James Buescher knows something about competition. Only 22 years old at the time, he won the points championship for NASCAR’s 2012 Camping World truck-racing series. Demonstrating even more ambition, Buescher and his wife open a personal-training business, Buescher Bootcamp, in Plano, TX, his hometown. To promote their enterprise, the Bueschers hired 360 Wraps (Dallas) to outfit a Chevy Silverado with a wrap.
“James had an idea of what he wanted,” 360 Wraps owner Tommy Strader said. “He said, ‘Make it look like an old Army truck.’ We went to a local Army National Guard post and took pictures of sections of old vehicles.”
Using Adobe Photoshop, they edited roughly 40 images that served as the base colors and “textures” for the wrap’s design. About Photoshop, Strader said, “I’ve been using this program for 13 years, and I learn something new everyday. It’s great for creating photorealistic graphics.”
360 Wraps eschews vehicle-template software. Strader said, “We haven’t found a system that matches the exact dimensions we achieve by creating our own templates. We’re currently producing a DVD, The 10 Minute Template, which will instruct wrap providers how to quickly develop design-ready templates themselves.”
After a thorough wash and alcohol cleaning – Strader suggested installers spend triple the time on edges, cracks and fender wells that they devote to large, prominent areas – they produced the wrap on the shop’s HP L25500 and L26500 latex-ink printers, and use FlexiSign to proof prints. According to Strader, 360 Wraps implements a series of custom color profiles that a color professional developed for them. He said, “The accuracy of your color profiles is more important than the software you use, so you need to invest whatever time, energy or money is required to get them right.”
To complete the job, 360 Wraps used Avery Dennison Graphics’ MPI 1005 Supercast EZ Apply RS air-release media. The shop uses a somewhat old-school, but effective, lamination process. Strader said the shop bought an off-board, nip-roller laminator in a package deal with its first printer. They paired the machine with a custom-built, 6 x 12-ft. table that serves as a take-up area where the laminate is trimmed.
“I’m not a big fan of roll-to-roll lamination unless you’re using a laminate that’s narrower than the media,” Strader said. “Otherwise, the print will have an edge that overhangs and sticks to the roll, which creates handling problems when you unroll it.”
As is often the case with trucks, the grill and bumpers provided the most challenging installation surfaces. Rather than continuing the wrap pattern onto the door handles, 360 Wraps created contrast and applied flat-black Avery film.
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Arizona Designs DiPascale’s
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SignWorks Truck Wrap