Best Service Vehicles of 2010

FIRST PLACE

Fabricator
SkinzWraps
Dallas
(214) 741-4529
www.skinzwraps.com

Designer
Mark Cornwell

Client
Lawn Lab

The judges liked the use of color and straightforward, yet effective, use of text and graphics in conveying the benefits of the company’s custom, lawn-fertilization treatments. SkinzWraps’ Mark Cornwell designed the graphics using Adobe’s Illustrator and Photoshop on his Mac, and the shop output the wrap on its Epson Stylus Pro GS 6000 — a 64-in.-wide printer that incorporates the company’s UltraChrome low-VOC inks – with Avery’s MPI 1005 EZ RS Supercast media. To preserve the graphics, SkinzWraps laminated the wrap with Avery DOL 1060 glossy overlaminate, which it applied with a Seal Ultra 62-in. laminator. Installers finessed the wrap into place with Avery and Lidco squeegees, with assists from propane torches. In addition to this award-winning truck, SkinzWraps also outfitted Lawn Lab’s Dodge Sprinter vans with identical graphics.

SECOND PLACE

Fabricator
Digital Graphic Solutions (DGS)
Valparaiso, IN
(219) 465-7600
www.thedigitalcompanies.com

Client
GE Marshall Co.

Thin-skinned graphics won’t cut it when a shop is detailing a Mack truck. And when the client handles heavy-duty, construction-site by moving tons of earth, a wrap must pack a wallop. DGS proved equal to the task in its design and fabrication for this approximately 500-sq.-ft. wrap. The shop developed the graphics using Adobe’s Creative Suite 4, and fabricated the graphics using MPI’s 1005 EZ Apply RS Supercast media, which it printed on its Seiko H104-S printer. A topcoat with Avery’s DOL 1030 luster-finish overlaminate, applied with an AGL 6400 laminator, helps the wrap stay rock-steady.
Mark Trumbull, DGS’s president, said Macks test installer’s skills because of the hood’s extreme contours and single-piece, fiberglass construction that prevents a seamless application. For more information about the project, see ST, July 2010, page 63.

THIRD PLACE

Fabricator
Green Sign Co.
Greensburg, IN
(812) 663-2550
www.greensignco.com

Designers
Shawn Green
Mike Harvey

Client
Vohland Nursery

Apparently, lawn and garden-related graphics resonated with this year’s judges. Although this full wrap features somewhat subtle graphics, the judges commended it for conveying the tranquil feeling effective landscaping can provide. The shop designed the wrap using CorelDraw 13 and Adobe’s Creative Suite 3, and prepped the Scion’s surface with 3M’s Primer 94. Green Sign printed the wrap with 3M’s Controltac with Comply air-release film on its Mimaki JV3-160SP solvent-ink printer. 3M’s 8519 luster-finish overlaminate, applied with a Seal laminator, keeps the graphics verdant.

HONORABLE MENTION

Fabricator
Sign Art Inc.
Malden, MA
(781) 322-3785
www.signartboston.com

Designer
Peter Campbell

Installer
Andy Layman

Client
Joe Nigro