Food Truck Wrap Takes Center Stage After Sign Contest

ALTHOUGH WE SELECT only three winning entries for each category of our annual Sign Contest, it does not mean that the non-winning entries won’t ever see the light of day. After all, these are usually a signshop’s proudest works, projects that embody creativity, craftsmanship and attention to detail in any context, whether standalone or shoulder to shoulder with other signshops’ best offerings.

This month we are shining the spotlight on one such entry from the Best Signshop-Designed and Fabricated or Outside-Designed, Signshop-Fabricated Vehicle Wrap category. So don’t be discouraged if your signs or wraps do not end up in the top three, and keep on sending your best works when the contest opens just around the corner in May — they might just take center stage in our magazine sometime later!

The Tex-Mex Chain

Pancheros Mexican Grill has been a longstanding customer of Nesper Sign Advertising (Cedar Rapids, IA), who have wrapped a number of vehicles for the restaurant in the past — the shop worked on two of their vehicles this past summer alone. The eye-catching orange-and-yellow van wrap entered into the 2024 Sign Contest was a new design, according to Nesper Sign owner Donna Garland.

The wrap was designed by Cultivator, an advertising and design agency based in Denver. Nesper Sign then used Mimaki RasterLink7 to process the images prior to printing. Garland notes that some minor details had to be worked out while coordinating with a design firm and the end customer at the same time.

“I think the biggest thing is that when artwork does come from another provider, there are times it doesn’t convert just the way they think it may. We ran several test samples and showed the customer before printing the final product,” Garland recalls. The artwork that came through had a tendency to look green in outdoor light, so the shop adjusted the color calibrations internally to achieve the shades that Pancheros wanted.

From there, the project was plain sailing. Nesper’s team printed the graphics on 3M Print Wrap Film IJ180mC-10 using their Mimaki UCJV300-160 printer with LUS 200 inks, then applied 3M Scotchcal Luster Overlaminate 8519 using their GBC SEAL 62 Base Laminator. Installers Glenn Spink and Dave Grommon installed the wrap with the typical tools of the trade: squeegee, heat gun, razor knife and edge sealant.

Thanks to skilled craftsmanship, careful coordination and attentive consideration for the customer’s needs, the end result was an advertising vehicle in bright, warm tones that would be sure to catch attention. Months after the Signs of The Times Sign Contest was over, it certainly caught ours.