Have you ever noticed a van covered in custom graphics as you passed it on the highway or parked next to it on the street? In most cases, these vans started out as ordinary, unmarked vehicles. If your company uses vans for transportation, delivery services or technical services, then you should consider personalizing your vehicles with van wraps. Van wraps from SpeedPro can turn a blank van into an advertisement on the go for your company. Boost your professionalism and generate leads with eye-catching customized van graphics.
What Are Van Wraps?
Van wraps fall within the broader category of vehicle graphics. Van wraps are essentially large decals designed to cover part or all of your business’s vans. These wraps personalize an otherwise generic van, turning it into a professional vehicle which acts as an advertising tool wherever you or your employees drive and park.
Van wraps come in a variety of options and can be customized with your business’s graphics and made to fit your van exactly. Van wraps are typically made from vinyl materials, some of which are perforated to let light through and increase visibility inside the van while providing full coverage on the outside of the van.
Van Wrap Options
Van wraps are all about customization. There are three main aspects of your van wrap that you can tailor to create a fully personalized graphic display: the amount of coverage, the material and the graphic design.
1. Coverage
With SpeedPro, you can create a van wrap that covers as little or as much of your van as you would like, excluding the windshield. On the smallest end of the spectrum, you can create decals, sometimes called spot graphics, to place somewhere on the vehicle. These graphics may be relatively large but are small compared to wraps.
For more coverage, you can create a partial van wrap, a large-format graphic that covers a large portion of the sides of your van. For even more coverage, opt for a full wrap. Everything from the roof of the van to the back and the sides, including doors and windows, is covered with your custom graphics.
2. Material
You can also customize the material used to create your wrap. Most wraps are made from a type of weather-resistant adhesive vinyl. It could be a type of cast vinyl that is repositionable, a reflective vinyl or perforated vinyl. Perforated vinyl is the material that allows people inside the van to see out of windows that are covered in graphics on the outside.
In addition to standard vinyl options, you may decide to upgrade to specialty vinyl materials such as carbon fiber, camo or color- changing. Another option to consider is magnetic vinyl, which is repositionable and removable, allowing you to convert your van as needed from being unmarked to being branded.
3. Design
In addition to the size and material specifications you choose, you can customize your van wrap with the design itself. Van wraps, especially full wraps, allow you to completely customize the outside appearance of your van.
Your design should be eye-catching and should prominently feature the most important information about your business, including its name and contact information. Ideally, people should be able to tell at a glance what goods or services you offer when looking at your van, so try to design your graphics and carefully choose text with this goal in mind.
Benefits of Van Wraps
Why should your company consider investing in van wraps? Van wraps offer some amazing benefits for your company. Commercial van wraps are:
1. Protective
Some business owners are concerned about what effect vinyl decals will have on their van’s paint job. As long as the paint on your van is in good condition and has had time to fully cure, it should remain fully intact and unharmed by the adhesive wrap. SpeedPro staff can test your van’s paint job to see how the paint responds to an adhesive decal before wrapping the whole van.
Not only will vinyl wraps not damage your van’s paint job — they can actually keep the paint job on your van in better condition than an unwrapped vehicle. They serve as a protective layer that leaves your van looking fresh if you ever choose to remove your wrap.
2. Durable
Van wraps from SpeedPro are made from heavy-duty, outdoor-grade materials that have a long use life. These decals are protected by a laminated surface that keeps your graphics looking vivid for a long time.
Van wraps from SpeedPro are warrantied for three years for vinyl wraps applied to a vehicle with the original factory paint job and for one year for panels applied to windows. Because van wraps are durable, they are a worthwhile investment that will continue to pay off for years. When the time comes to replace them, you have the opportunity to update your graphics.
3. Professional
One of the best things about van wraps is that they can make even the smallest business appear established and highly professional. Consider the difference in a service van for a plumbing company that is white and unmarked and one that is covered in professional, personalized company graphics. The personalized van will demonstrate your professionalism wherever it goes.
If you have multiple vans in your company’s fleet, then using custom van wraps will allow you to create a consistent look on all of your vans. Other methods of customization like airbrushing cannot maintain the same level of consistency and professionalism that printed wraps can.
4. High-Impact
Van wraps don’t just make your vans look more professional — they act as a high-impact advertisement wherever you go. Ads are typically measured in terms of impressions. A high-impact ad is one that reaches a large portion of your potential audience. Research shows that signage on vehicles can get around 8.4 million impressions over the course of a year. This is impressive compared to many other forms of advertising.
Consider the personalized work vans you’ve seen on the roadways or in parking lots. Chances are, you were interested enough to take a look at them. Maybe you saw a van for a cleaning service parked in a neighbor’s driveway and looked up its website or took down its number. When people see your company’s van on the road or parked somewhere in their community, they are likely to take notice.
5. Cost-Effective
Just as impact is measured in impressions, the cost of an advertisement is assessed according to the cost per impressions (CPI). Many traditional forms of advertising, such as radio ads and TV commercials, are too expensive for some businesses to even consider. The CPI of van wraps is exceptionally low compared to other forms of advertising. Van wraps are one of the most cost-effective options out there.
With van wraps, one upfront investment continues to pay off over years and more and more people are made aware of your business and make the decision to learn more. Specifically, it’s been shown that vehicle graphics yield an ROI of $2.80 for every dollar you spend. Some companies may hesitate to invest in full wraps for their vans, but the initial cost is well worth the ongoing payoff.
Companies That Can Use Van Wraps
Who can use van wraps? The answer is any company with professional vans. This includes many service providers and other companies, such as:
- Catering companies
- Restaurants that deliver
- Home healthcare companies
- Cable companies
- Home security installers
- HVAC repair services
- Moving companies
- Housekeeping services
- Plumbing professionals
- Electricians
- Appliance delivery and repair services
- Shipping companies
- Churches
Designing a Van Wrap
Designing your van wrap is a critical step in the process to create a display that delivers on all the potential benefits van wraps have to offer. SpeedPro staff can provide expert advice to help you create a design that will be effective and look great on your vehicle. Any company can come up with a winning design by observing these tips below:
- Remember the purpose: Always keep the purpose for your vehicle wrap at the front of your mind during the process. What do you hope to achieve with your wrap? Your goal should heavily influence the wrap’s design.
- Make it readable: Be sure to make text large, bold and legible so it can easily be read at a distance. It’s great if the fonts you use are consistent with your other branded materials to reinforce your brand recognition, but readability should be your highest priority.
- Tell what you do: For some companies the name says it all. If the name of your company doesn’t tell people what you do, then you’ll want to add additional text or use graphics to convey the information clearly.
- Use quality graphics: Whether they are photographs or are produced on a computer, images should be high-resolution so they look sharp and vivid on your van. SpeedPro staff can ensure your graphics are high enough quality to look great when printed.
- Make it eye-catching: You want people sitting next to you at a red light or walking past your parked van to take a moment to look at it. A colorful, eye-catching design will help to attract these people’s attention.
Designing a wrap for a van can be more challenging than designing a decal for a flat surface like a wall or a storefront window. With a van, you have curves and obstructions like mirrors and door handles to work around. The good news is that SpeedPro creates custom templates based on your exact vehicle to ensure your wrap fits your van perfectly once it is printed and cut.
Van Wrap Installation
Once your design has been approved by SpeedPro staff, you could have your custom van wrap fully installed and ready to go in as little as four or five days. Applying van wraps is an involved process that requires the right tools and level of expertise, so you should always depend on experienced wrapping experts to handle the installation.
A few hours before bringing your vehicle in for wrap installation, have it professionally washed. Dirt and waxy or greasy residues can prevent a vinyl wrap from adhering properly to the van’s surface. SpeedPro installers will use chemicals to further prepare the vehicle’s surface whenever necessary.
The wrap is separated into panels, which installers will fit together carefully on the vehicle to obscure seams. They will also trim pieces as needed to ensure an ideal fit. The installer will smooth out each panel as they apply them to prevent wrinkles and air bubbles from compromising the finish. The result should be a professional finish that turns your ordinary van into a high-impact ad for your business.
Van Wrap Maintenance
To get the most mileage out of your van wrap, maintain it properly and avoid sources of damage that could scratch or fade your graphic. Follow these tips to keep your van wrap looking sharp:
- Washing: Once your van has been wrapped, you should keep it dry for the first week. After that, you can wipe down your vinyl wrapped van by hand with a soft cloth and soapy water as needed, but avoid automatic car washes, especially high-pressure ones. High-pressure water, chemical solvents or bristly brushes can damage the surface or edges of your decal.
- Window maintenance: If your wrap covers the windows on your van, you should avoid rolling down windows for the first few days after installation. After that, you should roll down windows sparingly so you don’t cause too much wear and tear on the graphic. Also, avoid using back windshield wipers or ice scrapers since these can damage your graphics. Instead, use a soft broom and your van’s defroster to remove any ice or snow.
- Storage: Finally, store your work van out of direct sunlight as much as possible so the graphics stay bright and do not fade. Parking your van in a garage or covered parking area is ideal.
Custom Van Wraps From SpeedPro
SpeedPro is the nation’s leading print and graphics franchise with a nationwide network of studios staffed by experts who can help bring your vision to life. By partnering with one of our visual communications studios, you can create van wraps that capture the attention of people in your community and help you appear more professional wherever you go. One of our consultants will work with you every step of the way to create a fully-customized vehicle wrap from the best materials.
To get started, find your local SpeedPro studio and ask about how you can transform your vans into professional, creative modes of advertising that make impressions wherever you go.
