14.10.2009 | Ottawa Signage and Graphics

Ottawa Car Wraps

You’ve found us because you’ve Googled “Ottawa Car Wraps”, “Ottawa Vehicle Graphics”, or “Ottawa Truck Wraps” – and we’re glad you did. K6 Media specializes in the design, production, and installation of car and vehicle wraps for you and your business. Request a quote, contact us, or view our portfolio. We wanted to dedicate one of our initial posts to one of our core services and one of the most effective methods of visibility for your business – vehicle wraps! We wanted to provide a step by step process of how it works when you’ve decided to wrap your vehicle with your brand or marketing message.

Initial Consultation:

One of our knowledgeable vehicle wrap representatives will meet with you to discuss your needs and find out the scope of the project.  Whether you have a clear understanding of what you are looking for, or if you require guidance, we can help.   In this initial meeting we will determine what will be involved in the design process, as well as what portion of the vehicle that you are looking to have wraped.  Accurate measurements and or photos of your vehicle will be taken at this time. Obstacles such as moldings may need to be taken into consideration.

Proposal/Contract:

After determining what solution will be suite your requirements, we will provide you with an accurate proposal including all specifications, sizes, material and design.  Once the proposal and terms have been agreed on, we will require a deposit of 50% at which time the creative process will begin.

Design Consultation:

Once your deposit has been received, we begin the creative process. Your project will be handled by our creative director who will carefully manage your car advertising project from start to finish. In an initial meeting,  important information is collected, such as your target market, the purpose of your wrap, colour scheme, photo selection, etc. This will provide our experienced design team with all the necessary details about your vehicle wrap project. At this point we will begin to provide some initial designs that will be delivered to you through the use of an online collaboration tool.  This tool is a password protected area that allows you to login and view the proofs provided and make comments directly onto the artwork.  This system allows you to quickly and effectively provide feedback directly onto the artwork.  All revised proofs will be re-submitted using this system, and an email notification will be sent to you letting you know a new concept has been posted.  All artwork is shown to you super-imposed on a line drawing of your vehicle.  These are to scale mockups that we use in all of our design to ensure accuracy in sizing and body item positioning.

If you’d like to take care of the graphic design element of the project internally, that is no problem.  We will provide you with the to scale templates as well as an explanation on file preparation.  One of our designers will be available by phone if you have any questions on how to setup your files.

Printed Proofs:

Once a design concept has been chosen through our online collaboration tool, we go ahead and print a large format proof.  This proof is printed at approximately 4′ in width on the exact material that will be placed on your vehicle.  This stage will give you the ability to give the artwork a final review before we put the wrap into production.  At K6 Media we go by the philosophy of “what you see is what you get”.  We strive to never have any surprises in the process, and for the final product to look exactly like you expected it to.  Once you’ve seen the printed proof and are happy with it, we put the design into production:

File Preparation:

One of or talented design staff will prepare the artwork for large format output.  Since all vehicle graphic materials come in a regular length of 52″ it is required that the graphics be paneled much like you see with wallpaper.  Our focus at K6 media is to create a panel setup that minimizes the amount of visible seems.  By correctly analyzing the vehicle we can setup the panels so that seems end up in the door seems thus causing a great looking final product.  In some cases such as trailers this is no possible as there are no door seems to create the breakup.  At this time all the files as saved and prepared and ready to go to print

Large Format Printing & Lamination

Our production manager at this time will send the files to the printer for large format output.  The design will be printed on Premium 3M Controltac V3 vinyl which is a leader in the vehicle graphics industry.  At K6 Media we strictly use premium products in order to provide a superior product that will last.  All window graphics will be printed on a perforated window film product which will allow you to see out the windows on your vehicle.  Once the graphics are printed, an overlaminate will be applied to the graphics to provide extra protection to the graphics from UV and abrasion.

Pre-Installation Vehicle Inspection:

At K6 Media a vehicle inspection report is used to review the status of the vehicle before moving forward with the installation of graphics.  In some cases a vehicle may have rust spots, areas that have been in an accident, areas that have been repainted etc.  It is important for us to outline to the best of our ability areas that have been affected and may cause for warranty issues down the road.  Stock paint jobs with no visible rust damage area ideal for the longevity of the product. At this time all measurements are taken, and any additional items such as plastic moldings, un-wrapable textures, additional chrome addons etc are taken into consideration.

Vehicle Preparation:

One of the most important aspects of a vehicle graphics project is the preparation of the vehicle before the graphics are installed. Taking the time to properly clean the vehicle ahead of time will ultimately lead to a better longer lasting product. Think of dirt or grime as something coming between the adhesive of the graphics and the painted surface of the vehicle.  To ensure that your wrap adheres correctly, the first step is to thoroughly clean the vehicle.  It is always recommended that we receive your vehicle the night before it is to be wraped.  Taking the vehicle to a car wash and having them perform a “basic” cleaning is ideal.  You want to choose an option that does not use any wax as this creates issues with adhesion.  After a wash the vehicle is left in our facility over night in order to fully dry.

Any contaminants such as grease, oil, wax or bug guts can be removed using substances such as Prep-Sol or Xylol.  A final wipe down is then performed using an isopropyl alcohol (IPA) which will leave the vehicle without any oily residue. At this time a last glance over the vehicle will give the installer the confidence that the graphics are ready to be installed.

Installation:

Once the vehicle has been properly cleaned, a 3M primer is applied to the vehicle which is very thin liquid that helps optimize the adhesion in areas that are prone to failure. Once the primer has been applied our installer will position all the panels of the wrap in place to ensure everything is properly in place.  Installation can make or break a vehicle wrap.  This is why we hire only the best installers to apply your vehicle graphics.  The temperature of our installation bay must also be within 3M recommended specifications. The vinyl is never stretched into groves which causes lifting and tenting, it is always tucked.  Once all the panels are in the right place the installer will begin the installation process.  Feel free to call us at any time and drop by to get a feel for how an installation is done.  A vehicle graphics project requires a great deal of skill and patience, and on average most vehicles take a full 8 hour day to complete.

Final Post Installation Review:

The morning after the graphics have been installed and they have had an opportunity to bond, our installer will do a 2nd review over the vehicle to ensure the graphics are performing like they are expected to.  At this time our installer will go over every area of the vehicle with a heat gun and ensure proper adhesion has taken place throughout the entire vehicle.