Need Help training for very new installation tech.

[AKwrapguy]

You say that "Wrapping is a fad and that in some markets it's already dying out", where do you get this info from? Is it personal experience, are there hard number to back this up somewhere? What type of markets are you talking about? Are you talking about full wraps, partial wraps, etc... please explain.

 

[printhog]

You say that "Wrapping is a fad and that in some markets it's already dying out", where do you get this info from? Is it personal experience, are there hard number to back this up somewhere? What type of markets are you talking about? Are you talking about full wraps, partial wraps, etc... please explain.

In northern California the trend in business is moving away from wraps and into long term cut vinyl. My suppliers are seeing that, I'm seeing that, national buyers are doing that, and my local ad club is seeing that.

My fleet clients are opting for cut vinyl after their third generation of wraps. Mostly the novelty wears off. This is also because the lifespan of 5 years isnt as appealing as 7 to 10 for cut work.

Design has an effect on that too. We see so many poorly designed and cluttered wraps. Mostly due to newbies and car customizers- heck even tire shops - buying wrap systems.

While good design still works, these other entrants have lowered prices and design standards that have devalued the product so there isn't any budget to cover effective professional design.

That doesn't mean it will die. But its following the model that vinyl cut did when plotters went from $30,000+ to under $2000, and when digital print went from a million dollar investment to under $50k...

Folks were jumping into vinyl. It was the rage. Then it was digital printing. Then wraps. Next up will be interactive digital displays. Samsung already is working on truck sides that can be changed digitally.




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[AKwrapguy]

Interesting, incite. While I agree that the lower cost of entering the market has had issues with quality, pricing and service, I think that I would disagree that the wraps are a 'fad'. I do agree with you that we'll see a 'comeback' of sorts with cut vinyl due to it's lifespan and market changing but this will probably follow most up and down trends. However on the point of this tread I think that Big Ben's nephew, if he's serious about getting into the industry should maybe try to find a shop where he would be able to learn multiple disciplines of the industry not just wraps. Also maybe try his hand at learning some design software as well.

 

[printhog]

i agree, the wrap side is very limited for a skillset. and honestly its probably the easiest part of the work. Some college design courses and some internships would be where to start. We had 2 hours of training for install at 3M St Paul corporate.. thats all. But we had 24 hours of media, chemistry, printer and laminator. Theres more to this business than sticking decals..

 

[astro8]

To be a professional requires hands on time. He needs an apprenticeship in a production shop. But that is hard to find.

Wrapping is just part of the trade. And it's a fad. In some markets it's already dying out.

To do a young person justice, he should be directed to learn the entire trade so that he can grow into it.

This is good advice. He needs to learn as much of the trade as possible to ensure his long term employment and prospects.

He has to try and learn as much as he can about every facet of the industry. It is almost impossible to be an expert at everything in our trade, but he can try his best to get at least a basic understanding of all facets and he will be all the more valuable to potential employers.

I have a son apprenticed at our shop at the moment and he started from the broom up. I wouldn't have it any other way.

The wrap industry will contract. The way things are going is there will be more wrap installers than there is work for them and they'll have to start installing cut vinyl to vehicles and digital print to walls, boards and shopfronts etc as well as wraps. It won't be hard for them to adapt but it might not be as 'glamourous'. The bonus is that it will make them more valuable to employers.

If you have been in the sign industry long enough your gut feeling will tell you what will go and what will stay.

I'm no Nostradamus, but having had two grandfathers, three uncles, a father, two brothers, two nephews and two sons in the sign industry you get a feel for these things.

I started on brushes 40 years ago. My father likes electronics. He was always reading electronics magazines and always telling me "This won't last forever. Things are going to change. They'll have a sheet of sticky back vinyl and cut it out with a computer. There's LEDs too, all they need to do is make a white one and there goes the neon and light bulb industry. They'll print signs too, with big printers - just print it out. There'll be no film either, records and tapes will probably disappear and it won't be long."

If I stuck to my brushes and didn't learn as much as possible about the sign industry, learn things that I didn't really like at the time and adapt to new technologies I'd probably be driving a bus.

 

[Kentucky Wraps]

Practice practice practice, on his own vehicle with scrap or affordable vinyl...while watching technique videos. If he practices what he learns on videos, and does it 20 or 30 times, he'll be right up there with most of the rest of the wrap installers.
As for wraps being a fad, perhaps with large fleet jobs as they are a larger cost. But small businesses are seeing it more and more as a cost effective way to get the impressions, especially in the service sector.