Chicago, Il – 16′ Box Truck Wrap | Create | Install Commercial Sign Company

Imagine getting a call from about 110 miles away from your shop with a request for a couple of designs for a mobile motorcycle repair truck. The customer provides emergency roadside motorcycle repair services.  They actually have an entire shop in the back of the truck where they can fix almost anything. I get the request but there are probably 50 sign companies between our customer and us which normally means the customer is just shopping for designs.  Some in the past have taken our designs and went elsewhere to get them produced for less.  It’s pretty easy to print and install for a lesser price if you don’t have to charge for the design.  This is the reason that we will provide a very basic design prior to agreeing to take the order.  It’s unfortunate that some folks have to wreck it for others.

When we decided to provide a few very simple renderings for this opportunity, we decided to play up the Chicago skyline as almost everyone recognizes the skyline.  It is easily recognizable, relatively easy to get a graphic, and looks really great at 14′.  We overlaid “Chicago” on the skyline in a bright red. The script we selected was from an ad campaign that Chicago did about 15 years ago.  It just struck a note with my designers.  A great many companies try to design away from gradient black and grey. You see most printers struggle with the gradient.  Not Optimum Signs.  Our HP printer can hit gradients across the spectrum including greys, blacks, greens and even reds.  We have never designed around a customers color request. So we sent off the designs thinking that we would probably never hear back from the customer.  We were surprised when the customer came back to us to do the final design.  We always ask for a signature and deposit for final designs as this is where we provide full color proofs.  Once we got both, it was off to the races.

We decided to use Avery 1105RS vinyl for this job as there really weren’t a large number of rivets. The Avery product does give us the ability to run it up against a rough edge, trim it and seal the edge. A lot of vinyl’s don’t do well if you don’t have a consistent edge.  Avery seems to have overcome this issue and presents well for years to come.

If you are tired of your sign shop not responding to your requests or it always seems like you are begging them to work with you, please give us a call. We aren’t perfect but you will never have to chase us to get us to help.  We can be reached at 262.289.9481 or email us at info@optimumsignswi.com.