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Training courses – what is the best one available?
Hi,
I have seen several training courses available for vehicle wrapping,
Including the one offered here.
I have two questions, firstly what is the best course to go on?
Some seem to train you but not give any accreditation etc.
Some are up to £500 for two days others as low as £150 for one day.My new employee is totally new to wrapping and I have done a small amount with him but I think a course would benefit him. So what course is best for this type of skill level?
Also price has to come into it, so best value for money?
Thanks in advance -
19 Replies
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Roberts course that you have seen on here is the only accredited course that I know of, basically most of the courses are run by vinyl manufacturers so they teach you to fit a particular make of film. the UKSG course isn’t tied to a single manufacturer & uses different brands. The accreditation is separate from the training, you are examined on your fitting skills for the accreditation not trained.
The one day cheaper courses I have seen are more of an introduction to wrapping rather than training so you probably won’t learn as much, they don’t cover the theory the same way & are still tied to a particular brand.
Not all films are the same to apply.
Cost is always an issue for small businesses but if your employer is keen to start this sort of work then it is worth investing in a course. Personally I found the UKSG course very good & well worth the money.Try a search for more info as it is something that comes up quite often.
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I’ve asked a few times about the UKSG wrapping course since the closure of Paperlinx, but have had no reply as of yet.
Any information on the course would be greatly appreciated!
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Hi Peter
Please send an email to chris@uksignboards.com with your full contact details please?
Sorry if you have not had an initial reply, there should have been an auto-response sent to you when it came in. I will ask Chris if he can look into this.
All enquires for training get logged and added to our database and will receive emails as well as contact by phone when our 2016 dates and locations are confirmed. -
Hi Rob,
Ah thanks very much! Yeah I emailed rob@uksignboards.com around September time but had no auto-reply.
No problem though, I’ll email chris@uksignboards.com later today.
Thanks for your help!
Pete.
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Ahhh OK, well in that case it may be myself to blame. In many instances I would actually forward it to Chris myself to deal with because of the high volume of email I get daily and I travel a lot, so it’s not always possible to respond quickly.
Please be sure to include your full contact details, address and so on Peter, when your looking to have the training etc etc
thank you! 😀 -
😉 Hello Rob 😉
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quote Warren Beard:😉 Hello Rob 😉
:lol1: watch you inbox mate. 😉
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When and where is the next course available then please?
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Peter
I can recommend the UKSB training (above). Robert was our instructor and fortunately he was very patient! Seriously though, you’ll learn a good deal in the 2 day course :thumbup2:
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Still waiting on a reply regarding a wrap course, anyone shed any light?
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The Next UKSG training courses will be held in Glasgow Scotland.
A bulk email will go out announcing all required information by the end of next week.
If you have already inquired about training with us you will be listed on our bulk mailer.We have already filled the first course, so if you are interested in this please feel free to get in contact with us on chris@uksignboards.com
Courses Available:
* 2 Day Wrap Courses
* 1-on-1 Tutorial Courses
* Evening Courses
* Weekend Courses
* Entry Level Vinyl Application CoursesFull Details will be listed on our website soon.
All courses available will be based on demand. So please get in contact ASAP if interested..
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Couldn’t be further away from me, not looking likely I’ll be doing a course through you, I’ll have to find an alternative
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:lol1: :lol1: I had already looked at your location and thought that might be the case.
There will be Manchester and Northampton locations next, as well as a couple of other locations but at the moment unconfirmed.That said, we have had several from Ireland, Gibraltar and France attend our Glasgow courses.
We are located near to the airport and hotel is right next to the training location. So its cheaper and quicker to fly in some instances.Oddly enough, we also had a a company in Egypt, Cairo… they wanted 5 members of staff to attend the Glasgow training but we had stopped for 2015 by then. 😀
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Not quite sure how to put this so it is not taken the wrong way :lol1:
Mark most vehicle wrap courses use top quality vinyl. Avery, Arlon, 3m all are relatively easy to learn how to fit well with little or no fitting experience.
You may well find that doing one of these courses doesn’t benefit you as much as you might think. Reason I say that is because the fitting of the lower cost vinyl brands uses slightly different techniques & the films are more difficult to work with than the top brands.
Take KPMF for example, people who have used Avery or 3m wrap films may tell you that KPMF is rubbish. That isn’t really true, its a lower cost wrap film with a different adhesive system that requires a different fitting technique AND is far more difficult to fit well, it does in my opinion take a lot more practice. It will also take longer to fit so the initial cost saving could be eaten up by extra time to fit.
MDP Supplies run an introduction to vehicle wrapping using KPMF vinyl (which they sell) I would think if you are going to continue with your current choice of vinyl then one of their courses might be better suited to you at this time. -
Thanks Martin,
It’s looking like I may need to re think my suppliers and start looking for cheaper but better vinyls. If it’s easier to fit with the more expensive then it must be worth the extra -
Mark, part of running a business is learning to negotiate pricing with suppliers, don’t just accept the price the rep gives you initially because they are always looking to maximise their own profits, why wouldn’t they after all they are a business themselves :lol1: :lol1:
It’s something I have never been that good at personally which was why I liked the idea of UKSG where someone else had negotiated the prices for me.Yes you need to be paying as little as possible for materials but don’t get to caught up with it, saving a few pence on vinyl shouldn’t make much difference to any job you do unless you are dealing with high volume sales. I have stuck pretty much to the one brand over the years because I like how it cuts & weeds & I know it’s limitations & characteristics when fitting.
As for wrap vinyl, I would suggest you buy a metre or two of a top end vinyl & give it a go yourself, that way you will be in a better position to judge for yourself the differences between what you are using & a more expensive film.
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I agree better quality is far easier. To begin with I used ritrama for decals and stickers then when I got into printing found metamark to be miles better and not bad on price but still a lot more than the cheap ones.
It is probably the same for wrap, I was put off by 3m etc due to the prices. I think I was quoted something like £25 per metre which is a lot.
I am thinking of becoming. Gold member on here to get access to the better suppliers though is it worth it? -
There is more to it than just the quality Mark, it is something you are going to have to try for yourself really, the adhesive systems they use is different for a start which makes repositioning the vinyl as you work much much easier. This on it’s own can save a lot of time if you are fitting on your own. Something else I was going to mention earlier but forgot was that generally the people who buy on price alone are the most difficult to deal with & the first to complain if they can spot something that may not be quite 100%. Anything they can think of to get something else taken off the price.
When it comes to other work you are doing there is a big difference between selling vinyl graphics online & actually fitting them yourself, cheaper vinyl, monomeric in particular can have quite a lot of shrinkage over time, then there is working with recesses on a van where the wrong type of vinyl is likely to pull out the recess & tear. 6 months after you have completed the job the customer is banging on your door because you fitted it.
As for UKSG membership only you can really answer that question, the answer is going to depend on what you want from the membership, if you are keen to learn more about signmaking in general then there are a lot of tutorials that have been made by experienced signmakers which will help you. Things like the design help can be extremely useful especially if you don’t have a lot of experience in that area. The UKSG discussion area is great if you want to ask about something but don’t want your customers or the whole world seeing it :lol1: :lol1:
When it comes to discounts then it is going to come down to a number of factors, some people may be good at negotiating themselves, others may only use suppliers who are not signed up to give UKSG discounts some simply might not buy enough to save any money.
I can’t remember what the cost was when I joined but I don’t actually think it has gone up much over the years. I looked at the complete package & to me it seemed like a very small investment to make in my business, my thoughts were to take a years membership to see how it went & if at the end of that year I felt it wasn’t for me then I just wouldn’t renew it. That was probably over ten years ago now :lol1: :lol1: :lol1:
I only work part time now & every job I do takes me longer than it used to due to health problems. I work on my own so with a reduced working week & more time to complete each job I am doing a fraction of the work I used to. Obviously this means that I am spending far less on materials now but the amount I save through discounts each year far outweighs what I pay for membership.
So for me personally yes it is well worth being a member :lol1: :lol1: -
You’re not just selling more expensive ‘3m’ or ‘avery’ films, your selling a guaranteed product that you’ve 100% confidence in, that as Martin says, isn’t going to fade or shrink for years to come.
We don’t do much car wrapping, but when we get asked and price is the customers priority, it’s £x for this vinyl, that comes with no warranty, or you can pay £x more and we’ll guarantee it against fading/shrinkage for x years.
We try and stick to the commercial work, as we find Joe Public expects a perfect finish, and will nit pick about anything as Martin says.
Take a look at your competition locally, not only what they charge, but their service, their appearance, their warranty, their after care, even the quality of their wraps, and then do it better. If you can respond to an enquiry quicker, and follow it up before the competition have even checked their e-mails, your 1 step ahead, if you look more professional, and your service is better, and you operate professionally then people will not mind paying more for the convenience.
Be known as the decent wrapper, not the cheapest.
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