You’ve decided vinyl vehicle wrapping gives you a great return on investment against your marketing budget; it uniquely identifies your company tying in with branding, it’s a mobile advertising billboard that can be used for any vehicle, the vinyl wrap protects the paint and can be easily repaired in case of accidental damage without having to replace the whole vehicle wrap. All you need to do now is choose a vehicle wrapping supplier.
Vinyl Vehicle Wrapping – What You Need to Know.
When you are choosing a vinyl vehicle wrapping supplier there are a number of typical questions to ask:
- How long has the company been in business?
- Do they provide their services locally or nationally – how does that fit with your needs?
- Can they provide recent testimonials/references for their work?
- How long have they been providing vinyl vehicle wrapping services?
- What types of vehicles do they wrap?
- What materials are they using when they wrap a vehicle?
- How long can you expect your vinyl vehicle wrap to last?
- What warranties are in place for the vehicle’s vinyl wrapping?
- Are employees knowledgeable and passionate about delivering a great service?
- Can they provide you with solid advice borne from years of experience?
- Are they competitive?
Do I need a national or local service? If you can find a flexible provider, one who can meet your needs now and, in the future, both in terms of products, services and UK coverage, that’s probably the best option. It means if your needs grow, you don’t outgrow your provider and need to start the time-consuming sourcing process all over again.
RGVA is based in Maidstone, but provides services across the UK. We offer a full suite of products and services; vinyl wrapping, graphic applications, signwriting and vehicle branding services for cars, vans, trucks and trailers.
We work with a variety of clients – we’ve been privileged to work for organisations with some of the largest fleets in the UK, including Ocado and DHL to discerning individuals who want one car wrapped in something eye-catching!
We specialise in the art of vehicle branding and can wrap a single vehicle or a fleet of vehicles, whether it’s a car, van, bus or truck – we work with all vehicles.
What do I need to know about the wrapping material that is used? When it comes to vehicle wrapping, one of the most common methods is through vinyl wrapping. Currently, PVC-Vinyl wraps are readily used throughout the industry. However, PVC produces multiple environmental and health concerns due to its high Chlorine concentration, which produces toxic dioxins. PVC is also a type of plastic which causes a negative environmental effect and is mostly non-recyclable, accumulating in landfill sites or being discarded into animal ecosystems, poisoning them.
An alternative is the use of Non-PVC vinyl wraps/graphics. They are just as easy to apply as PVC vinyl wraps and contain no added Chlorine or halogens, with 58% fewer solvents than conventional films. This means you have a product with all the pros of a standard PVC vinyl wrap/graphic but without the numerous negative environmental and health impacts.
We recommend looking for providers using Non-PVC Vinyl – There are multiple benefits of using non-PVC vinyl on your vehicle. Firstly, it’s made of higher quality materials than PVC vinyl wraps, adding to the longevity of a PVC vinyl wrap. The lack of toxic compounds in non-PVC vinyl also means that it’s both environmentally friendly and doesn’t risk the health of those that come in contact with it. As mentioned, it’s more durable than PVC vinyl and therefore, though initially costing a bit more, will be more cost-effective in the long run. Also, if you’ve ever been involved in a livery removal programme or a re-brand, you’ll know how important it is that the vinyl removes quickly and cleanly without leaving lots of glue residue behind, saving time and money.
How long is the wrapping likely to last? Vinyl wraps are long-lasting, often ranging between 3-5 years, and provide excellent protection against scratches and debris while your vehicle is on the road. In many cases, the life of the vehicle wrap often out-lives the duration of the vehicle’s lease.
What is a premium accreditation in the vehicle wrapping industry? We recommend 3M™. A household name and recognised for providing quality products. RGVA is a 3M™ Select™ Gold Partner, which means you can rest easy knowing your vehicles are being wrapped under 3M™ Select™ Gold Partner Warranty. You are entrusting your graphics to a 3M™ Select Gold Partner who has appropriate:
- Hardware/system/software components for the production of 3M™ Select Gold Partner warranted graphics
- Gold Partner warranty
- Quality control
- Production environment and storage facilities
- Staff training
Is the type of printing on the wrap important? We would recommend looking for companies that use EcoSolvents. Solvent printing has always had a bad reputation as being bad for the environment containing volatile organic compounds. RGVA has moved to EcoSolvents that are based on non-aggressive solvents, so this is no longer an issue. Additionally, these thicker inks contain more pigment, meaning that less ink is needed.
- Brighter more vibrant colours – a wider colour spectrum can be used on the EcoSolvent system, as well as the traditional four colours of the CMYK spectrum EcoSolvent inks are also available in light cyan, light magenta, orange, green, violet and even metallic (which can be seen on our latest batch of buses for Stagecoach). Typically, the EcoSolvent colours are brighter and glossier in finish than latex inks.
- Better durability – With printed wraps being used on vehicles typically for the life of a lease it’s important that the inks maintain their colour without looking tatty or faded. EcoSolvents off this solution and are seen as having a higher durability than latex inks.
RGVA has made the change so that our customers get the best looking, longest lasting vehicle graphics on the market, whilst others are happy to stick to what they know we like to be at the forefront of new technologies and always give our customers the best value possible and whilst still remaining an economical, sustainable solution which is still approved and covered by 3M’s MCS warranty and carries the GreenGuard gold certification.
Look for knowledgeable, trained staff with experience. Not all vehicle wrapping companies are created equal and if you haven’t got in-depth knowledge about the product and services how can you tell? Suppliers with experience in the industry – a background in design, branding and vehicle operations will be able to offer advice, support and best practice.
RGVA’s team is trained and knowledgeable. They have the tools, experience and accreditation needed to produce the highest quality vehicle wrapping services, whilst supporting their clients and providing a complete vehicle branding service.
How do I know if they are competitive prices? Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to this; you have to do your own research. It is important to bear in mind that you must be sure you are comparing apples with apples. This is particularly the case in terms of quality of materials used, accreditation and evidence of experience – like recent testimonials from happy customers.
RGVA Testimonials
“Since having our Land Rover Discovery wrapped we have found that existing and potential customers come up to speak to us, wherever we are – from exhibition car parks to local petrol stations when we’re filling up. The vehicle has become very well known within our industry, which only helps to raise awareness of the brand and promote our company. Each year we would spend the equivalent costs of the wrap in magazine and publication advertising, but the return on investment of the wrap has been far more productive – and it looks great! Many thanks RGVA.”
Tony Howland – Director at Oakwood Specialist Training Ltd
“Our brand image is intrinsically linked with the gradient blues of our livery. Happily, RGVA’s expertise in vehicle graphics meant they delivered everything we needed, both in print and application, to the very highest standard. I’ve had lots of comments from people saying they’ve seen the new trucks on the road and have mentioned how striking they look. This made me realise how important it is to have continuity across our brand, so we subsequently updated our older trucks with the same design. I’m very happy with the service and quality we’ve received from the team at RGVA.”
Andy Baldwin – PRS
…The staff at RGVA are always polite, friendly and accommodating. We have used them for a number of years now and their service is second to none. The team will go out of their way to help and keep you fully updated along the way. We will continue to use RGVA for all our vehicle wrapping needs and would highly recommend them.
Lisa Stein, Marketing Manager, Furniture Hire UK
For more information about the complete vehicle branding services offered by RGVA just call 01622 673797