Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 26

VEHICLES + VINYL

us full reins on designing this full wrap
for his company with one request:
a memorial for his son who had
passed away," JP said. In addition,
after reviewing the customer's existing logo, JP recalled, "He allowed us
to update that as well."
Using FlexiSIGN-PRO, Jennifer
took advantage of the design freedom
allowed to create a blue-striped
pattern, over which additional flourishes were added, including the
memorial presented as a tasteful
scroll. Longwood printed the design
on 3M IJ180mC vinyl utilizing their
HP Latex 360 printer. They applied
3M Scotchcal 8518 Overlaminate via
their Royal Sovereign RSC-1651LS
laminator. JP and Jennifer also spec'd
3M IJ680CR (reflective) film for
the copy.
Calvin Meadows joined JP for the
installation. Both come from automotive backgrounds, "So we are fluent
in removing door handles, latches
and hardware, etc.," JP said. They
used WetEdge squeegees and Olfa
blades among other tools during the
install. "We completed the design,
print and install in under 50 hours,"
26

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

OCTOBER 2017

JP said. The most challenging aspect
was - as mentioned before - the
lack of design templates. "You have
to take lots of pictures and measurements to create your template to
begin," he said. Then again, JP
and Jennifer should be all set if
they get another tow truck just
like that one.
PULLING THE JOB ALONE
Chad Ragan, owner of Pro Graphix
(Eagle Lake, MN) heads another
company that hitched itself to a towtruck client some time ago. Affordable
Towing has been a customer of Pro
Graphix for around 15 years. "About
six years ago, they experienced the
impact of vehicle wraps and never
looked back," Chad said. He's wrapped
their whole fleet - from service trucks
and enclosed trailers, to light-duty
and heavy-duty wreckers. "They
love the advertising and look of
wraps!" Chad said. Taking the logo
he designed for Affordable Towing
15 years before, Chad worked up the
concept, showed it to them "and it
was love at first sight."
A one-man operation, Chad

employed SignLab and Photoshop to
develop and finalize the design - a
bright, lightning-bolt-inspired pattern
complementing the company name in
bold lettering. He printed the design
on Avery MPI 1105 vinyl using the
shop's HP Latex 360, then protected
the film with a Ledco laminator. To
maintain portions of the original
white color in places, Chad chose
Avery MPI 1060 (transparent) vinyl.
Despite working alone, Chad
wrapped the previously all-white
truck in about 16 hours, including
removing and replacing everything
such as door handles to allow for a
flawless install. Chad used Geek
Wraps' squeegees and a heat gun
among an arsenal of other tools to
make sure nothing would be left on
the side of the road. "I have wrapped
some pretty large things in my career
and everyone always asks, 'How do
you do it by yourself ?'" Chad said. "I
say, 'It's easy!'" The only drag - once
again - is developing a template for
every different type of truck.
Hey, if wrapping a wrecker were as
easy as "cut and paste," then everyone would do it.



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signs of the Times - October 2017

Signs of the Times - October 2017
Contents
From the Editor
St Update
At Large
Tech Review
Vehicles + Vinyl
Design Matters
Nuts + Bolts
Vital Signs
Can You Make That in Neon?
Fabricating Bannerisms
Strictly Electric: It’s Good to Bb King
New Products
Advertising Index
Last Look
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - Intro
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - BB1
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - BB2
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - Signs of the Times - October 2017
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - BD_L
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - BD
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - Cover2
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 1
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - Contents
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 3
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 4
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 5
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 6
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 7
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - From the Editor
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 9
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - St Update
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 11
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 12
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 13
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 14
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 15
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 16
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 17
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - At Large
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 19
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 20
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 21
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - Tech Review
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 23
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - Vehicles + Vinyl
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 25
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 26
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 27
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - Design Matters
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 29
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - Nuts + Bolts
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 31
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 32
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 33
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 34
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 35
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 36
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 37
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - Vital Signs
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 39
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 40
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 41
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 42
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 43
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - Can You Make That in Neon?
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 45
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 46
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 47
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 48
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 49
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - Fabricating Bannerisms
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 51
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 52
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 53
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 54
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 55
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - Strictly Electric: It’s Good to Bb King
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 57
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 58
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 59
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 60
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 61
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 62
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 63
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 64
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 65
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - New Products
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 67
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 68
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 69
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 70
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 71
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 72
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 73
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 74
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 75
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 76
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 77
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 78
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 79
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 80
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 81
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 82
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 83
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 84
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 85
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 86
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 87
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 88
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 89
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 90
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 91
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 92
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 93
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - 94
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - Advertising Index
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - Last Look
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - Cover3
Signs of the Times - October 2017 - Cover4
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/STMG/sott_201312
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