Glow-Lit Wrap Graphics...

[ProWraps]

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.

actually there are many we dont take pictures of. we do wraps that we design, and installs that we dont, and fleets of both. aka, if the design is something we dont feel is good (again we didnt design it, and only installed it, or we are bound by national contract not to be allowed to put it on the site) we dont show it. and yes, for many national installs we are bound by penalty of a large fine to post pictures (if you have done installs for national companies you should know this).

we work a normal work month of 20 days a month. of which we typically wrap a car a day, or more. so yes. 20-30/month on a normal month. right now, the holiday season, not so much. we are doing 10-15. we dont take pictures of muliples if they are the same and we cant do a fleet shot (aka, they take the vehicles before we can take a pic of them all together).

i would love to have 500 in our portfolio (of which you have been in business way longer than us and you dont either. why?), but remember, we are one year full time into this. so 500 is about 2 years away.

 

[kev3232]

so, one year in the new wrap career? i thought you mentioned some where on s101 that you've been around for a couple years. sorry my bad then.
your business must have grown ten fold over the last year; multiple sales people, a couple designers, a couple press operators and about 4 installers to crank out 20-30 wraps a month!
i do lots of work for national companies, take pictures of their work all the time, never been an issue. i'll post some photos of all the coca cola, UPS, FedEx and pepsi rigs we've done if you want.

 

[Kentucky Wraps]

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?

A bit off the topic of this posting. I would say, start a bashing thread with a catchy heading to spark peoples interest on spreading the hate.
If you feel the affordable availability of the technology & fiscal opportunities that inspire more Americans to broaden thier horizons to offer wraps takes away your status of being Elite...you should definately start a rant thread. I know you are not alone in those sentiments. That one I would LOVE to watch.

 

[Mikeifg]

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!

Not knocking you. But with 20-30 a month in good times you should have alot of cash put back for the slow times ahead. So your at least billing out 60,000 a month and if that's true my hats off to you....

 

[wrapman jamz]

Blah, Blah, Blah. I remember when plotters came out.... Never thought I'd need to put away the truck lettering flat. Now I wouldn't even consider painting my house. I like the thing that paints right on the car...(just pull up and presto!)

 

[ProWraps]

we are doing terrible.

 

[ProWraps]

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?

man, that has to be the most interesting outlook towards your potential customers i have ever seen. do you bring that up in your sales meetings with your superiors? i would love to be a fly on that wall.

 

[National Sign Co. - Print]

man, that has to be the most interesting outlook towards your potential customers i have ever seen. do you bring that up in your sales meetings with your superiors? i would love to be a fly on that wall.

Actually my superiors are the VP of Operations and the President/CEO of the company. I can assure you that they would love to go back in time when you could get $15.00 s/f for wraps. Granted volume was not as robust but more money was being made.. Damn they still even call wraps "Scotchprint" if thats no old school I don't know what is.


It is always a touchy when reviewing P&Ls with these guys with regards to margins and material costs. Sure super high volume keeps everything humming but these are bottom line guys.

With that being said they are always in favor of being one step ahead of the competition and have no issues with buying machines that are $2,3or 400K if business warrants and know they need to be fed.

Yes Wraps are now a commodity that everyone with $20k can get in the game. And be a "Pro, expert or thorn in the side..."

My potential customers make money off the services we provide and production capabilities they do not have in house. They are not coming to me to do one van or a Sprinter. Its the 10 vans or 5 buses they cannot do that we partner up on.

Pro Wraps you need to really understand business dynamics of shops that are diversified in graphic offerings. I know dozens of "wrap only" shops who are barley hanging on. Sure you may be on the top of your game for 10-24 months. What you should be doing is looking at you SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats) for the next 3 years. Trust me.... The bottom is going to fall out in the wrap game.

Sorry to divert from the thread again just wanted to get my point across to the New Jacks... Back to the Glow Craze...

 

[Just Another Sign Guy]

Scotchprint...

i worked with one of the craziest in the industry back then...he would walk through the shop kicking over garbage cans, would knock over sales people's desks in sales meetings...even saw him call in all 3 shifts (we printed 24hours a day 6 days a week for years) and fire every production employee because no one would take responsibility for hiding over 2% of a 4color process + 3 spot color screenprinted banner order for microsoft that was literally millions of pieces...oh the "good old days"...that i also thought would never end.

the 'good times' come and go. fads fade..equipment and technology change even faster. if you are at the top of your market i hope you are saving for the next downturn and planning for the longhaul...if you are at your bottom and feel like you are hanging on my by a thread...this too shall pass.

good grief i'm getting old

 

[wrapman jamz]

I agree with Merritt. On all counts. I lettered my first truck in 1976 and have seen things come and go. SWOT. In this ever changing business I have to be open minded constantly. It used to be you could be good at something and stay with that. The only thing that has been consistant is that everything I put the "latest craze" on has a factory painted surface. Now I guess its gonna be glowing.

 

[kev3232]

1976?? how fricken old are you if you don't mind me asking?

k

 

[wrapman jamz]

Fricken old?...half a century. Started as an apprentice while in high school. The master painter I had the luxury to study under was nearly 80. I miss those days.

 

[kev3232]

Just joking with the "fricken old" statement! I'm not too far behind ya!
That's cool. I started an apprenticeship a few years after high school. Sometimes it would be nice to break out the old quills! I just can't remember where I put them!

k

 

[wrapman jamz]

Mine are long gone! I might have a paint "roller" layin' around!

 

[Kentucky Wraps]

Reviving this Thread as it seems Luma brite has faded away. There is a Canadian company called Luma Strike. Perhaps they beat lumabrite to the "patent" line? Can you really claim that you've "developed a new technology" when it's been around for decades? Does incorporating it into a wrap make it a "new technology"? In that case, I'm going to go attach my tv to my hood with magnets and patent it since I'm "developing a new technology". EL Panel signs have been around for ages..and night lights.
Still, I'd like to try a diy vehicle if I won't get slapped with a patent infringement.
Anyone?
Looks like it's Luma Media now. Looking into it further.