best way to lay out design for vehicle wrap

[Karl Williams]

Phill’s done a demo mate. It comes up on the UKSG home page.

[Warren Beard]

well I’ve only done 1 big van wrap and am about 80% finished on my own van (I’ll post in the next few days 😉 ) but this is basically how I did it.

Measure the full area of the van as in height, length and depth so you know how big the design needs to be with the correct proportion. So for example the side image will have a height and depth (rectangle) make the design up to this size if using vectors or half size at 300dpi if in Photoshop etc. Then when the design is done you need to know the maximum width the printer can print, this width needs to include the bleed (overlap)

So on the first piece (start with the rear so joins are facing the back of the van) make it the full print width, the second piece you need to remove the print width less the bleed area to make the next piece and so on and so on.

So if your print width is 1300mm wide you must delete 1290mm from the rear of the design, this leaves 10mm the same on the beginning of the second piece as it is on the end of the first piece creating an overlap. Once you have deleted the 1290mm then the next 1300mm is your second piece. Continue this until you have tiled all the way across.

Don’t forget to allow for bleed around the edges of the vehicle as the print will have to be larger than the vehicle to allow for holding etc.

I think this is easily done on some (or maybe all) rips but I outsource my prints and have to be print ready and this is how I do it.

hope that helps (and it makes sense)

cheers

Warren

[Gareth.Lewis]

I know nothing really for I have no printer and have done no wrapping, but…

Didn’t I read here once that it may be an idea to work it so that any joins in the vinyl completely miss the very corners of recesses on the vehicle(the rounded bits of the recessed panels that bring the recess from horizontal to vertical etc)?

I could be wrong but it sort of makes sense to me.

[John Childs]

I’d certainly want to miss recess corners Gareth.

Also, where the size of van permits, I try for no overlaps at all. Get the vinyl joins to fall on joins in the bodywork. That sometimes uses a bit more material, but looks so much better.

[Gareth.Lewis]

What does one do when going over the ‘new’ method of van panel join (the silicone type line that is present if the sliding door option is not)?

Does one keep going or stop, then start again? And are there any comebacks in the future if one does just go over it?

[Warren Beard]

I have a MWB Transit and the joins are too far apart to do in one piece on a 54" printer so I had to put joins as I could not find a trade printer who could do 1500 wide, I did however use 1560mm wide vinyl for the solid vinyl sections as only the rear quarter is printed.

[Warren Beard]

quote Gareth Lewis:

What does one do when going over the ‘new’ method of van panel join (the silicone type line that is present if the sliding door option is not)?

Does one keep going or stop, then start again? And are there any comebacks in the future if one does just go over it?

I asked this before and the answer was to trim it away as it will not stick on the seal, I did this when my van had a green wrap and it looked OK, it is now black but stands out less but I agree it needs to be cut away otherwise moisture will build up under the vinyl where the seal is.

Warren

[John Childs]

quote Gareth Lewis:

What does one do when going over the ‘new’ method of van panel join (the silicone type line that is present if the sliding door option is not)?

Does one keep going or stop, then start again? And are there any comebacks in the future if one does just go over it?

If in doubt – Cut it out. 😀

[Jon Marshall]

quote Warren Beard:

I think this is easily done on some (or maybe all) rips but I outsource my prints and have to be print ready and this is how I do it.

Are you saying you are actually slicing up your image before sending it to the print company? Even if you’re outsourcing surely the printer will be able to tile the image how you want it? They did when we used to outsource our printing.

[Lorraine Burke]

Hi Gareth,

If you are not printing it yourself it might give you more control over where you would like the tile.
Like Warren said if you can find out the maximum print area you could work out roughly where the tile would be, or leave it to the printer but you may be cursing yourself after saying ah if only it was there and not there.

Regarding the silicone as the others have said its best to cut it out,

Hope this helps,

Lorr 🙂

[Alex Tucker]

How you set it up will set you apart from other wrappers, this is one of the best skills to learn as it really makes such a difference to the finish of the wrap.

It’s very hard to put it all down in text form but if you want to give me a buzz on Monday I can talk you through it once you have the correct keylines from someone like impact. PM me if you want my number.