Vehicle Graphics: A Proven In-plant Opportunity

As a branding and marketing asset for any client, vehicle graphics — whether spot elements, partial or full wraps — can be complicated. And the printing isn’t the hardest part. The challenge is the installation: wrapping a 3D object with a 2D print.

For those in-plants up to the challenge, however, vehicle graphics can be a profitable application that raises the visibility of the parent organization and the in-plant.

Building Capability, Building Business

Gary Warren, print and document supervisor at Bronco Printing Solutions, the two-person in-plant operation at Fayetteville State University (Fayetteville, North Carolina), started working with the in-plant a bit less than seven years ago. Since that time, he says, the shop has slowly moved into wide-format printing applications, starting with wall and elevator door graphics. An extension of that evolution has been a move into vehicle graphics.

Bold graphics provide strong branding to Fayetteville State University’s fleet of vehicles. | Credit: Fayetteville State University

The in-plant is currently doing partial wraps, with Warren handling most installations himself. He notes that print techs tend to come and go, taking their experience with them. To date, the shop has done roughly 10 partial wraps, including road vehicles and golf carts. He says he hopes to do a full vehicle wrap eventually.

For production, the FSU shop uses a Mimaki JV300-160 to print its vehicle graphics, generally on 3M 1J 175CV3 pressure-sensitive vinyl and a matching 3M overlaminate. Films from Avery Dennison and Arlon have also been used.

“We try to keep our installation in-house,” Warren says. “If we can’t do that, we have a company we can contract with.” Deciding whether to contract out or not depends on the skill level involved or the time it will take, for instance, when multiple vehicles need to be done.

While Warren says his installation skills were learned at the School of Hard Knocks, he fully recognizes the value of good training and notes that there is a great deal of wrap training — either in person or online — to take advantage of.

Another Fayetteville State University wrapped by the in-plant.

“Try to get a good installer or someone who is willing to learn,” he offers, adding that maintaining proficiency means wrapping consistently.

About the vehicle graphics work the shop has done, Warren shares that it is holding up well, and he has not seen noticeable fading, even on some wraps that have been on the road for four of five years.

“They are still looking great,” he adds. Occasionally, he says, edges may peel up and the shop is able to successfully stick them back down.

Providing vehicle graphics, Warren says, has been a profitable endeavor for both the FSU in-plant and for the university. He says his shop can provide quality work at a lower cost than commercial wide-format companies, and it can work to carefully control the integrity of the FSU brand. Also, the work brings strong visibility for the in-plant.

“We’ve been approached by some who have seen the vehicles [we’ve done] and come to us so we can do theirs,” he says.

Controlling Costs, Expanding Value

Up in Anchorage, Alaska, Rich Little, supervisor of the Copy and Print Center at the University of Alaska, also understands the value vehicle graphics can bring. With a stated primary goal of “keeping money in the university,” Little cedes that, at first, his six-person in-plant didn’t have a whole lot of experience with wide-format printing or installation. By working with private contractors, the shop filled its knowledge gap. As of spring 2022, he shares, the UAA team was able to do vehicle installation work on its own.

The University of Alaska Anchorage Copy and Print Center team (from left): Lonnie Burgener (press operator), Rich Little (supervisor/installer), Jeremy Ivy (large format/installer), Aja Stewart (CSR/ production coordinator), and Austin Magalong (graphic designer). | Credit: University of Alaska Anchorage

“Two shuttle vans were acquired,” Little says, “which were solid white … shuttles to move students around campus. The idea was to spruce them up a bit.”

The transformation of those vehicles included doors, hoods, windows, back doors, even the roofs. He proudly adds this was the type of work that used to go to outside firms.

Another vehicle wrap by the UAA team.

To print its vehicle graphics and wraps, the UAA in-plant uses its HP Latex 360 wide-format printer, printing on 3M IJ80CV3. A 3M overlaminate is applied using a Graphic Finishing Partners lamination system. For partial wraps or door decals, a Graphtec 8600 cutter is used to create contour cuts.

To learn installation, Little says he and Warren share the same alma mater (the School of Hard Knocks). The two of them provided a hands-on demo of vehicle wrapping at the recent Association of College and University Printers (ACUP+) conference in Rochester, New York. Little says that while he currently serves as his shop’s primary installer, a colleague, Jeremy Ivy, is quickly building his own installation skills.

While it is logical to think that Alaska’s famously cold temperatures present a challenge for wrap durability, Little says installation temperatures are also a concern. Because of this, he says, vehicles are brought inside overnight, with the goal of raising their surface temperature to near 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, after the wrapping is complete, the vehicles are left inside for an additional night, allowing the adhesive to set under favorable conditions. Little adds that, for his shop, having a place to do installation is paramount.

He shares that, as an application, vehicle graphics are a growing opportunity for his operation — and a bargain for the university, which is charged cost plus 15% for the work done. The work has also raised the shop’s value: an upcoming project is a tractor trailer that will be used for university recruiting.

“It definitely shows the capacity the in-plant has moving forward,” he says.

Maximizing Profitability, Increasing Possibility

For Tom Jessome, Printing Services manager at McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada), the move into vehicle graphics is an extension of a broader effort to advance the 18-employee in-plant into digitally printed signage. He says that broader effort has increased signage production by 400%.

It started with a mindset, Jessome says, that identifies what is not known, then demystifies it by asking questions. Regarding vehicle graphics, those questions included: How do we do it/print it/install it?

Members of the McMaster University Printing Services team (from left): Tom Jessome (manager), Steve Goertz (team lead, digital production), Nick Giammarco (team lead, wide format), Christine Durham (customer relations), Carolynn Sliwinski (signage coordinator), Flash Arsenault (digital production), Bernice Grasley (digital production), and Nigel Wrench (customer relations). | Credit: McMaster University

The in-plant first used a hybrid of insourcing and outsourcing until the team felt comfortable doing the work themselves. And even then, Jessome adds, his “small but mighty” operation may still utilize contract installation services based on capacity and capability.

A McMaster University Printing Services installer wraps a university van.

To produce its vehicle graphics, the McMaster in-plant uses its two Roland DGA print-and-cut devices — a VG 2540 and a VG 3540 — both of which have orange and green ink channels.

“It opens up the color gamut tremendously,” Jessome clarifies.

For this application, the shop uses 3M materials, particularly 3M IJ180, which he finds works well for vehicles, but also for other applications, such as wall wraps.

Jessome says that while learning to successfully produce and install vehicle graphics can be challenging, a greater challenge may be on the business side.

“Part of my role is to develop pricing and billing strategies for these types of products,” he says. “You can’t underestimate the amount of work required to price and produce these jobs.”

McMaster University Printing Services installers wrap a university van. | Credit: McMaster University

When asked how long a wrap will continue to look good, Jessome tells clients they can expect between three and five years.

“We have a bus that has been out for four years and looks great,” he says, adding that the first van the shop wrapped (two years ago) still looks great. Seeing it, he says, “still puts a smile on my face.”

While Jessome says vehicle graphics and wraps are profitable for the McMaster in-plant, clients are often surprised how much it costs to produce and install them. He says this is where educating the client becomes a part of the sales process, making sure they understand that “all vehicle wraps are not created equally,” and that quality and longevity come at a cost.

Finally, Jessome says vehicle graphics enhance the perception of the McMaster in-plant by giving higher value to the services it offers. It also elevates the in-plant within the university community and opens doors of possibility. Having seen that work, people ask, “What else can you do?” he explains, “and when they open that door to the art of the possible, the sky is the limit for what you can do.”