(ARA) - "Sign, sign, everywhere a sign." Remember that song from the early 1970s? Les Emmerson of the Five Man Electric Band wrote it after driving to California along Route 66 and losing count of all the billboards he saw. But Les could never have imagined what he might see today driving on that same highway; cars completely covered in an advertisement and even covered in personal, custom graphics and messages.
Welcome to the World of Vehicle Wraps.
Often mistaken for a custom paint job, a vehicle wrap is a digitally printed graphic that is literally "shrink wrapped" around the entire body of a car, truck, boat, bus, train or even a jumbo jet -- yes, a jumbo jet! Software templates exist that allow a sign company to create a vehicle wrap for pretty much any vehicle out there.
"The purpose of any sign is to capture attention and communicate an advertisement or message," says Peter Beenen, vice president of business development for signsearch, Inc., ( www.signsearch.com ) a company that has been connecting sign buyers with local sign companies in North America since 1999. "If a sign doesn't get noticed then it's not very effective. Vehicle wraps definitely get noticed, and they are becoming hugely popular with business owners and consumers alike."
Basically a large flexible vinyl decal that is pre-printed and applied so precisely that the graphic looks like original paint, there is virtually no limit to what the graphic can be. If it can be digitally created and printed, it can be wrapped on a vehicle. And it can be as permanent or temporary as you need -- the wrap stays on for years and is also easily removed at any time.
This type of sign is so popular that it was recently featured on NBC during an episode of The Apprentice with Donald Trump. All of the cars at a NASCAR race are wrapped, as are all of the boats at any professional B.A.S.S. fishing tournament seen on ESPN TV. Shows like MTV's "Pimp My Ride" and movies like the "Fast and Furious" trilogy all feature wrapped vehicles as well.
However, you just need to drive down any street in the city to see examples. Many service-based companies are using vehicle wraps to advertise their businesses; and every-day consumers are getting vehicle wraps instead of custom paint jobs as an easier, less expensive way to customize their vehicles (think hunting enthusiasts who wrap their trucks in camouflage).
Do they work? The answer is yes! Scott Needham, owner of a small window treatment business in Burnsville, Minn., called Window Fashion Expo, says wrapping his family van has greatly improved his business. "When my van is sitting in traffic, people have to look at it," says Needham. "My van wrap has really helped with my branding and has definitely generated sales."
In fact, wraps are so effective that a cottage industry has sprung up where business owners pay individuals to wrap their personal vehicles with their company ad and, well, simply drive around! And wraps are extending well beyond vehicles…entire buildings are being wrapped, so are musical instruments, and it is not uncommon to see hundreds of port-a-potties at a rock concert completely wrapped in an advertisement for your favorite beer.
Wraps are not the only recent innovation coming from the sign and graphics industry. Business owners and even every-day consumers have discovered all kinds of new and exciting digitally printed signs. In some cases, wide format digital printing is reshaping what people think of as a sign." Here are some other examples:
* Custom Banners
Remember the old days of painting in large letters "SALE 20 Percent OFF" on a piece of cardboard and hanging it out of your store window? How about "GARAGE SALE TODAY" tacked onto a telephone pole near your home?
With new digital print technology, banners have become ideal as both indoor and outdoor signs. They can be printed inexpensively on many types of material (vinyl, canvas, foam core) and the graphics are limited only by the imagination -- this includes photorealistic images if the banner will be viewed up-close; such as in the case of indoor store signs.
In addition, they can be as large as the upper deck of an outdoor sports stadium or as small as an indoor store window. When stores want to direct customers to a specific product or sale, for example, a banner hanging above the aisle where the product is located will do the trick. "The positive impact that my outdoor signs have on my business is dramatic," says Bonnie Alton, owner of a Great Harvest Bakery in St. Paul, Minn., who regularly hangs banners outside her store to attract customers. Banners are also becoming popular with consumers as a way spice up a holiday party or direct traffic to a garage sale.
The flexibility of wide-format digital printing allows for many unique applications. In some cases, sign companies are producing things you'd never expect, like a life-sized image of an elephant calling attention to a sale on peanuts at a local store. Or it may surprise you to see standing in your neighbor's living room a life-sized image of a loved one who is serving in the military overseas.
And speaking of your neighbor's living room…
* Custom Wall and Floor Graphics
Signs have always appealed to teenagers who adorn bedrooms and dorm rooms with everything from a "Do Not Enter" sign to banners showing their favorite sports team. But now grown-ups are discovering custom wall and floor graphics -- printed on a wide-format digital printer and installed in a home or business to create a very unique and custom environment. Want something to go with that new leopard print chair? How about a photorealistic floor to ceiling wall graphic of the African wilderness, complete with lions and zebras!
It's not clear if Les Emmerson had any idea just how foretelling his famous song was back in 1970. However, chances are that anyone driving that same Route 66 to California today would only need to look at the passing cars and trucks to know that his song still resonates today.
To find a sign company that can tell you more about vehicle wraps, banners, wall and floor graphics or any other sign type, the place to go is www.signsearch.com, a search engine with a network of over 30,000 sign companies in the U.S. and Canada. Search by city or zip code and select a sign type. The results page will produce plenty of local sign and graphics companies to choose from along with a complete profile for each -- including company name, address and phone number, sign types they manufacture, a map showing where they are located and access to feedback ratings entered by previous customers. Users can also e-mail sign companies directly from the site to request more information or a quote.
"We've made the site very user friendly," says Beenen, who adds that the goal of signsearch, Inc. is to help site users make the best decision possible when choosing a sign company.
Indeed. Les Emmerson would be proud.
Courtesy of ARAcontent 