K2mbs Loc: Southern Tier of, NY

Has anyone had experience with having a file of theirs transformed into an image on vinyl (i believe that is what material it is) and put on a vehicle?.... or at least understands this process?
I am in the midst of having this potentially happen, and hope that my TIFF, or PSD is large enough. What would be the resolution needed to pull off a 7-8' x 7x8' square? and even with a high dpi...isn't the amount it has been cropped the over riding factor of pixilation. Maybe this process isn't exactly the same as 'blowing up' a photo in conventional terms???

Love to here an explanation of this process...thanks ahead for any input.

Merlin1300 Loc: New England, But Now & Forever SoTX

Yep - - usually the company that does this has a graphic artist on staff (or on retainer), AND another highly skilled craftsman who applies the final product to your vehicle - usually with the help of a wing-tip blow-torch !!
-
First - plan your image layout. Typically this is either a repeating pattern, a color design, pattern, etc. Then the layout is planned for the printing stage on the vinyl sheet {I think it's a 3M product}. The printer is an ink-jet that is about 6 feet wide !! Once dried, coated and stabilized, the wrap is ready for application. A craftsman carves the vinyl along pre-determined lines - then attaches the vinyl to your vehicle {which must be meticulously cleaned first}. The vinyl is heated and stretched to fit the curves of your vehicle - using the above mentioned blow torch. Too much heat - it melts. Not enough - it doesn't fit right. Also must avoid air bubbles, wrinkles, and sags. The guys who do this WELL are like MAGIC !!
-
Vehicles that are ideal for this are boxy looking with flat square panels. The Old Toyota Scion XB was a favorite for this - until someone in Japan decided to make it rounder :( .
-
Follows are a few shots of the transformation of my wifes car. She does machine quilting, and wanted the car to show off the pattern of a quilt she made.
-
Hint: We were told that the wrap should be removed at 5 years - because if it remained in place longer than that - they could not promise that the original finish of the vehicle might not be damaged when the wrap was eventually removed. In reality - after 5 years in the sun - it had faded to the point it needed to come off.
-

Nice White Scion XB {2006}


Quilt Photo


One of many close-up shots (1.6 MB)


Final Result

Tea8 Loc: Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain.

I have never seen the wrap process applied to a picture before. I have seen many of them used for advertising.

And I must say that Scion is trippin'. Bet you never lost it in a big parking lot.

Would also love to see some pics of the finished wrap done with that pic K2mbs.

SpeedyWilson Loc: Upstate South Carolina

K2mbs, I'd suggest you talk to the people at the shop that will do your wrap. The process is great, and the experts are the best people to tell you, and show you, what they need to give you the best results.

----------

Merlin, that's a great looking van. I've never seen that idea used, but it's a great way to promote your wife's quilts.

SpeedyWilson Loc: Upstate South Carolina

Here are some inspiring examples:

http://weburbanist.com/2009/06/17/30-brilliant-vinyl-car-wrap-designs/

michelleGD

love the shot .... reminds me of DTW when life was good.

Jer Loc: Mesa, Arizona

You want the highest resolution as possible, ask the company you are dealing with. Also, remember it doesn't have to be tack sharp since people will be viewing it from a distance.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

I own a sign company and we do wraps. The artwork typically consists of bitmaps and vectors. For bitmaps, the larger the original artwork is, the better. However, do not resize your files. The quality does not go up as does the physical size. We use specialized printing software that handles the resizing issues.

Unlike bitmaps, vector artwork maintains its quality at any size. My advice is for you to use the sign company for the final design. Your vendor may have your vehicle's template or other specialized software to facilitate the design.

As for printing, special printable and repositionable vinyls with special laminates are used. You need a wide-format printer or else you will have to many pieces to seam. Finally, you must use an experienced, trained installer to apply the vinyl. This is quite an art and science and takes considerable patience. Absolutely do not consider doing it yourself.

Finally, you might consider a partial wrap or just applying separate pictures and text.

Good luck.

planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs

I've also seen some nice vinyl-wrapped aircraft at airshows before. They look really nice and I guess it's a bit cheaper than several layers of paint and clear coat. You can probably have any kind of vehicle decorated like that.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

We've seen this image here before, haven't we? Very nice.

K2mbs Loc: Southern Tier of, NY

I guess I should have worded the question differently.
I don't believe I had this same image on here before, but one similar (I think).
As it turns out, the owner/driver of this Grand Prix hydroplane wanted to use this image to cover half of the box on the team transport, and I asked the vinyl questions in fear that the file I gave him might not work out at such a large size. He did have it put on the truck after all at 4' x 6'... which was smaller than he was hoping, but he trusted the guy doing the job, and the size was a bit small to what he expected, but said it looked OK...I can't wait to see it with all of the other sponsor graphics, and all on there. It's in a parade pulling the hydro with 2 other GP's Sunday night in Valleyfield, Quebec. The Indianapolis speedway of inboard Hydroplane racing for over 70 years.
The people at the parade will also receive an 8x10 version of this image for autographs, or to put on the wall at home.
I wasn't worried about the 8x10 looking ok, but the huge wrap had me nervous.
Thanks for all the input everyone.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

This might sound silly, but I hope you take a picture of your picture on that truck.

K2mbs Loc: Southern Tier of, NY