Glow-Lit Wrap Graphics...

[Kentucky Wraps]

Any of you seen Lumabrite or Decalight products on thier websites?
The products use EL Strips or sheets. It's a very cool effect but not only
is it way expensive for consumers...if you want to sell thier products it costs a fortune just to be a reseller. You could probably do it yourself with EL materials..but you gotta drill holes into the vehicle for the cords etc.
Anyway, check it out...let's hear what you think.

 

[x2chris7x]

I saw this stuff in person at SGIA this year in New Orleans. I looks alot better in pics than it does in person, stills still cool, but I wasn't that impressed seeing it up close.

 

[omgsideburns]

zeronine has some edge version of the stuff.. it's neat but it's costly.

 

[Just Another Sign Guy]

i;ve seen this technology as it has been developed in various stages and forms for the last 12-15yrs and i agree it looks much better in photos than it does in real life.

i have only encountered one situation with very controlled conditions where i could really see any advertising value for the client.

 

[MachServTech]

Saw it at the Roland booth. It needs to have the ability to control the amount of lumen for a given situation, cant have it be bright in traffic, but parked at an event the light needs to be brighter.

 

[trik]

You do not have to drill into any body parts, only if you or your customer prefers, Most don't.

 

[Jack Knight1979]

pretty good idea.

check out burning man. a lot of people wrap their cars in EL there.

http://www.elwire.com/

 

[Kentucky Wraps]

I think if you really wanted to invest that much money into being a reseller, you should rather invest it in an electrician or some knowledge and make them yourself using EL tape etc. They charge a fortune just to be able to order from them. It's not enough they can charge you to order from them, you have to pay extra for that ability. Not the best business model I've seen. I know it's why they don't get orders from me anyway.

 

[kev3232]

unless you're going to drive around all night long, what's the point??

 

[ProWraps]

specialty product at VERY best. the wrap industry is still very young. lots of people trying to make the next best thing in the industry. at its core, a wrap is a simple, effective, mobile advertising tool. nothing more, nothing less.

when all the dust settles, all these fringe products will be swept under the rug, and regular old vehicle wraps will remain.

why? because they work already. these products, the wraptivo, the wraptor, they are at best a neato booth at this years sema show.

 

[Just Another Sign Guy]

whatchu talkin' bout willis? there are many people on this forum alone including me that have been 'wrapping' vehicles before the term wrap was even coined, many of us were wrapping transit vehicles, fleets and anything else the client would pay for with screenprinted graphics over 20yrs ago, there aint a thing new about it except all the yahoos able to enter the industry because of new technology...in my opinion the wrap industry is actually fading.

 

[ProWraps]

well. you are wrong on two points. transit graphics have been around for a long time. the industry in its current form (the new materials, the new techniques, the transition to passenger cars, and as you put it, the ability to afford the new technology) is young.

the second thing you are wrong about is the fact that the industry is fading. if this were the case, my business, that is just now two years old, only one year full time, wouldnt be showing consistant growth. if that is a bad example, which it may be, there are tons more that show that the wrap industry is probably the ONLY segment of the sign industry that is growing, not fading.

respect the hell out of you dan, but i gotta call a spade a spade. or in this case, two of em. but then again, i guess im just one of those yahoos.

and i still stand by every word of my previous post.

 

[dolce05]

I inquired about the membership/dealership and it really doesnt make any sense. They want 6,000 from you to start. you get (1 cars worth of product) and from what they say "adaquate training." The kicker is if the sign shop next to you puts up 6,000, then hes a "dealer" too. I had asked what are the benefits of a "dealer" and they said it gives you the right to sell OUR product....gee wiz....thanks. They say the fee they charge is not for them to make money but to be able to control supply and demand.....(lets see 6,000 x 100 customers....if you ask me thats a nice paid day, and thats only 100 customers.....especially when you dont have to guarantee anything seems alittle to risky to me.

 

[k6media]

I spent a half hour on the phone with them asking a variety of different questions and it really seems they don't have their things together. There were three people on the phone and I asked a lot of questions that I didn't get confident answers, or they didn't clearly answer my question.

I also asked " So you are wanting me to spend $6000 in order to purchase your product" ..." Well yes sir, it involves training and you get your first graphics free"

I personally am not a big fan of the product. The images look neat, but when it comes down to it.. I don't want strip lighting on the side of my clients vehicle, and the thin illuminated panel (like the face) are extremely expensive...

 

[letterman7]

Interesting idea. But let me throw another wrinkle in the mix. Unless the vehicle is absolutely static in a parking lot... it's illegal. Period. Even though it resembles nothing like an emergency vehicle, at least in PA, any accessory illumination to a vehicle (read: underbody halo lights, lighted washer nozzles, lighted exhaust pipes, etc) are illegal as to "not to confuse the general public with official emergency vehicles". The only "option" is a rooftop sign for city cabs.
That said, having the stuff run off a 12 volt system opens up some interesting "green" forms of illuminating signs, though!

 

[Just Another Sign Guy]

well. you are wrong on two points. transit graphics have been around for a long time. the industry in its current form (the new materials, the new techniques, the transition to passenger cars, and as you put it, the ability to afford the new technology) is young.

the second thing you are wrong about is the fact that the industry is fading. if this were the case, my business, that is just now two years old, only one year full time, wouldnt be showing consistant growth. if that is a bad example, which it may be, there are tons more that show that the wrap industry is probably the ONLY segment of the sign industry that is growing, not fading.

QUOTE]

ProW. your reply to me is that transit graphics have been around for a long time in response to my comment about wrapping VEHICLES for many years and sighting transit vehicles as an example...just one example but you are choosing to focus on the example i sighted, when in fact we were all wrapping passenger vehicles for businesses as well (granted not as many as today but people have been 'wrapping' passenger vehicles longer than the term wrapping has been around).

In regards to my comment about the industry fading...that is my opinion and is what i am witnessing with all of the signshops that i consult with, with the exception of sign companies in the majority of California and parts of Arizona...every sign company or supply company that i either deal with or communicate with is seeing the industry slow down (this could be because EVERYTHING has slowed down or it could be that the market is changing, honestly it is too soon to tell) again my opinion is that wrapping as we currently know it is just another fad in our industry and with all fads over time it will fade..not saying it will go away but my money is that it will not be as popular as it has been in the years past.

however you are in a state that has the population that you very well may stay as busy as you can handle in the constant game of advertisers looking for any and every way of capturing potential clients' attention...there are very few places in the country where you could have your business model (exclusively wraps) and be successful.

so ProW i would caution you to not view the world and market trends by what you see out your shop window, believe it or not there is life outside of california...if i did that lol let me tell you the sign industry would be a much sadder situation than it already is.

 

[kev3232]

i guess when you're in a decent sized city and an hour and a half from the bay area, you can look at the wrap market through rose colored glasses.
the portland market is very fickle when it comes to wraps. nobody wants to pay crap for them and then they want them to look just like a paint job and last forever. the worst part of the wrap fad is all the cheap printers and the "talent free" vinyls. i remember wrapping vehicles with the old skool (no air egress) controltac. now every monkey and his brother are wrapping rigs.
lately, i'm starting to hate wraps. i'd rather get into doing more interior retail work, flat walls and inside where its warm!! and it pays way better!!

k

 

[ProWraps]

both of you guys are so full of sh... heh. im kidding! i completely understand where you two are coming from. we are lucky to have a decent market even though sac is relatively small compared to most big markets. but yeah the bay area helps. we are doing a decent amount of biz in the socal area too suprisingly enough.

i dont see wraps fading much here. you can drive across town and only see one or two. which to some may say that its not popular. to me it says no saturation, aka a good thing.

everything is slow right now. we are as well. we are wrapping maybe 7-10 cars this month. typically we are 20-30. but it was this way last year. hell, december is a complete write off. luckily we have some big checks coming in from previous work, and some work on the calendar or we would be hurting too.

back to this topic.. i agree with the legality being an issue. here in california its illegal to have something that is considered distracting to other drivers on your vehicle. thats a big grey area, but i would have to think a glowing ass wrapped car wouldnt get much love from that grey area!

 

[Just Another Sign Guy]

i agree with the legality being an issue and am now curious because i know companies that push this technology...i am curious if their local laws allow it under certain conditions or if the owners just operate in defiance..or if they are just not informed.

PW it does not surprise me that you are pulling in business from surrounding larger cities and if that is not a part of your marketing plan it should be. i know many companies that are near large cities that are able to draw a good amount of business from those cities without being in them and paying the rents the big city commands.

 

[kev3232]

20-30 cars month? are you working every day of the month to do that volume??
you should have about 500+ vehicles on your portfolio page on you website then.

 

[National Sign Co. - Print]

I sure wish the wrap industry would fade. Let the little one offs go away and let the shops who really do wraps do them...

This recent boom has been only about 4 years now and getting out of hand with all the new jacks and self proclaimed experts...

The wrap market is over played and everyone with a $20K eco solvent machine is a leader... Where were you guys 5-10 years ago?

 

[kev3232]

i agree with you merrit. hopefully with this soft economy, we can "thin the heard" in the wrap industry.
time to send these monkeys back to the circus they came from.