Caffeine Cruiser

“IT LOOKS LIKE A MULLET” might not seem like a very nice thing to say, but this is a high compliment for Marco Peterie and Scott Moberg’s “Toasted Roasters” coffee truck. In fact, imparting the look of “business in the front and a party in the back” was the whole idea. “We designed the artwork on our trailer so when the windows are open and we’re working an event like a wedding reception, the appearance of our rig is very clean and professional,” they write. “You need to walk around to the other side of the trailer to see the fun artwork.”

Toasted Roasters was originally going to be a brick-and-mortar store, but COVID-19 had other ideas. If they were going to bring the coffee to the customers, Peterie and Moburg wanted to “instantly project who and what we were in a fun and original way.” However, making the graphic printable at sufficient size and resolution required the local caricature artist they’d commissioned to learn an entirely new graphics program.

Luckily, the proprietors were in good hands with Go Graphix, the local company they’d approached to print and install the wrap. “For a project like this, the most important aspect is good and clear client communication,” says Jim White, company president. “In this case, that extended to their illustrator.”

After working directly with the artist to meet the job requirements, Go Graphix was left with a compressed timeline for the rest of the work. However, a standardized process – the “Go TO” (Go Graphix Turnover) process – more than made up for the lost time. “Basically, it’s a series of checklists that turn over from department to department,” White explains. “A project manager handles coordination and client communication all the way through to a postmortem on each project.”

Printed on an HP Latex 800W with Onyx 22 RIP, the project involved 3M IJ180CV3 with 3M 8519 overlaminate film. Finishing equipment used included a Mimaki CG-130 FXII cutter and GFP563TH-4R MaxPro laminator.

Key Features of This Design

• Challenging: In addition to wheel wells cutting out large portions of the artwork, the crew had to contend with an air vent and camera interfering with the sense of depth created by one of the lines in the graphic.
• FUN: The caricature artwork links the proprietors to their brand while also lending a playful vibe.
• One-sided: Graphics extend from edge to edge on only one side of the 18’ truck. Covering just the 4’ windows of the other side helps maintain a cleaner, more professional appearance.