What’s Hot In Installation & Displays

Vehicles

One of the hottest and fastest growing areas of specialty graphics today is vehicle graphics, be they advertising-based, decorative or functional (providing protection from the elements or changing the color of a car). New kinds of vinyls, new tools and new techniques are constantly appearing.

“Some of the newest things going on with vinyls are products that are not really vinyl as we think of it today,” says Rob Ivers, Owner of Rob Ivers, Inc., which provides tools and training for vehicle wrappers. Ivers is also co-instructor of the “Wrap Like a Pro” sessions, being held Tuesday through Thursday. “Companies are coming out with products that are more ‘green,’ such as ‘non-vinyl vinyls’ made for car wrapping.” The challenge to working with some of these materials is that they may not stretch or otherwise perform in the same way that “traditional” car wrap vinyls do, which can make them prone to listing and, ultimately, wrap failure.

Then there are tools. “Attendees should look at tool companies,” says Ivers. “There are some amazing tools coming out.” Such as rulers or dots that can stick to non-metallic surfaces, much like window clings, but are themselves magnetically receptive, so installers can use magnets for positioning and application purposes. “They’re great on fiberglass race cars,” he says. “If someone is wrapping a NASCAR and it’s fiberglass, and they’re used to using magnets to position graphics, now there is a way to do it.”