Piece of Cake

As part of Amtrak’s celebration of National Train Day in May, the rail service partnered with the cable network TLC’s reality show, “Cake Boss” to wrap an Acela Express train running from Washington, D.C., to New York City and Boston. TLC contracted ABC Imaging of Washington, D.C. to produce and install the graphics for five passenger train cars, one café car, and two locomotives. The show’s star, Buddy Vlastro, and many of his cake creations, would be featured on the wraps, and make the journey up and down the eastern seaboard from April through August.

Production
The project started with the Discovery Creative Agency designing the wrap panels using detailed Photoshop templates provided by ABC Imaging. The agency delivered the high-resolution EPS files to ABC, which manipulated them for high output and clean text. Multiple press proofs were printed on ABC’s HP Turbojet inkjet printer, then sent to the agency for approval of color and accuracy; full-size samples were provided to show image quality.

Once TLC and Discovery Creative approved the files, ABC Imaging began production of the graphics, which consisted of 18,000 square feet of material printed in 5 x 10-foot panels. Each of the four train cars required 44 panels.

ABC used its 62-inch HP Turbojet with Onyx Postershop RIP to image onto Flexcon’s BUSart and Seethru Sign window film. It then applied a Flexcon Busart 5020l luster overlaminate to the pressure-sensitive vinyl and a BUSart OV5040C premium gloss overlaminate to the window film using its GBC Orca III laminator. A crew of three ABC Imaging staffers hand-trimmed the laminate. Total production time: 10 days. The graphics were installed on the train over three days in Amtrak’s High Speed yard in Washington, D.C.

“Successfully completing a train wrap project the scale of the ‘Cake Boss’ wrap required our team to coordinate a lot of details,” says Wayne Schur, vice president and general manager of ABC Imaging’s Grand Format division.

“From logistics to production we had to be on our toes,” he continues. “For example, to make the installation flow properly, we had to sequence the printing to make sure the panels were shipped in the order they would be installed.”
 

The Client: TLC’s “The Cake Boss”

The Player: ABC Imaging (www.abcimaging.com)

Tools & Supplies: HP Turbojet, Onyx Postershop RIP, Flexcon BUSart and Seethru Sign window film, GBC Orca III laminator