Wrapping a company fleet: from sketch to install

Wrapping a company's vehicles takes five steps: measure the actual vehicles, design on a template for each model, pick the right film, let the print dry before laminating, and install indoors at the right temperature. Skip one and you won't see it on delivery day. You'll see it a few months later, at the edges and in the recesses.

1. Measure the vehicles, not the brochure

Two vans "of the same model" can be different: different model years, sliding doors on one side or both, short or long wheelbase, handles and trim moved around. Before sketching, we photograph every model in the fleet straight on from the front, the back and both sides, and measure the large panels.

This matters at install time too. Avery Dennison's vehicle wrapping bulletin says film shouldn't go over rubber and plastic moldings and has to be cut at every join between two panels. So the important text never runs across a door and a fender at once.

2. The sketch: readable on the move

A company vehicle is seen from a distance, usually moving, or for a few seconds at a red light. We keep only a few big things on the sketch:

• the logo and what you do, in plain words ("Heating and plumbing," not just the company name);
• one contact: the phone number or the website, in large type;
• the brand colors, with good contrast against the vehicle's paint.

When the fleet has different models, we design a system rather than a single sketch: the same elements in the same place on every model. That way a large van and a small car read as the same company.

3. The right film for the surface

For surfaces with curves, recesses and corrugations, Avery Dennison recommends cast films: they conform to curves, don't shrink over time when processed correctly, and hold up better to heat and chemicals. For their MPI 1105 film with the recommended overlaminates, the bulletin lists a 5-year warranty on vertical surfaces. A van with flat sides can use simpler combinations, which the same bulletin limits to flat surfaces and simple curves.

What drives the cost: how much of the vehicle is covered (partial or full wrap), the film, the laminate, how many different models are in the fleet, and install time per vehicle.

4. Print, dry, laminate

This is where most rushed jobs go wrong. Film printed with solvent or eco-solvent inks needs time for the solvent to leave it before laminating. Avery's bulletin asks for at least 24–48 hours for flat applications and 72 hours for conforming and fleet work. Laminate too soon and the leftover solvent softens the adhesive, and the film can lift out of recesses.

5. Install: temperature, cleaning, heat

For its wrap film, Avery Dennison asks for surface and air temperatures above 10°C (50°F), recommends at least 16°C (61°F) and a working range of 16–25°C, in a clean, enclosed, dust-free space. The steps that matter:

1. Cleaning: water and detergent, then isopropyl alcohol for grease and wax.
2. Dry application, with firm pressure and as little stretching as possible.
3. A second pass on the edges after 15–20 minutes, once the adhesive has grabbed.
4. Post-heating the stretched areas, no sooner than 30–45 minutes after application, the same day, at the temperature specified for the laminate used.

So a vehicle doesn't get wrapped outside, in winter, in a parking lot. We schedule the fleet over several days, one or two vehicles at a time, so the business never runs short.

Windows: a different rule

Windows have stricter rules than bodywork. The Romanian Automotive Register's (RAR) guide to window films says film never goes on the windshield, and on the other windows in the driver's forward field of view the glass plus film must let through at least 70% of light. Rear windows can be darker only if the vehicle has both exterior mirrors. Installation is done by authorized workshops that put the RAR marking and a label on each window.

That's why we leave the windshield and front windows clear, and for the rear window we first check with an authorized workshop what's allowed on that specific vehicle.

If you're planning a fleet, our vehicle graphics page explains how we work. If it's your first vehicle, start with what to know before wrapping.