Cross-Country for a Cause

For the third consecutive year, pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb sponsored the “Tour of Hope”?a 9-day bike journey across America featuring 24 riders who had been touched by cancer in some way. The riders, including seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, were organized into four teams of six that rode in relay fashion, 4 to 5 hours a day from San Diego to Washington, DC (3300 miles in all).

The company wanted graphics for the tour bus, which would not only carry resting riders but also act as a rolling billboard and promotional static display during tour stops. The graphics would cover all five sides of the bus so that it could viewed by TV cameras tracking the event from above as well as by spectators in the more usual venues.

Production
Philadelphia-based Berry & Homer was chosen for the job and received the bus-graphics artwork from Bristol-Myers Squibb's photo lab, which had worked closely in the design stages with the Tour of Hope team.

Turnaround time was crucial, points out James Ebby, Berry & Homer vice president of marketing, because the bus had to be on the road on a specific date to make it across country to kick off the tour, which started in San Diego. This challenge “was impacted by very detailed file prep and color-management issues,” he says.

The company printed the graphics at 360 dpi using its Vutek UltraVu 3360 solvent printer, imaging onto 1000 sq ft of Avery Dennison MPI 1000EZ self-adhesive vinyl in 48-in. wide sections. The entire installation was completed in a single day by a crew of seven (approximately 60 to 70 man-hours total); install took place at Berry & Homer's facility. Because the graphics were going to be viewed standing still and up-close as well as on the move, “We took great care in printing the graphics at much higher resolutions than would otherwise be associated with vehicle graphics,” says Eby.

Comment
“We have a long-standing relationship with Bristol-Myers Squibb, but this marks the first Tour of Hope bus wrap we did for them.”

Client
Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope Team (www.tourofhope.org)

The Players
Print provider and installer: Berry & Homer, Philadelphia, PA (www.berryandhomer.com)

Tools & Supplies
Vutek UltraVu 3360; Avery Dennison MPI 1000EZ self-adhesive vinyl; Avery DOL 1000 Gloss overlaminate