Business vehicles are an important asset. They say a lot about your brand and are a powerful advertising opportunity. Studies have shown that vehicle wrap signage is the single most cost-effective advertising method that your business can use. It costs less per impression than advertising on billboards and local television and radio.
It is important that you look after your vehicles and that you make the best use of their appearance. If you want to change the way they look, there are a few options. You could add signage or you have the choice of wrapping or a whole new customized paint job.
A wrap is a vinyl covering that is applied over the vehicle’s paintwork. It has increased in both flexibility and popularity over the last few years and now metallic, chrome and even color shifting vinyl wraps are available. The vinyl wrap starts as a liquid which is cast into a sheet and then processed through an oven where the solvents are evaporated and a solid film is left behind which is around 2 mm thick and is ready for printing. The film conforms well to the curved shapes of a vehicle and it is very durable. It is not prone to shrinkage but there can be some small bubbles under it when it has been applied.
It is used widely in vehicle fleet situations where several cars, vans or trucks need to be covered at once. However, it cannot be used to hide a poor paint job and it will not hide corrosion or damage. Also, it will not adhere correctly to the paintwork if it has imperfections in it. Therefore, you need your paintwork to be in top condition before you get a wrap applied and the newer the vehicle the better.
Wrapping is an increasingly popular alternative to repainting a vehicle and here are the top 10 reasons why you may want to wrap your vehicle as opposed to painting it.
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It is Unique to Your Vehicle
Wraps are available in a wide range of colors and finishes so you can achieve a unique look for your fleet of vehicles that ties in with your brand. For private car owners, it means that you can get a vehicle like no one else’s! The combination of colors can give one-of-a-kind effects including texture and shading. You can incorporate logos and contact information without worrying about fiddly signage.
These effects are more difficult to achieve with paint and a more standard look is usually achieved. If you do want to customize several vehicles, you can expect to pay a fortune and there is no guarantee that they will actually turn out the same because each one is done separately.
As for a plain paint covering, that is just not as visually effective as an intricate wrap and will not help your vehicle and your brand to stand out from the crowd.
You Can Remove it Easily
Paint jobs are permanent. The only way to get rid of them is to paint over them again and that is expensive and time-consuming. You may have no choice but to pay it if you need to sell the vehicle on. If you decide to relaunch your brand with different colors and logos it could cost you a fortune.
A wrap is easy to remove. Once it has been taken off, the paintwork will look just like it did before and will not be damaged. It will be easy for you to sell on your vehicle.
It Does Not Affect the Resale Value
Not only does a wrap not detract from the resale value but it may also increase it. In contrast, painting a car an untraditional color inevitably detracts from its value. It will appeal to fewer buyers and you may have trouble selling it. A customized paint job is even worse. What are the chances of you finding a buyer whose tastes exactly match yours?
When a car is wrapped, the potential buyers will know that they can quickly and easily remove the wrapping. They will also know that the paintwork underneath the wrap will be in excellent condition because it has been protected by vinyl. A wrap is very durable, it forms a layer between the paint and dust and dirt that settles on the car. The usual minor scratches that set off patches of corrosion can be avoided. Once you take it off, the vehicle looks like new! A vehicle with paintwork in excellent condition is always worth a lot more. If you regularly replace your fleet vehicles with new ones, this can add up to a huge saving over several years.
It is Less Expensive Than Paint
Painting one vehicle is expensive and painting several vehicles is very expensive! Each vehicle will cost exactly the same to paint because the time and materials are the same. It also takes the same amount of time and effort to sketch out and then complete the design on each vehicle. A quality paint job can cost anything from $3,000 to $10,000 for each vehicle depending on the complexity of the design and the size of the vehicles involved. This is expensive compared to the $2,500 to $5,000 that you will have to pay for a wrap. Once the design has been created, more wraps can be produced relatively cheaply. Therefore, the more vehicles you wrap, the more money you will save. It is the obvious choice for fleet owners.
If there is a change of personnel at the body shop, that does not matter because the design will be digitally stored and ready to go again at any time. With a paint job, it can be hard for one artist to replicate the work of another. When your paintwork designer leaves, your design may go with them.
You Can Use it on any Vehicle
Need a bus wrapped? Thinking about wrapping a truck? This is not a problem. Any vehicle that has any kind of paintwork can be wrapped. It is a versatile method that can be adapted to suit all sorts of shapes and sizes. What’s more, you can check out how your design looks before you get it printed. If you have a multi-vehicle fleet this is important. The design may look great on your truck but not on your buses or company cars. The wrap design process is versatile and puts you in control. It prevents very costly mistakes.
You are able to pick a versatile design that will suit your entire fleet taking the shape of each vehicle into account. When you add new models to your fleet, it is quick and easy to customize them to match the rest of your vehicles.
It is Best for Vehicle Signage
On a business vehicle, you will inevitably want some form of signage. You will need your company name, telephone number, social media accounts, contact details and perhaps even a logo or a slogan.
Planning exactly where these are going to go, how they will be laid out and what fonts you should use can be very difficult. They may not appear how you imagined and once the vinyl lettering is on the vehicle it is very hard to get it off. It is often hard to picture how they will look taking the contours of your vehicle into account. Vehicle signage that is costly to remove can reduce the resale value of a vehicle too.
When you have a digitally printed vehicle wrap, you will be able to see a picture of your vehicle on a screen with the wrap applied. This gives you the chance to change your mind over and over again if you don’t like it.
It Takes Less Time
The time that your vehicle spends off the road costs you money so the process that takes less time is going to be preferable. It usually takes around three to five days to complete a wrap. However, if you choose to have paint applied, it will take up to two weeks. During those two weeks, you will be losing business or you will have to hire another vehicle to take its place which is very costly.
Also, as soon as the wrap is finished, you can drive it away and do not have to worry about road or weather conditions affecting a sensitive covering of paint.
It is Easy to Maintain
Maintaining a paint job is hard work. You need your vehicles to always look their best because a scruffy vehicle reflects badly on your business. Your fleet will need to be constantly washed and then waxed to keep the paintwork in top condition. When you have your vehicle wrapped, all you have to do it wash it and drive away. What could be more simple?
Any damage to a custom paint job is very hard to repair and could require a complete respray of the entire vehicle. A vinyl wrap is much easier and cheaper to repair. Once the underlying paintwork has been sorted out, you simply reapply that section of vinyl wrap.
You Take Part in the Design Process
When you hand your vehicle over for a custom paint job, you are never exactly sure what it will look like when it is finished. If you don’t like it, it will be too late and will be very expensive to alter.
The digital design process for a vehicle wrap is done on a computer. That puts you in charge of the design process. You can make comments and changes as the design is developing. This cuts down the time taken to reach the design that you will be happy with. Digital designs can be shared online so you can participate from wherever you are. You can experiment with colors, designs and special effects and let your imagination go wild.
It Can Include the Windows!
A vinyl wrap gives a more complete and visually pleasing look because it can include the windows in the design. The graphics are simply printed on perforated window film and applied to the windows. The effect is stunning! The perforated vinyl has extremely small holes in it so that you can easily see out of the vehicle. When you are inside, it looks similar to windows that have a window tint on them. From outside, you have an amazing window graphic that fits seamlessly with the overall design.
Obviously, you cannot paint a window! This means that designs created with paint have to come to an abrupt halt at the junction with the window and that can look untidy and unfinished.
The Final Word…
It is vitally important that your vehicle or vehicles, give the right impression of your business. Your brand needs continuity and your fleet of vehicles provides that. The overall effect needs to aesthetically pleasing and noticeable. It needs to look professional but must stand out from the crowd. You want people to be talking about your business for all the right reasons and it’s not an easy balancing act to achieve.
In terms of cost, flexibility and durability, vinyl vehicle wraps are preferable to complicated paint jobs. Also, should the worse happen and your vehicle becomes damaged, they are a lot quicker and cheaper to repair than damaged paintwork.
Even if you are not a business owner, you should consider vinyl wrapping as an alternative to getting a customized paint job on your car or truck. You can let your imagination run riot and save yourself a whole load of cash!
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Sources:
- Vehicle vinyl wrap – Wikipedia
- How to Apply Vinyl Wrap – wikiHow
