As an effective and affordable marketing tool, vehicle signage and wrapping are on the increase. Wherever your business vehicle goes, so does your marketing campaign, and without any effort! With eye catching designs, your branding colours and any other details you require, a sign written vehicle provides you with a great return on investment for all sized businesses.
We’ve created this guide to help walk you through the process of having your vehicle sign written, as well as discussing the most frequently asked questions.
What Is the Vehicle Signage and Wrapping Process?
We offer three individual forms of vehicle graphics:
We are more than happy to discuss which option is best for your business. The process for each type of signwriting overlaps and follows these five steps:
Step 1 – Vehicle Pre-Inspection
Visit us with your vehicle so we can discuss your requirements, photograph, and measure your vehicle. This will only take 15-20 minutes but please call ahead to ensure a staff member will be available at the time that suits you.
Step 2 – Vehicle Signwriting Design
From our discussion, we will design your vehicle signwriting. You will be sent an electronic mock up for your approval. A design charge applies for these initial concepts (unless you are a branding pack client). This acts as a deposit towards your final invoice.
Step 3 – Quote
Once you have decided on a design, we can supply a quote for the production and installation of your vehicle’s signwriting.
Step 4 – Production
On acceptance of your quote, your graphics will go into production. This can take a couple of weeks depending on the materials used.
Step 5 – Installation
Once production is completed, we will be in touch to book a time for installation of your graphics.
Benefits of Vehicle Signwriting
There are numerous benefits to having your commercial vehicle sign written, including:
- Long lasting – when professional installed, vehicle graphics are considerably long lasting and do not have any recurring costs, unlike print or digital media
- Reach a wider audience – wherever your vehicle travels, your marketing campaign travels with you just like a mobile billboard
- Fully customisable – our team are experts in designing vehicle signage that is unique, eye catching and memorable
- Brand awareness – keep your business name in front of your customers by covering your vehicles in your brand’s colours, logo and contact details
Designing Your Vehicle Graphics
It is important to have your vehicle graphics professionally designed. Using your branding guidelines (if you don’t have any, again we can help!), we take several factors into consideration during the design process:
- Vehicle shape, size, and colour
- Brand colours and imagery
- Where it makes sense to split text and design elements
- Preferred details on the signage
- Colours, textures, and finishes of vinyl
We also know that your vehicle is going to alternate between being parked and being driven. People are going to view it from all angles, and we need to take advantage of all these things.
The back of a vehicle is going to be seen by someone driving behind you, making this a good place for a short message. When driving by pedestrians, they’ll see the side of the vehicle, but only for a second or so. If the person driving in front of you looks in their rear-view mirror, we need for them to instantly identify what your message is.
Remember too, the drivers side and passengers side will need a different design. You can't simply mirror it or the text will be back to front!
Applying Your Vehicle Signage and Wrapping
After your graphics have been approved by you and printed by us, we’re ready for the installation process. The graphics are professionally printed, laminated and computer cut to size. The outside of the vehicle is thoroughly cleaned and then the graphics are placed according to the design plan. The vinyl is then carefully applied and finished.
Vehicle Signage and Wrapping FAQs
You’ve most likely got further questions about having graphics designed, printed and installed upon your commercial vehicle. We have listed and answered some of the most asked questions below and are more than happy to chat further about these or any other questions you may have.
- How much will it cost to have my vehicle sign written? Cost will vary depending upon several factors, including your preferred coverage of graphics, vehicle size and design work required. As a general guide, you can expect somewhere between $260+GST for basic spot vehicle graphics and upwards of $3,000+GST for a partial vehicle wrap.
- How long will my vehicle graphics last? This will depend upon the amount of sun exposure and environmental stress the vehicle has, where on the vehicle the graphics are installed, plus how well the graphics are cared for. The condition of your vehicle's paint job prior to application can affect the longevity too. A general guideline is between 5 to 10 years.
- Should I have my vehicle painted or wrapped? A professional repaint is designed to last the life of the vehicle. A wrap has a shorter lifespan. If you get a scrape in a wrapped car, the entire vehicle may require recovered. In a painted car, the scrape can often be polished out.
- How do I care for my sign written vehicle? It’s quite easy to care for the graphics we have installed on your vehicle. Hand washing with a soft sponge is suitable but remember to use a non-abrasive detergent. Use of a microfibre cloth helps to reduce water spotting, and please do not use any wax or polishing products on your vinyl. The chemicals and brushes used in commercial carwash machines can cause scratches or lifting of the graphics. Do not use a pressure washer/water blaster.
- Will the graphics damage my paintwork? If your vehicle’s paintwork is in good condition when the graphics are applied, there should be no damage when installed. When time comes for removal, heat application can help soften the vinyl adhesive and make it easier to remove.
- What colours can my vehicle wrap be? What colours do you want? We have access to an enormous range of vinyl colours, finishes and textures – almost nothing is impossible!
- What vehicles can you wrap? We specialise in branding trade and commercial vehicles with clients entrusting us with their tractors, tipper trucks, utes, station wagons, vans, diggers and more!
Ready to Have Your Vehicle Sign Written?
Start by arranging a time to visit. We will view and measure your vehicle, talk to you about your business and any ideas you have regarding how you want your graphics to look. You can give us your brand guidelines including any logo files, font, and colours - or we can bundle your signwriting into our popular Branding Pack.
After we have completed our design work, we’ll send you a mock up for you to approve, make any necessary changes and provide you with a quote. Upon acceptance from you, we will then arrange the printing of your graphics and a suitable installation time for us to apply these to your vehicle.
We are more than happy to chat with you about your ideas and make suggestions of our own. Give us a call on 03 489 3925 or send us an email and let’s get your marketing on wheels moving!