Sizing and Layout of first full wrap

[jonathantill]

This will be my first attempt at printing and layout of a full race car wrap. I have mainly been doing signs, number, sponsors, logos, and decals and have wrapped a go-kart and a few other small things but now I am about to do first full size race car. I have installed them for years so that part isnt a problem. What is the best method to use when laying out sponsors and graphics and sizing them to fit the template I am using. I have all the measurements I need but just wanted to know if there is a general rule about how much to over hang, overlap, etc. Using flexisign and printing on 30" Oracal 3651RA. The 30" material will go down the side then I will need to print another piece to finish the top behind the driver window and I plan to do the hood/nose in two peices. Any tips or tricks would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[mgcustomgraphics]

first of all its not recommended to do wraps with 30'' panels but if thats the only possibility oh well, and it depends on what software you are using, for example if you use pvo, the templates come at 1:20 scale, so you will have to rescale at 2,000% to get a 1:1 scale, but again there could be many variations depending on what you use for design, ripping, etc, hope it helps a little

 

[xxaxx]

I use the templates just for mockup and general sizing purposes. Make sure you always check the accuracy to your real measurements. They are usually close but not exactly right.

When I setup our wrap designs for print, I make the file as a rectangle with the exact measurements I took (or 25-50% scale for larger projects depending) with no bleed added. The reason to not add bleed yet is it then makes the next step really easy, turn on the Ill rulers and add guide marks at all the important landmarks I need to avoid on the vehicle, windows, hinges, wheels, etc. without having to calculate their position based on added bleed.

After all the guides are in place I then add bleed and blow up / fit my template graphics into the full size graphic avoiding anything that may screw them up. From there, double check all the measurements and send it to rip and print.

 

[jonathantill]

Thanks for the replies. I am using flexisign for my design and rip software as I stated in the original post and as for the 30" material i figured it would provide the least amount of waste since the sides of most dirt late models are not taller than 29 inches. I was thinking of just drawing a rectangle as you said and then placing the graphic inside that and check the measurements to where the wheel openings are. There are no door jambs, hinges, moldings or anything else to worry about just the wheel openings. I will have to play with the landmarks as i am not familiar with these nor the bleed setting in flexi. Again I am just learning but I will look into those settings as I am sure they will help a lot. Thanks, Jonathan

 

[xxaxx]

No problem, you can add bleed from the start if you want, I just find it easier to think to myself the wheel starts at 30" from the left side and put a guide there instead of it starts 30" + 1/2 of the total bleed from the left.