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Vehicle Wraps: Kings of the Road

Don’t forget September 9 Vehicle Graphics Contest deadline

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We’ve reached late summer, and at ST, that means one thing. Well, it could mean several – flocks of geese walking across the parking lot, high humidity, weekend Catholic church festivals, etc. – but it signifies a major event for me: the 9th Annual Vehicle Graphics Contest, sponsored by Mimaki! I eagerly pore through more than 300 annual submissions to present a contest field for our judges to evaluate, and I’m proud to display the end results in our November issue (debate inevitably follows the winners’ presentation, which adds to the event).
The deadline will be Wednesday, September 9 – appropriate for the 9th competition edition, I think – so mark your calendar. And, even if you don’t win, there’s a decent chance your submission will eventually receive editorial coverage. As these case studies attest, even the pool of non-victors yields quality work.
Enjoy – and to toss your hat in the ring for a shot at glory! Click the entry form here!

Who’s El Father?
Hector Delgado Roman, a Puerto Rican reggae performer who’s known onstage as Hector El Father, reportedly sang the uncredited lyrics for “Harlem Shake”, a song that created a viral, online phenomenon last year. For this vehicle wrap, El Father is taking a much less anonymous approach. He enlisted Metro Wrapz, the vehicle-wrap division of Hollywood, FL-based Metro Signs Inc., to wrap his tour bus. The graphics, which feature Hector’s profile picture and a supersized badge embedded with his name, were designed using Adobe® Photoshop® software. The shop produced the bus wrap using 3M Controltac IJ180-10C with Comply v3 air-release, cast media that’s printed on the shop’s HP DesignJet 9000S eco-solvent-ink printer. To keep El Father’s mug at full strength on the road, the shop enhanced the wrap with 3M’s Scotchcal 8518 glossy topcoat, which was applied on a Seal 62 Ultra Plus laminator.
Metro Wrapz’ installation team affixed the wrap with 3M Gold PA-1 nylon squeegees.

All-American Van
A business with “American” in its name and patriotically themed graphics are apt to score points with prospective customers. However, as much as we love Old Glory, the standard graphic that features an unfurled, waving flag may become a bit tiresome. With this in mind, Graphic D-Signs (Washington, NJ), a firm that specializes in vehicle-wrap design and partners with service providers nationwide, devised a clever repurposing of the Red, White and Blue using Adobe’s Creative Suite 6 software. The service provider, ProWraps (Sacramento, CA), produced the wrap using 3M Controltac with Comply air-release media that’s applied on an HP 260 latex-ink printer with an onboard Caldera RIP. With a Dingtec laminator, the shop applied 3M’s Scotchcal 8518 glossy overlaminate.

Come On, Get Crabby
Wrapped food-delivery trucks continue to be all the rage. Although kim chi and tacos are likely as popular in Baltimore as they are in California, why not proffer local cuisine via a truck? Any crab-related food produced in Maryland is superior, so a crab sandwich, crab salad or crab “slider” sounds downright succulent. To increase the salivation factor, the truck’s proprietor contracted Absolute Perfection Vehicle Wrapping (Sykesville, MD) to produce the wrap. Brandon Antol, the shop’s designer, collaborated on the design concept with the customer using Adobe Illustrator software. The job incorporates 3M Controltac air-release media that’s printed on an HP L25500 latex-ink printer and laminated with a glossy Scotchcal overlaminate that’s applied with a Seal 54 laminator. Mike Lawson and the shop’s installation team used 3M Gold nylon squeegees to affix the wrap.

Mahalo!
The brightly colored, often floral-print shirts associated with Hawaiian clothing often create a polarizing fashion statement – people either love or hate them, without much middle ground. For those who love them, this wrap will provide a decided branding advantage for Lokahi Clothing (lokahi means “balance and unity” in Hawaiian). The client hired Wicked Wraps (Mukilteo, WA) to produce the graphic. Wicked Wraps’ husband-and-wife team of Wade and Katherine Becher printed the wrap on Avery Dennison Graphic Solutions’ MPI 1005 Supercast Easy Apply RS air-release film with an HP L26500 latex-ink printer. Applied using a Kala Mistral laminator, Avery’s DOL 1360 cast topcoat will keep the customers hau` oli (happy) for years to come.
 

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