ladder rack and other parts.”

He said a straightforward Photoshop process allows the effect. Under the “Filter” heading, select “Artistic” from the drop-down menu. From the subsequent menu, select “Poster Edges.” After you manipulate the settings to your liking, go to “Image/Adjustments/Brightness/Contrast” and then maximize the contrast and choose a lighter setting to eliminate middle tones.

“You’re striving for hard lights and darks that replicate the look of a graphic novel,” Carr said. “All told, our senior designer, Keith Ludwig, needed seven hours to execute the process. We’re really trying to push the envelope. Full wraps are still atypical in our area, but they’re a growing trend, so we want to position ourselves to capture that business. And, the panels describe our full-service capabilities, which will hopefully help drum up other sign business as well.”

SignWorks produced the wrap with 3M™’s Controltac™ IJ180-10Cv3 air-release film. The 160-sq.-ft. wrap was installed in a single piece over the truck bed; on the doors, installers situated seams at the base of each window post. The shop decorated the wrap on its Roland DGA VersaCamm VS-640 printer – images were proofed via the onboard VersaWorks RIP – with Eco-Sol Max inks.

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Before embarking on a vehicle-wrap design, Carr offers a simple suggestion: “Go to Google Images and type in ‘truck wraps.’ Often, you can’t decipher what the graphics say. Which means, you can’t tell what they’re selling. It might look tricked-out and busy, but why did your customer spend $3,000 on a tribal-snakeskin wrap? You need to develop an original concept that not just ‘wows’, but works.”

He continued, “I admit, our wrap takes time to appreciate, and is a challenge to comprehend at 45 mph. But, we did it to help boost shop morale and, when sitting still, we think it effectively conveys what we do.”
 

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