The challenge 

Imagine if a commercial printer was asked to fold flyers into complicated origami shapes, to adhere their latest batch of business cards to a curved surface or to erect a durable display with them. Chances are they’d find this fairly daunting. 

And yet equivalent installation and assembly challenges are faced by wide-format printers every day, particularly if they offer vehicle graphics services. 

Indeed it’s no coincidence that most print exhibitions now seem to feature some sort of vehicle wrap challenge. Of all the forms of wide-format installation, vehicle graphics is not only the most interesting to watch, it’s also one of the most fiddly and specialised to perform, meaning even experienced and established wide-format houses often opt not to offer it.

But this hasn’t deterred Northern Ireland printer Plus2Print from branching out from commercial print into, not just general wide-format work, but vehicle wrapping too.

The Downpatrick-based company was established as a traditional commercial litho printer in 1990 by the father of current co-owners Gavin and Alan Oakes. The boys took over the business 15 years ago, and kick-started a move into digital.

And last year, the brothers decided it was time to add other capabilities. Not having quite decided what these might be, their minds were made up by a fortuitous meeting at a set of traffic lights: the duo spotted a Dennis E Evans van attractively adorned with vehicle graphics and requested a brochure from this Mimaki reseller. The rest, as they say, is history.

The method

Or rather Downpatrick history was made, and a Mimaki CJV30-100 signed for, once a fair amount of research was put in. This involved a trip to the Dennis E Evans showroom, and a considered look at an equivalent Roland DG machine. 

The CJV30-100 was chosen because Plus2Print “thought the Mimaki was as good if not better than the alternatives but at a fraction of the cost,” according to Gavin Oakes. 

Going with Mimaki has certainly paid off in terms of the amount of help the manufacturer and supplier have lent in discovering new applications for the machine, such as window signage, pavement graphics, and of course vehicle wrapping. 

The complexity of vehicle wrapping meant the brothers had a lot to learn, but they were able to pick up some useful tips from online videos and user forums, alongside more conventional training.

“Vehicle wrapping is very technical. It’s a lot of YouTube watching and learning from the guys who sold us the machine,” says Oakes. 

He adds: “LinkedIn is so open, you can put questions to people all over the world. Some people are fantastic; it’s the sort of advice you would probably pay a lot of money for. People are just so helpful with putting their name to stuff and outlining how things are done.”

While Plus2Print now does most of its work at its Downpatrick town centre premises, vehicle wrapping is carried out at its former HQ on an industrial estate. “You need enough room to get around the vehicle and still have plenty of space to work in on top of that,” says Oakes, reporting that the wrapping work is shared between himself and a new graduate employee.

Key to making the venture a success is the fact Plus2Print offers a design service not only for the commercial and other wide-format work it prints, but also for all vehicle graphics work. This ensures all artwork is perfectly optimised for tricky-to-work-with vehicle surfaces.  

“We’re able to do this because I can design it and make it as easy or hard as I want – it’s all down to the design,” says Oakes, who has a background in fine art.

Promoting this new service has also been key. Plus2Print has been proactive in letting local businesses know about its new wide-format services generally, but this is particularly important with vehicle graphics as people are typically less familiar with the idea, says Oakes.

“Social media lets people know we can do this stuff. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Google Plus are all great for showing people how effective simple graphics can be,” he says. “Vehicle wrapping is a totally new thing and when someone sees one, it takes off.”

The result

After just a few months, Plus2Print is already processing three to six vehicle wraps a month, reports Oakes. And like the other wide-format print it’s producing, these jobs are generating nice margins, with the company expecting to grow turnover to £150,000 this year.

“It’s been really good for us; I can’t believe the amount of business it creates. And it’s good business – it’s not the £10 and £20 stuff, it’s good money,” says Oakes of the wide-format venture in general.  

The fact that Plus2Print offers free consultation and design makes the vehicle wrap proposition very accessible and appealing to potential customers, feels Oakes. As with general wide-format work, the company has found itself in the enviable position of being the only printer in the area offering these services. Which means Plus2Print is a handier and more cost-effective alternative for those local businesses that used to have wide-format and car wrap jobs carried out in Belfast.

“We do a good bit of vehicle graphics now. People know they can get that here rather than going into the city and possibly paying a hell of a lot more,” says Oakes. “The way we’ve been trying to get people is offering them free design and consultation.”

He adds: “What we’re finding is because we’re such a local business and a good way from Belfast, a lot of people who don’t like to travel to the city and who were using Vistaprint for magnetised vinyl to put onto their cars, are now using us.” 

Plus2Print’s wraps are most popular with those businesses involved with Downpatrick’s leisure and tourist industry, such as golf clubs, reports Oakes. These local customers are typically pretty straightforward to work with as they tend to give Oakes free-rein over the design and aren’t necessarily as fussy about the results as Oakes is himself.

Wannabe vehicle wrappers certainly shouldn’t underestimate the challenges involved though, qualifies Oakes. “It takes a lot of practice; the amount of wastage you have at the start is considerable. We’re still learning all the time,” he says.

Oakes adds that he doesn’t think the vehicle wrapping side of things will ever be as popular as the other wide-format products the company now offers.

“I wouldn’t say it’s as big as banners or pop-ups – those are more accessible to a lot of the businesses we deal with, whereas the vehicle wraps are perhaps for more established brands,” he says. 

He adds: “The PVC banners for instance have generated a lot of interest with local clubs and organisations because these were totally out of reach for local businesses and clubs before. They can walk in and get these here which was previously unheard of in Downpatrick.”

But Plus2Print provides a great example of how vehicle graphic printing and application isn’t necessarily as daunting, specialist and inaccessible as you might think. With a bit of trial and error, online research and the right in-house design nous, Plus2Print is certainly making a success of this venture. The company is proving that adding wide-format can involve an even wider range of services than you might think.  

Vital statistics Plus2Print

Location Downpatrick, Northern Ireland

Inspection host Co-owner Gavin Oakes

Size Turnover: £130,000; staff: six full-time, one part-time 

Established In 1990 as a traditional commercial printer. The company branched out into digital print 15 years ago when its original owner’s sons, Gavin and Alan Oakes, took over. Most recently it has moved into wide-format printing, including vehicle wrapping

Products Pop-up banners, canvas prints, aluminium prints, stickers, window graphics, PVC/mesh banners, business cards, letterheads, flyers, invites, stickers and other general commercial print

Kit Xerox 700, Xerox DocuColor 250, Epson Stylus Pro 7880, Mimaki CJV30-100, plotter for architectural drawings and a GAPS UK cold laminator

Inspection focus Diversifying into  wide-format printing, including vehicle wrapping

DO IT YOURSELF

As with any new venture, thorough research is needed. “Don’t just rely on knocking on someone’s car window at traffic lights, there’s a lot more involved than that,” says Oakes, referring to how Plus2Print first came across Mimaki reseller Dennis E Evans. “That’s an old-school way of finding things out, but we wouldn’t have made the investment without checking a lot of stuff out first.”

Ensure you have plenty of room to carry out the wraps. “You need enough room to get around the vehicle and still have plenty of room to work in on top of that,” says Oakes.

Utilise the wealth of online information out there. This might involve YouTube videos, but also tapping up experts on forums such as LinkedIn.

In-house design skills will be crucial so that artwork is prepared with the specific challenges of vehicles – namely fitting artwork around doors, mirrors and windows – in mind. 

Consider involving wrap technicians in the design side of things so they can report common issues and challenges and suggest  workarounds. “The person applying these needs to be very much in touch with the person doing the design; if you’re not then it’s going to be difficult,” says Oakes.

Don’t run before you can walk. “Keep things simple, especially starting out,” says Oakes. “Further down the line you can always go a bit more complex, so doing more complex vehicles like vans.”

Don’t assume customers will accept nothing less than Wrap Cup-winning standards. “I’m a perfectionist but a customer won’t see the tiny mistakes that I know are there,” says Oakes.