Signs of the Times - June 2014 - (Page 18)

V in y l A pp s By Steve Aust Too Much Ain't Enough More vehicle graphics stir the imagination. Steve Aust is ST's Senior Associate Editor. A member of its editorial staff since 2000, his work emphasizes vinyl graphics, architectural and environmental graphics, and 3-D signage. Last month, we proudly featured an eclectic array of vehicle wraps that emphasized their diverse potential - food trucks, subwaytrain and boat wraps were included. This month, we're glad to feature more vehicle graphics that demonstrate as many personalities as there are vehicles. I f vehicle wraps are part of your shop's repertoire, don't forget to toss your hat in the ring for our 8th Annual Vehicle Graphics Contest. The deadline approaches: Friday, July 25. For more information, see page 69. A Trash-Truck Treasure Rarely does a municipal official announce a budget surplus and invite local citizens to suggest ways to invest city funds. More often, city-council meetings involve contentious debates. It's even better when local governments invest in signage and graphics to promote civic pride. Wraps for trash-collection trucks present a unique opportunity to take residents' minds off the, ahem, pungent nature of the trucks' contents and provide a positive local image. Folsom, CA hired Ferrari Color (Salt Lake City, UT and Emeryville, CA) to wrap its entire trashcollection fleet with a rustic scene 18 SIGNS OF THE TIMES June 2014 of the area's iconic Rainbow Bridge. The Ferrari Color design team utilized Adobe® Illustrator® and Photoshop® software. Its Salt Lake City-based production facility printed the wrap on its Durst Rho 160 UV-cure-ink flatbed printer with 3M™ Controltac™ IJ180-10C with Comply ™ v3 air-release media. To keep the image's twilight glow, they added Scotchcal 8519 lusterfinish overlaminate. Ferrari Color's Emeryville, CA installation facility applied the wrap. New Life for an Old Chevy As General Motors (GM) faces increasingly heavy media scrutiny for the recalls required to correct faulty ignition switches - and the damning evidence that GM officials knew about the flaws, yet attempted to conceal the errors - it's more pleasant to remember Detroit's golden era. Pickford, MI-based The Graphix Garage evoked such nostalgia with the vehicle graphics it created for its 1948 Chevrolet ¾-ton, longbox truck. Jennifer DeVos, The Graphix Garage's owner, designed the graphics using Adobe Illustrator CS6 software with a Cutting Master plug-in to assist in prepping graphics for plotter cutting. The design's theme references the tree that DeVos built from steel rod, diamond lath and fiberglass-reinforced cement to erect the shop's on-premise sign - it won the 2014 International Sign Contest's Commercial Freestanding sign category (see ST, April 2014, page 80). Winding, surreal branches embellish the Chevy's side panels. On her Graphtec FC5100-75 cutting plotter, DeVos fabricated the graphics with a combination of Orafol 951 premium cast, vehiclewrap film and fashioned the fish from Oralite® reflective film. She also created leaves with Avery Dennison's Ultra metallic film, and applied magnetic backers so she could remove them when winter arrived. She applied the cut graphics with Rapid Tac application fluid, and felt and 3M Gold nylon squeegees.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signs of the Times - June 2014

Signs of the Times - June 2014
Columns & Departments
Features
ST Update
Technology Update
What Shops Need to Know about Windows XP
Vinyl Apps
Strictly Electric
LED Update
Software Update
Technology Review: X-Rite’s ColorTRUE app
Technology Review: Color-Logic’s process metallic color system
New Products
Advertising index
Editorially speaking

Signs of the Times - June 2014