Digital Output - March 2008 - (Page 30)

companies mentioned RS# 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 COMPANY WEB SITE All Square Computer Technologies www.allsquare.com Arlon, Inc. Avery Graphics Digital Designware FELLERS, Inc. KAPCO Graphic Products LG Chem MACtac Graphic Products Media One www.arlon.com www.averygraphics.com www.digital-designware.com www.fellers.com www.kapco.com www.lgvizuon.com www.mactac.com www.mediaoneusa.com their graphics yesterday. If you’re not comfortable with that then you can’t be doing racecars.” But this fast paced market suits Schiltz. “It’s been amazing for me. I’m an engineer and there is no way as an engineer I would make as much money as I make doing this. Plus I have a lot more time and freedom.” a printer, the problem becomes finding someone who can produce talented design work. The Nose Knows Dirt Late Model cars, a popular dirt racing vehicle, are prominent in the Southeast and are Schiltz’ bread and butter, although he occasionally wraps dirt modifieds, another type of dirt racing vehicle, which are popular in the Midwest. The key to successfully wrapping dirt Late Models is understanding they have similar body styles, with differences in door and window sizes. With this in mind, Schiltz created his own templates that are designed to compensate for the slightest variation in door and window sizes between vehicles. The templates help Schiltz cut down on time. “In this industry, with the price point I am at, and the number of customers, it isn’t like I can go spend a week on someone’s car. I have to be able to do something efficiently and quickly, that is why I am so proud of my templates.” A typical dirt Late Model has a plastic nose, plastic fenders, and a fiberglass roof. Generally, these components aren’t wrapped; so most dirt Late Models are considered partial wraps. Schiltz decided to wrap a customer’s entire dirt Late Model, just to prove it could be done. “When no one has ever attempted something before, you just don’t know if you can do it,” he confesses. “What I did was not practical, and it isn’t something I will do on a regular basis. But the way I look at it, I did it for concept. Just to say I could do it.” He wrapped the nose, fenders, and roof in silver vinyl so people could easily see that the entire vehicle was wrapped—dirt Late Model noses and fenders are not manufactured in silver. Blue numbers were placed on the car with reflective material, sandwiched between the media and laminate. Schiltz used MACtac IMAGin Bubble Free with Permacolor RAYZor laminate on all of the contour curves and MACtac IMAGin JT5829P with Permacolor overlaminate LF6569 on the rest of the car. According to Schiltz, MACtac products are thick and thickness equals quality in the wrap GatorWraps’ Voegele believes vehicle wraps have the potential to be 164 Mutoh America, Inc. www.mutoh.com just as profitable as any other proj165 Oracal USA www.oracal.com ect, when done correctly. “You 166 Roland DGA Corporation www.rolanddga.com have to focus on exceeding the customer’s expectation from design 167 Taylor Digital Imaging www.xtremegraphicskits.com to install. As with any job, having to redo the work eats up all the are pouring in. These “king pins” are predomiprofit, and kills your reputation,” he explains. nately located in FL, GA, NC, SC, and TN. Schiltz and the Cons also attracts customers by attending trade shows. Time and money is something everyone wants more The Performance Racing Industry (PRI) show is of, but if not given enough attention, these can be where he wrapped his own dirt Late Model car five two of the biggest difficulties encountered in vehicle times, which garnered attention. He also generates wrapping. “Timing is everything in this business. exposure by attending local races. You have to coordinate the design, print, and install The Pros very carefully to minimize the customer’s time away Schiltz considers racecars one of the more profitable from their own business, and the time away from divisions in the wrap market. With thousands of their vehicle. In many cases, people are making a different models—over 10,000 dirt Late Models, living with their vehicles and can’t afford to be 15,000 dirt modified models, and go-carts—options without them,” says Voegele. are endless. One benefit of wrapping a few select types of vehicles is less re-design time is needed. Schiltz thinks the lack of standard pricing is a And racecar drivers sometimes request new wraps looming issue. Based on his experience, a lot of people in the wrap business “Racecar drivers want to have their graphics yesterday. If you’re sell themselves short by not not comfortable with that then you can’t be doing racecars.” charging as —Jimmy Schiltz, owner, Dirtwrap by Jimmy’s Custom Decals much as they should for every week or as few as three to six times a year. design and installation. “There really isn’t any type And generally, that wrap is identical to the previof alliance between shops. When people start ous, so all Schlitz has to do is re-print an old file. undercutting each other, nobody wins.” Schiltz points out that quick turnaround time is the nature of the business. “Racecar drivers want to have Finding gifted designers is also a challenge. Schiltz understands that anyone can be taught how to run L to R: Vehicle 1 - Dirtwrap by Jimmy’s Custom Decals fully wrapped dirt Late Model car in MACtac IMAGin Bubble Free with Permacolor RAYZor laminate on all contour curves and MACtac IMAGin JT5829P with Permacolor overlaminate LF6569 on rest of car body. Printed on Roland VersaCAMM SP-540V. Vehicles 2 & 3 - Wrapped in MACtac IMAGin JT5829P with Permacolor overlaminate LF6569. Printed on a Roland VersaCAMM SP-540V by Dirtwrap by Jimmy’s Custom Decals. 30 Digital Output March 2008 www.digitaloutput.net http://www.allsquare.com http://www.arlon.com http://www.averygraphics.com http://www.digital-designware.com http://www.fellers.com http://www.kapco.com http://www.lgvizuon.com http://www.mactac.com http://www.mediaoneusa.com http://www.mutoh.com http://www.oracal.com http://www.rolanddga.com http://www.xtremegraphickits.com http://www.digitaloutput.net

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Output - March 2008

Digital Output - March 2008

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