Fleet Sizes Are Up. So Are Client Expectations. Here’s How One Shop Owner Keeps Pace.

BUSINESS IS BOOMING for wraps shops across the country as clients seek to take advantage of vehicle graphics’ commercial potential, paint protective properties, and customization options.

Vehicle graphics’ advertising impact is stunning. Outdoor Advertising Association of America’s (OAAA’s) research found that a single local delivery van wrap generates 16 million impressions annually.

We sat down for a discussion with wraps expert Matt Richart, longtime owner at Digital EFX Wraps and Inside the Wrap Shop in Louisville, KY, about the changes he’s seen in the wraps consumer and market, how he selects reliable and effective printing equipment for his busy shop, and what he sees ahead for this growing industry.

Digital EFX Wraps has been around since the beginning of the vehicle graphics boom. What are some of the changes you’ve seen?

Being in this great industry for over 20 years, we have seen some major changes in the vehicle graphic market and consumer.

• Technology improvements: Advances in printer technology, ink development, software, and media composition have increased companies’ productivity, allowing them to print more vibrant colors with faster print times. Installation tools for vehicle wraps have also improved.
• Educated consumers: Another big change is that today’s consumer understands what wraps are for and the value they provide. I truly believe that these days, having a vehicle wrapped with your company’s information is just as important as having a website.
• Increased demand for color change and PPF:  Color change vehicle wraps have been a big and growing part of the graphics market for the past 10-15 years, as consumers appreciate the customization options. Paint protection film business has also significantly increased for many graphic companies.
• AI facilitates designs and communications: The introduction of AI has also changed the vehicle graphics game as companies utilize this tool for design and for communication within their shop and with clients. Now, internal organization of documents, procedures, and even answering phone calls and emails are being handled differently.
• Larger fleets: With the many types of delivery services out there, our company along with many others have also seen an increase in fleet graphics requests, and in the size of fleets we service. Where it used to be 2-10 vehicles, we are now dealing with companies that have 25 – 150 vehicles. Along with adding design and branding services to our portfolio, contracting with these larger fleets has allowed us to grow very rapidly, and to create even better relationships and trust with our clients from the beginning.

Your shop always has state-of-the-art printing equipment. What can you tell us about the latest generation of eco-solvent printers?

Our new Roland DG TrueVIS XP-640 wide-format eco-solvent printer has been a game changer. Since the very first day I laid eyes on this new printer I have been blown away. Usually, you either sacrifice speed for great color and resolution or have a printer that can print fast but the quality and resolution aren’t the best. With our XP printer we can do both. We can produce vibrant prints with great color and gamut, at a speed that is twice as fast as our previous printers. Just last week we were able to print graphics for a 53’ trailer in eight hours.

These days when providing test prints, we sometimes have to dial back the intensity of the print because the XP’s colors can actually be too vibrant. In my 20 years in the wraps business, we’ve usually had the opposite problem, where we are asking “How can we make our printer print brighter, crisper, and with a wider gamut?”  We now have that solution from Roland DGA. We are looking at buying another XP-640 to amplify our production even more.

What are your top tips for choosing vehicle graphics printing equipment? What features are most important for pros in your industry?

Choosing your printing equipment is critical for ensuring the success of your wraps shop. We all talk about how important the installation process is, but what’s just as important is having a high-quality, reliable printer. Here are some important considerations when evaluating printers for your wraps business.

• Service and training: The first tip I have for choosing the right printing equipment is to ensure you understand how it will be serviced. Make sure the dealer you are working with can support your printer when it needs to be repaired, serviced and maintained. Your dealer should also be able to provide support when your staff needs training on maintenance procedures and on how to set up the right profiles for printing each job.
• Print quality: I also truly believe that the quality of the design and prints you produce are a reflection of you and your business. We take pride in the precision of our prints, their vibrant color gamut, and how our prints look versus prints from our competition. Often, the test prints we provide are what win us the job.
• Print consistency: Print consistency is critical when producing wraps, especially on larger vehicles and for fleet work. Make sure the printer you are considering can print the same vibrant color over and over.
• Print speed: You need a printer that can produce quality prints at a speed that allows you to maintain your productivity and operate at a high enough level to keep pace with your shop’s growth.
• Ease of use: Another tip is to investigate how easy or complex it is for you to set up your file, load in your media, and control your ink system. Adding a robust take-up system can free you from needing to babysit your production.

What do you see ahead for the vehicle graphics market?

I think the market will see more growth on the commercial side of vehicle graphics, with more fleet graphics being produced and increasing requests for color changes and PPF film.  We’ll also see growth in education and training options for both the client and for graphics companies, as more competition spurs a higher standard across the industry.

As the wraps industry continues to grow, we will continue to benefit from more advanced printing technology that will increase our production quality and productivity in the future.

DIGITAL EFX PHOTO GALLERY (7 IMAGES)