Checkout High Performance Hockey Coaching’s new Full Truck Wrap!
We took this brand new Honda Ridgeline and gave it a creative and stunning new look! This truck was solid black, checkout what it looks like now!
Posts Tagged ‘ottawa suv wraps’
High Performance Hockey Ridgeline Wrap
Thursday, October 6th, 2011Wraps Done Right
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010
You’ve seen it on our website, our cars and in our marketing materials…. but what does it really mean? “Wrap’s Done Right”
Over the weekend my business partner and I installed a partial wrap on a full sized bus for the Ottawa Fat Cats. Everyone at K6 was excited about the project and looking forward to the final outcome. With hundreds of vehicles rolling out of the shop over the year, we can honestly say each project comes with the the excitement for the last stage… the install. After a very long day, few breaks and a lot of concentration on detail, we watched the bus roll out of the shop with a big smile on our faces. We always find it fascinating how a vehicle pulls into the shop bare and rolls out with a completely different personality.
What makes a great wrap?
The great thing about this industry is there are always new challenges. Every business has their own set of desires and requirements for their wrap. Some businesses are simply looking to put graphics on their small delivery vehicle, where others might be looking at branding a fleet right across the country. Now this is the fun part.. How can we help you stand out from the crowd? How can you wrap have just that extra bit of creative flare, vibrant prints and killer installation? Over the years we have really refined out process to the following:
1) The Design
What makes us different from most sign companies is we are a hybrid between a design firm, and a sign company. Not only do we have an understanding of the materials, the printing process, the marketing idea behind the wrap… we have a great eye for design. We pride ourselves in putting all our heart and passion into designing great looking wraps. Everyone on our team cares about our clients and the end result.
“Well what makes you different” With hundreds of vehicle wrap designs under our belt, we know what it takes to put together stunning design. In designing a vehicle there are a lot of things to take into consideration:
Who is the target audience?
What is the intended message?
This vehicle is a mobile billboard, so is the message readable at 70 miles an hour?
How does the design look in 3d? When the sides meet the corners how are those blended?
Door handles, moulding, lights.. how are these handled in the design?
Are we using high resolution imagery?
Are the colours going to be vivid and eye catching?
Overlays, potential problem areas for installation.
There are hundreds of questions that go through our minds when we are designing a wrap. It’s not just about designing a wrap that looks good, it’s designing a wrap that takes the vehicle and intended audience into consideration.
Online Collaboration.
Have you ever gone through the frustration of doing design approvals and modifications and having to send multiple emails with PDF files and edit points 1 through 13? The frustration of having to go back and forth with changes through text with a lot of confusion and time being wasted?
Our goal was to make the design process easier. The communication between ourselves and our clients has become a lot easier with the help of our online collaboration tool. This allows our clients to log into a password protected area and view their proposed concepts and make comments directly on the artwork. This really helps to make the design process more efficient, and a lot more interactive.
We work closely with you throughout the design process to come to a design you will truly be happy with.
2) The Print.
One of our favorite parts of any vehicle wrap project is seeing the prints roll off the machine. WIth all the detail and textures we put into our vehicle wrap design, it’s nice to see them in large scale during the printing process.
Our rule for printing is we run our prints at a setting which is called “Graphics 2″. It’s a little slower then most printing that is done on a large format machine, but it yields very vivid and stunning colours. We could drastically increase the speed of the printing, but in the end it will give a less rich look to your wrap.
The Materials.
Using the right materials for a vehicle wrap is an absolute must. Choosing high quality products like 3M and Avery, with proper installation will yield a high quality end product. Cutting corners and using lower end products will without doubt cause failure issues in the future. If you want your wrap looking great for years to come, using the proper materials is key.
3) Vehicle Preparation
Often overlooked in the process is the proper preparation of a vehicle before the graphics are installed. As yourself this question.. Would you serve a meal on dishes that haven’t properly been washed? Or course not.. why would you do the same with your vehicle? The initial cleaning process is one of the most important stages of the installation. It is important to get all contaminants off the vehicle before installing graphics. It won’t matter how well the graphics are installed if the vehicle is improperly cleaned before the installation takes place.
Our rule of thumb is to bring the vehicle in the night before it is wraped for a full cleaning. The vehicle will have the opportunity to properly dry over night and the installation can start in the morning.
Adhesive Promoter. In areas that have a tendency for failure an adhesive promoter is installed. This is a thin product that is applied to areas like recessed groves, around door handles, etc and helps give extra adhesion in those areas.
4) The install.
The best part of the whole process! A vehicle pulls into your shop the night before completely bare, and with a hard days work pulls out with a completely different look.
A properly installed vehicle wrap can mean the difference between a wrap that will last and look great for years, and one that will start to fail not long after the graphics have been installed.
There is a lot that goes into a vehicle wrap install. The design & install are very closely related. Our team works together very closely to ensure all our vehicle wrap designs are created in a smart way, We ask ourselves questions like:
- Do I have text too close to door handles where there might be slight distoration.
- Do I have text or objects going over things like fender flares that might look odd with the contours of the vehicle.
- Do the colours & textures when the side meets the back, or the hood matchup well
- How will the graphics be paneled so to minimize the amount of seems on the vehicle.
- Do the graphics get printed in vertical or horizontal panels.
- Does any of the text get printed separately like the phone # because it might change at one point?
There are literally hundreds of questions that come into play when a vehicle wrap is being designing. A properly designing and paneled wrap helps the installer.
A great installer is someone with a great deal of experience, someone who has a lot of patience, great attention for detail, creative, and again.. a great attention for detail.
The installation process for us is extremely important. We have a lot of experience that helps us prevent things like, lifting, wrinkles, popping, distortion, cracking, miss-alignments, unlevel installs etc. The installation process is an extremely technical and artistic process. We take pride in the time and care we put into every installation that comes through our shop.
Questions? Comments? We wanna hear them!
Featured Car Wrap: The NuDen
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
Ottawa’s NuDen approached us about wrapping one of the business’ Hummers, but made clear their desire to do something classy and appropriate for the design considering the vehicle’s daily visibility. We put our heads together and came up with a creative concept for the wrap that we felt was accurate and tasteful. Crazy. Sexy. Cool is the business’ new tag line and we think it’s fitting. 
Ottawa Truck Graphics & Wraps: Ideal For Contractors
Thursday, February 18th, 2010
You’ve found us because you’ve Googled “Ottawa Truck Graphics”, “Ottawa Vehicle Graphics”, or “Ottawa Car Graphics”. Thanks for stopping by. K6 Media specializes in the design, production, and installation of car and vehicle wraps and business signage and graphics for you and your business. Request a quote, contact us, or view our portfolio.
“We Saw Your Truck and We’d Like An Estimate”….
We’ve done hundreds of vehicle wraps in the city, but the truck wraps we do for Ottawa’s contracting and renovation community consistently have some of the more vocally satisfied customers that we’ve had the pleasure of dealing with. One of the most typical things we hear from the trades, especially home renovation or any trade that has a vehicle that sits in front of a job site or project, is that the response rate is higher than any other marketing that the company is doing. People respond when they see a truck in front of a house, and they really respond when they see work being done. Vehicle graphics, according to our clients, also count as an element of credibility with their new customers and give the impression of pro-activity in an industry that has typically primarily relied on the yellow pages, good reputations, and word of mouth.
The provided image is for Prebbel Enterprises, a National Capital based landscaping and interlocking stone company, and one of our clients. They have a tendency to be working outside much of the time in the summer months, and can have at least 1 wrapped truck sitting on a job site at any given time. With their website appropriately positioned on the rear window, complimented by their phone number directly on the rear of the truck, the number of phone calls and e-mail inquiries jumps when the fleet of trucks are visible while completing a customer’s landscaping project. The evolving beautification of the exterior of someone’s home tends to get second glances from neighbors and passerby traffic, and having a strategically and conveniently positioned advertisement capitalizes on the opportunity.
The trades is often ranked as one of the most sought out industries by consumers, yet one of the least marketed. As a contractor, a vehicle wrap for your truck or fleet, coupled with the visible nature of the work you do, puts you in a unique position to market your services more effectively than most other professions. Even better news? Truck and fleet wraps will cost you less than advertising in the traditional mediums that you’ve probably been using.
Questions? Comments? We want to hear ‘em! Email us at info AT k6media DOT com or leave a comment, and let us know how vehicle advertising has enhanced your business impression.
Emphasizing Your Company’s Brand
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
One of the things we typically recommend to clients is to introduce as much consistency as possible when considering business signage, vehicle wraps, custom banners, window graphics, or wall graphics. When we initially begin a consultative phase with a customer, we’ll ask questions about what they are currently doing when it comes to emphasizing their company brand – as in how they’re reinforcing it with their customers - especially if they are considering things like a vehicle graphic, which has the ability to significantly increase the number of impressions received.
Adopting a uniform business image and identity to display on signs, banners, vehicles, business cards, stationary, uniforms and promotional items will serve to brand your business and location, creating greater consumer awareness and recall when your products and services are needed. Taking a page from the big guys – like McDonalds or Hewlett Packard – can serve small business well, because the strategy is the same. As much consistent visibility as possible in as many mediums as possible.
The U.S. Small Business Administration cites brand consistency and visibility as one of the primary decision factors at the forefront of consumer’s minds, especially in the midst of a recession in a survey conducted in early 2009. Using 5 different logos for your business can create confusion and uncertainty about exactly what your organization does and why you are distinct and unique in your respective field. Surprisingly, in that same survey, business owners who were polled thought that more money was required to bridge their marketing efforts to include consistency for the company’s image, and that “mixing it up” was a better strategy. This couldn’t be further from the truth – in actuality, it is a less expensive approach. Approaching brand consistency as an investment is a best practice in our opinion, and creates a greater inclination to trust your business and to ultimately purchase from you.
In a nutshell, if you’re not already doing it – bridge what your marketing. If your logo isn’t the same on your letterhead as it is in on your on premises sign – seriously consider changing it. If what you’re wrapping your car or truck with isn’t the same as what’s on your web site, re-think your strategy. Ask us how we can help you create brand consistency!
Vehicle Fleet Wraps in Ottawa
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
You’ve found us because you’ve Googled “Ottawa Car Wraps”, “Ottawa Vehicle Graphics”, or “Ottawa Vehicles Fleet 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.
Vehicle fleet wraps take the standard car wrap application to a multiple number of vehicles, and is often the path that the majority of our customers want to follow once they take notice of the effectiveness of even just one on the road. an entire fleet of vehicles utilizing a printed vinyl vehicle graphic increase the impression and visibility rate exponentially versus just a single car or truck, provided your business has multiple vehicles. More impressions and visibility inevitably leads to more people taking notice and creating a distinction, and it also creates a consistency of visibility and emphasis with the brand. One of our long time customers, Mortgage Brokers Ottawa is a perfect example of this. After experiencing first hand the consumer response to having 2 of their vehicles on the road, the logical choice according to managing partner Frank Napolitano, was to increase the visibility by having their entire fleet wrapped to expose the business to as many potential customers as possible. “Vehicles wraps created business leads and referral opportunities and , and anything you can tangibly and physically see a return like that on is something to be capitalized on, in a market where every advertising dollar counts”.
Ottawa Vehicle Wraps
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009
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.
You’ve decided to wrap your vehicle, but you’re not sure about a few things before you give your design and installation team carte blanche. Wrapping your vehicle is one of the most cost effective and visible ways of communicating what your business does and who you are, however, there are things to take into consideration before committing yourself to this great medium of marketing yourself – namely – what kind of car wrap or truck wrap do you want? There’s a few…
Most business owners want to leverage the full effectiveness of a car wrap, truck wrap, or whatever kind of vehicle graphic they are employing and to do this, they will will cover almost every inch of their vehicles. These are called Full Body Wraps. A full body wrap is a complete wrap that covers the exterior, painted portions of your car from bumper to bumper, including the roof. Typically, full body wraps are in most cases what customers will be looking for. The impression count with a car wrap that includes the roof is considerably higher. The simple reason is because it is viewable by those that are looking down at your vehicle, not just people on ground level – like people in high rise office buildings or apartment complexes. We generally recommend introducing a phone number or contact information on the top of your vehicle because of this or on all viewable angles of the car.
A full body wrap is not your only option. Sometimes customers don’t want to wrap the entirety of their vehicles. In this case, employing a window wrap is better suited. A window wrap refers to the rear window of the vehicle with limited to no coverage on any painted surface. We can size the graphic to fit the rear window of any vehicle make or year.
A tailgate wrap refers to the tailgate of a truck, and applies only to trucks. This kind of vehicle wrap is exactly what it sounds like.
Questions? Contact us at info AT k6media DOT ca or you can call us at 613-841-7568
Ottawa Trailer Graphics
Wednesday, October 21st, 2009
You’ve found us because you’ve Googled “Ottawa Trailer Wraps”, “Ottawa Trailer Graphics”, or “Ottawa Car Wraps”. Great. K6 Media specializes in the design, production, and installation of car, truck, trailer, and vehicle wraps for you and your business. Request a quote, contact us, or view our portfolio. We wanted to shed some light on the effectiveness of vehicle graphics and how they can change the perception of your business and create heightened impressions with your current and potential customers regardless of what kind or make of car, truck, or trailer that you drive.
You may have seen the wrap we did for the great people at The Works Gourmet Burger Bistro. We wrapped their “Patty Wagon” for on site visits, and in the spirit of that, we thought we’d share some tasty facts about vehicle graphics.
- Vehicle Wraps are hands down the most cost effective exterior/outside form of advertising that you can do. Period. The cost associated with introducing graphics onto your vehicle is a fraction of the cost for exposure on a billboard or outside sign.
- Average impression count is in the tens of thousands per day according to the Transportation Advertising Council of America – depending on where your business is situated. Bottom line – you have a billboard on wheels that is continually promoting your business.
- Fleet and vehicle graphics are unilaterally considered to be one of the most effective and persuasive forms of marketing and advertising. In a 2007 survey by the Transportation Advertising Council of America, 90% of consumers polled said that they uniquely noticed vehicle graphics and car wraps and 30% of consumers base buying decisions on impressions they receive from company vehicles.
If your business utilizes a cargo trailer or mobile station of any sort, a vehicle wrap combines all of the benefits of mobile marketing with functional purpose. You can view our trailer graphics section in our portfolio
Ottawa Car Wraps
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
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.
Ottawa Truck and SUV Wraps
Sunday, October 11th, 2009
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!
Jean Richer of Keller Williams came to us with the desire to create a wrap for his Dodge Nitro that was distinctive and that could promote his “featured home listings” effectively, but that could also be swapped as frequently as he wanted in an effort to showcase the homes that he wanted to show off on the truck. We introduced an easily removable vinyl element on the back window that didn’t require any additional work and that he could do on his own. This is an example of a changeable vinyl car wrap solution that we can introduce for the various applications of marketing that might need to change on a car or truck. Certain areas like windows are a more suitable surface for this kind of treatment of the vinyl we use, but the ability for the client to swap out sections of their vehicle graphics daily is a helpful way to make the most of your vehicle graphic investment.
Jean took the time to say some nice words about us here, where you can read his blog.
Questions? Please contact us at info AT k6media DOT ca.