Design

Best Service Vehicles of 2011

These work trucks and vans turn service calls into promotional opportunities.

Published

13 years ago

September 19, 2011

Steve Aust Signs of the Times October 2011 Issue

FIRST PLACE

Fabricator
Gatorwraps
Ontario, CA
(909) 390-1020
www.gatorwraps.com

Designer
Jeff Ciavardini

Installers
Jose Barragan
Omar Paz

Client
Gary Fisk/Holy Monkey Inc.

If your kids are serious about playing G.I. Joe, Kids-Army.com (a Holy Monkey Inc. subsidiary), which sells its wares online and at a store in Mira Loma, CA, should probably be your first stop. To help promote the store’s offerings of toy guns, grenades, uniforms and related gear, Fisk turned to Gatorwraps to wrap its delivery truck.

Ciavardini masterfully transformed a Chevy box truck into a military-transport vehicle using Adobe® Creative Suite 5’s Illustrator® and Photoshop®. The shop produced the wrap using Avery MPI 1005 EZ RS air-release vinyl on a Mutoh ValueJet VJ-1614 64-in.-wide, solvent-ink printer. Avery’s DOL 1060 glossy overlaminate keeps the graphics fresh for small-fry soldiers to view for years to come.

The installers’ tools included propane torches, breakaway knives – Ciavardini said they prefer the quickness of a breakaway blade for sharp cuts – and Avery felt/plastic combination squeegees.

SECOND PLACE

Fabricator
Ferrari Color
Salt Lake City
(801) 355-4124
www.ferraricolor.com

Designer

Nick Sikich
Atlas Disposal

Installer
Ferrari Color
Sacramento
(800) 533-6333
info.sac@ferraricolor.com

Client
Atlas Disposal

Atlas Disposal, a Sacramento-based, independently owned hauler of waste and recyclable materials, wanted a distinctive wrap that underscores the “greenness” of its services. The shop printed the approximately 1,200-sq.-ft. wrap with 3M’s 180-10C Controltac with Comply media on its Durst Rho 160 96-in.-wide, UV-cure-ink printer. 3M’s 8519 luster-finish overlaminate helps extend the verdant message’s lifespan.

The approximately 875-sq.-ft. wrap required six panels, with the majority (slightly more than 300 sq. ft. on either side) covering the truck’s business end.

THIRD PLACE

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

Designer
Tyson Summers

Installers
Lee Autry
Boris Kolev
Brad Knorpp
Rene Orta
Jose Rodriguez

Client
Concession Perfection

Fairs and festivals (in heavily Catholic Cincinnati, throngs of people set their summer social schedules around parish church festivals) wouldn’t be complete without concession trailers that dole out elephant ears, hot dogs and other family-friendly fare. Summers executed the trailer’s branding from scratch, beginning with researching diner photos before refining every facet, from the floor’s dancing-shoe pattern to the counter’s metallic texture. He said, “The small details are where I like to make my work shine. It’s what makes my job fun.”

SkinzWraps fabricated the 52-in.-wide panels using Avery MPI 1005 EZ RS glossy, air-release media, which it printed on its Epson GS 6000 eco-solvent-ink printer. Avery DOL 1060 glossy overlaminate helps preserve the vintage-diner motif. Installers overlapped the panels and conformed them to the surface with torches, X-acto knives and proprietary, custom-made squeegees.

HONORABLE MENTION

Fabricator

Signfarm
Nokesville, VA
(703) 753-0899
www.signfarm.com

Designer
Scott Lewczak

Client
Canine Carousel

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