Vehicle graphics
A service van is signage that drives past the same neighbourhoods every day, which makes it the cheapest identification most companies own. It is also the least forgiving surface we work on, because vinyl on a compound curve either goes down properly or lifts within a season.
Partial or full
A partial wrap covers panels rather than the whole vehicle: doors, lower body, rear. It costs substantially less, is far quicker to fit, and on a white or light vehicle it reads at distance almost as well as a full wrap. For most service fleets it is the right answer.
A full wrap changes the colour of the vehicle and is what you need when the base colour fights the brand, or when the design has to carry across seams and curves as one image. It takes longer, demands more material, and requires a vehicle in genuinely good paint — vinyl over failing paint takes the paint with it on removal.
Material
Cast vinyl with a matched overlaminate, not calendered film. Cast is thinner, conforms to curves and rivets without heavy heating, and carries a seven-year outdoor rating. Calendered film is cheaper and acceptable for flat panel lettering, and we will quote it where the design is genuinely flat, but it shrinks and lifts on anything shaped.
Printed graphics are laminated with a UV overlaminate, gloss or matte. Cut lettering in solid colour needs no print and no lamination, and for a simple name, phone number and licence line it is the most durable and least expensive option on the page.
Installation
Fitting happens indoors in a heated bay. Vinyl adhesive needs a stable surface temperature to bond, which rules out an Ohio parking lot for a good part of the year. Vehicles are washed, then the application areas are cleaned with a solvent wipe to remove wax and road film, which is the step that most determines whether the graphics are still down in year five.
Graphics are kept clear of door handles, seams, hinges and fuel doors where the design allows. Where a panel gap has to be crossed, the film is cut and tucked rather than bridged, because a bridged gap fails at the first door slam.
Fleet work
For a fleet we template one vehicle of each body style, approve the fit on that unit, and then run the rest to the approved template. Scheduling is usually the constraint rather than production — most clients can release two or three vehicles at a time, so a twenty-van fleet runs over several weeks. We hold artwork and templates on file so replacement vehicles match without a new setup.
- Service vans, pickups and box trucks
- Reflective conspicuity markings and required identification lettering
- Magnetic panels for vehicles that cannot be permanently marked
- Trailer and equipment graphics
- Removal of previous graphics and adhesive residue
Vehicle graphics carry a one-year workmanship warranty rather than our standard five — the reasoning is on the warranty page.