How Do I Get into the Wrap Business?

The vinyl wrap business is in a state of readiness, about to explode, and FELLERS has taken an aggressive position on helping people get started.

In order to successfully get into the wrap business you will need at least the basics: Facility, Tools, Equipment, Materials and Training.

Facility
Although this is the most costly piece of a proper wrap outfit, it's certainly not a place to skimp. The environment in which you wrap affects not only your crew's comfort and morale, but also the quality of your prints and installations, as well as your productivity.

Ideally, an automotive wrap facility should be about 75-100 feet long with 14-foot entry doors in order to accommodate tractor-trailers, motor homes, and box trucks, all of which are commonly wrapped vehicles. A facility that's too small is often the very thing that keeps a wrap business from being able to stay busy, as they cannot prep tomorrow's job while they wrap today's.

Ideally your facility should be climate-controlled. If it's too hot, the wrap vinyl will be much too soft, and the installer's perspiration may even compromise the adhesive. If it's too cold, the vinyl will be brittle and will not behave in a cooperative manner, often "breaking" rather than stretching. Temperature and humidity fluctuations can also be the enemy of your large-format printer and laminator. If the air is too dry, you can experience mass quantities of static electricity, dried-up print heads and excess dust in your shop. If the air is too moist, your prints will take too long to dry. This is why we recommend humidity control as well.

A clean facility is a must in order to obtain the highest level of installation quality. You can wrap a car outdoors just like you can paint a car outdoors, but we all understand the reasons why that's not recommended. In addition, the presentation of your facility can be a marketing tool to separate yourself from the competition with a strong brand and to generate word-of-mouth advertising.

Should your facility be on a major road or highway? This one is up for debate. Some very successful wrap shops believe that the walk-in traffic and word -of-mouth exposure from building signage and/or strategically placed wrap vehicles located on high traffic roads is worth the extra cost of these types of buildings. This may be comparable to why many auto body & paint shops are located on major roads. However, most wrap shops are currently located in warehouse industrial parks which are significantly lower in rent cost than high traffic, retail-type locations. Regardless of which location you choose, virtually every successful wrap shop indicates that aggressive outside sales activity combined with professional quality work is vital to generate new and repeat business.

Personnel
The successful wrap shop employee base typically has the following experience:

1. Art, design and/or sign making
2. Outside sales
3. Mechanical and carpentry skills for removal of automotive parts and removal of wall trim.
4. Technical ability to operate wrap equipment such as computers, printers and laminators.
5. Physical abilities needed to wrap, as wrapping can be physically demanding.
6. Attention to detail for prepping and trimming.

A wrap shop can start with just one person, however the ideal wrap shop employs two or more people.

Tools
FELLERS carries an extensive line of wrap supplies and tools, including a great starter kit (pictured right) with the basic tools needed to get started. We also recommend the RollePro™ for high productivity when working with rivets.

Equipment
You will need a reliable large-format printer, plotter and laminator to get started in the wrap business. We have tested the available equipment on the market, and have chosen the very best of the lot in terms of quality, reliability and price. We highly recommend 60" wide printers, laminators and plotter/cutters. These will accept the widest wrap vinyls currently manufactured. The ability to print on wider vinyl helps to limit, and sometimes prevent seams, and therefore, increase the quality of your wraps. Many vehicle hoods can only be seamlessly wrapped on one piece with 60" wide material. We also highly recommend purchasing a separate cutter/plotter from your inkjet printer. There are cheaper combo printer/cutter units available, but professional wrap shops cannot afford the time needed for these slower, lower quality machines. Combo printer/cutters also cannot print and cut at the same time, which impacts production times.

Hardware
Due to the immense computer processing task presented by large files when creating wrap designs, having the right computer hardware is critical. Don't expect that your old cheap computer will do the job when you get in the wrap business. We recommend two computers, one for design and one for a RIP station. Your design station computer should be fast, powerful and geared towards processing very large files. We recommend having a minimum of 2 GB of RAM, but the more RAM you have the more efficient your computer will be, especially when processing massive files. A separate computer should be set up to run your ripping station which converts your design to the format needed for your printer. If in doubt, buy a computer with twice the processing power that you think you need for your design station. Design is typically the bottle neck at most established wrap companies. You might be able to use your old cheap computer for your RIP station, but again, make sure you've got the power to do the job.

Software
The more the better. Sure, if you have a great designer on staff, he or she will be able to create awesome wrap designs with the help of Photoshop. However, even great designers become faster and more efficient with additional Photoshop plug-ins, graphic fills, and vehicle template design programs. If you are new to wrap design it will be critical to purchase plenty of design software and to learn Photoshop skills. With the help of our design software a novice wrap designer can produce professional graphics.

Vehicle wrap templates also make designing faster and easier. Whether it's Pro Vehicle Outlines or The Bad Wrap, you can save time and money by using these template programs. Of course, to design a great wrap you'll also want to have an extensive library of backgrounds, fills and vector elements.

Vinyl Wrap Materials
Because of our extensive experience in the wrap business, we carry only the nation's most proven brands of vinyl wrap materials. And, unlike other distributors, FELLERS stores all wrap materials in climate controlled warehouses for optimal quality. Matched with their respective laminates, these films will give your customer years of value and stunning color with their vehicle wrap. We also carry the most innovative specialty digital films and standard banner and sign materials for your additional print business:

• 3M IJ180C and 3M IJ180Cv3
• Avery 1005 Super Cast Easy Apply RS
• Oracal ORAJET 3951-RA
• ClearFocus window films
• 3M IJ8624 Textured Wall film
• MacTac 5529BFD PRO
• Arlon DPF 6000X X-Scape

Training & Certification
Getting into the wrap business without knowledge of how to estimate and bid jobs, prep a vehicle, print and laminate, and properly install a vinyl wrap is, without question, a dangerous thing to do. It's very likely that you'll cost yourself time and money. Training with a FELLERS Certified wrap provider is a great way to get started and is also an excellent forum for learning what the best practices are in the industry. You'll train with wrap professionals who are active in the industry. This is an opportunity to learn from folks who are in the trenches everyday. That's why we've developed a network of FELLERS Certified Wrap Providers who provide wrap training.

If you've decided that you want to print and install wraps it's time for your company to become FELLERS Certified. After you have sold at least four successful wraps with references, it's time to get FELLERS Certified to give your program even more credibility and to potentially obtain more wrap business. See "How to get FELLERS Certified" for more information.

A Total Solution for Wraps
Our FELLERS Approved Gold Package is one complete solution for getting you started in the wrap business, providing all the right equipment and materials.

To get more information please contact us at 1-800-654-8405 or email us at equipment.sales@fellers.com