FIRST PLACE
Fabricator
Extreme Graphics
Tampa
(813) 855-4364
www.extremegraphics.com
Designer
Dan Bryant
Make Studio
Portland, ME
(207) 771-9994
www.make-studio.com
Installer
Mike Postill
Client
Simms Fishing
Fishing evokes images of tranquil lakes with gently lapping water, where the only sounds are the whirr of your casting line and the plop of the lure. It’s difficult to make such a laconic experience exciting, but Make Studio and Extreme Graphics pulled it off nicely for Simms Fishing, which makes fishing gear from footwear to backpacks.
Capt. Dave Chouinard, Simms Fishing’s sales rep for the Southeast, wanted to increase brand awareness by wrapping his recreational vehicle. Extreme Graphics produced the wrap on 3M Controltac IJ180C-10 with Comply v3 air-release film, which it printed with a Mimaki JV3-160SP solvent-ink printer. 3M’s 8518 glossy overlaminate, applied with a GBC 3064 WF dual-function laminator, will help the fish keep biting. Because of the high ink saturation, Extreme Graphics allowed the 24 panels, which total approximately 1,000 sq. ft., to outgas for 72 hours.
Postill installed the wrap using The Wraptor, his patent-pending installation apparatus designed to help vinyl maintain consistent tension and reduce installation time by using a gimbal joint and vertical, expanding stanchion that allows 360° vertical and horizontal application.
The wrap provided a very tangible benefit for Chouinard; sales in his territory grew 141% after the job’s completion.
SECOND PLACE
Fabricator
Graphitek
Hoosick Falls, NY
(518) 933-0393
www.graphitek.com
Designers
Paul Burke
Chris Petersen
Client
Bettie’s Cakes
This is the first double-decker bus – a Bristol, built in 1963 –we’ve received for this category. Obviously, no templates existed; Graphitek measured every inch of the bus, and a four-man installation crew required six days to complete the job. Because the bus had been painted numerous times and had several rust spots, extended sanding and priming was needed.
“The wrap measures 2,025 sq. ft.,” Al Randle, Graphitek’s general manager, said. “It was a big beast. The sheer height, and the numerous windows and intricate nooks and crevices required slow, deliberate work.”
The shop produced the wrap on 3M Controltac air-release media with a Mimaki JV-5 and luster-finish topcoat. The installation required scaffolding and 3M edge sealer to prevent the material from lifting, as well as a complement of torches, heat guns, 3M nylon squeegees and razors.
THIRD PLACE
Fabricator
bluemedia
Tempe, AZ
(480) 317-1333
www.bluemedia.com
Designer
Owens Harkey Design
Phoenix
(602) 254-5159
www.owensharkey.com
Installer
City of Phoenix
Client
Pita Jungle
It’s certainly a jungle out there in the restaurant business; a challenging economy has limited most families’ discretionary income, and it’s more difficult than ever for an up-and-comer to gain brand awareness. To grab eyes for the Pita Jungle, an independent, quick-service chain with 13 locations in Arizona and California, bluemedia partnered with Owens Harkey and Valley Metro, Phoenix’s public-transportation provider, to produce this flamboyantly colored wrap that provides required urban edge.
Although the numerous visual elements may appear chaotic, the shop used 3M’s Visual Attention Service, a program that analyzes a design and indicates what elements are most prominent, to perfect the design.
Bluemedia fabricated the wrap using 3M’s IJ46-20 film, a 4-mil, matte-finish media specifically designed for
transit wraps and solvent- or UV-cure-ink printing. The shop printed it on an HP Scitex TurboJet 8300 pigment-based, solvent ink printer. Bluemedia’s 55,000-sq.-ft. facility provides ample space for buses and or other supersized wraps.
HONORABLE MENTION
Fabricator
SkinzWraps
Dallas
(214) 741-4529
www.skinzwraps.com
Designer
Tyson Summers
Installers
Lee Autry
Boris Kolev
Brad Knorpp
Jose Rodriguez
Rene Orta
Client
Cavanaugh Flight Museum