What Kind of Vehicle Graphics Are Right for You?

APRIL 3, 2020| SpeedPro

If you’ve decided that custom business vehicle wraps are a graphic you want to incorporate into your marketing efforts, you should also determine what kinds of vehicle wraps are going to be ideal for the needs of your business. Deciding whether a vehicle decal, partial wrap or full wrap is right for you will come down to several factors, such as budget, desired appearance and the type of vehicle you’re wrapping.

Commercial vehicle wraps can offer a great deal of value to companies, but you have to know how to use them appropriately. Getting the type and size of your graphics or wraps right can do wonders for your business. An appealing graphic improves brand recognition and the chance that possible clients get in contact with your company.

To make the right choice when it comes to the appropriate vehicle graphics and wraps for your company, you’ll need to understand your primary graphics options, the benefits of these options and the factors that might play into your decision.

What Are the Types of Vehicle Graphics?

As you decide which graphic is right for your business, you’ll need to have all of the appropriate info about the different types of fleet vehicle wraps available to companies today. Custom business vehicle graphics come in three main types, commonly identified as auto vinyl graphics, partial vehicle wraps and full vehicle wraps. Each type carries its own benefits, and companies would be wise to understand the differences between all three fully.

Below, you can find a description of each major type, along with the benefits that each one provides:

1. Auto Vinyl Graphics

The most minimal of all of the vehicle graphics on the list, auto vinyl graphics are ideal for companies looking for a cost-effective, yet still visually appealing vehicle graphic option. Auto vinyl graphics are not a wrap, but rather individual decals that you can customize to your specifications. These graphics come in a range of sizes, with a variety of customizations like scale, color, depth, detailing, shape and laminate all changing based on your desires.

Benefits of Auto Vinyl Graphics

These decals have several benefits that make them the top choice of companies nationwide. Consider the following advantages that come with using auto vinyl graphics:

• Cost-effective: Auto vinyl graphics tend to be extremely affordable as they require less material to produce and require the least know-how to install. If you’re on a tight budget but still want to use vehicle graphics for marketing your company, auto vinyl decals give you the best of both worlds.
• Versatile: No matter what kind of vehicle graphic you choose, you’ll always have the option to swap it out for something new. However, when it comes to switching out images and messaging, auto vinyl graphics are king, as you can quickly switch them out if information changes. For example, you may have one graphic that displays your logo on it while another that advertises the latest deal. When the deal ends, you can leave the logo and swap out the deal decal for something new.
• Minimalist branding: For companies that like their advertisements to be minimalistic, vinyl decals can fit that look perfectly. They take up less space compared to partial or full vehicle wraps, and they can be pared down to fit the aesthetic you want.
• Perfect for logos. Since the vehicle decals are typically smaller, they often come in the form of the company’s logo. When placed at or above eye level on the rear or sides of your vehicle, the logos will communicate whose vehicle it is and improve your company’s brand recognition.

2. Partial Vehicle Wraps

When it comes to custom business vehicle wraps, many turn to partial vehicle wraps. They are the middle ground between small auto vinyl graphics and large full vehicle wraps. Typically a partial vehicle wrap will cover a vehicle’s rear, doors or hood. They won’t go around the entire vehicle, but they will be applied over some of the primary areas.

Benefits of Partial Vehicle Wraps

Since partial vehicle wraps are a solid middle ground between auto vinyl graphics and full vehicle wraps, companies regularly choose them to get the best of both worlds. As you consider partial vehicle wraps, check out all of their benefits below:

• Brand recall: Partial vehicle wraps allow companies to display their message prominently on key portions of their vehicles. They’re larger size makes it more likely that viewers will notice your graphics and, as a result, improve your company’s brand recognition.
• Affordable pricing: Though studios will often price partial vehicle wraps higher than auto vehicle decals, they still carry less of a price than full vehicle wraps. If you’re looking for a middle of the road option price-wise, partial vehicle wraps can fit into your budget with ease.
• High-impact graphics: With a partial vehicle wrap, you can choose to place a wrap on an area of your vehicle that’s most likely to be seen by viewers. Placing partial vehicle wraps on the rear of a car, for example, will have a significant impact on drivers, as they’re bound to be behind your vehicle at some point while you’re driving. Side doors are another popular place for partial graphics.
• Merge seamlessly with paint: These partial vehicle wraps can be customized to meet the exact color of your vehicle’s paint job. As a result, they have the advantage of blending perfectly with the vehicle. By matching the color, viewers won’t be able to tell where the graphic ends and the paint job begins, making your vehicle that much more visually appealing.

3. Full Vehicle Wraps

Unlike partial wraps, a full vehicle wrap will cover the entire available space on a vehicle. With full vehicle wraps, you turn the entirety of your vehicle into a marketing machine. Your custom graphics and signage will be much more noticeable than any other wraps on this list. You can expect that a full vehicle wrap will transform the roof, front-quarter panels, hood, doors, sides and rear of your vehicle into an impressive advertisement.

Benefits of Full-Vehicle Wraps

As full-vehicle wraps are the largest of all of the options available to you, they take some of the benefits of the smaller options, such as being attention-getting and improving brand recognition, to the next level. Along with improving on the benefits that smaller vehicle graphics offer, they provide advantages that the smaller options can’t match.

Consider the following benefits of full-vehicle wraps:

• Stand out: While any decal or vehicle wrap should capture attention, a full vehicle wrap ensures that no one misses your message. Whenever you take a vehicle out on the road with a full vehicle wrap, it becomes a moving billboard traveling down the road. If you have a message that you absolutely need people to know about, you should use a full vehicle wrap.
• Brand recognition: With graphics covering the entirety of your vehicle, most people are likely going to notice. With that level of exposure, you’ll improve how aware people are of your company. Full vehicle wraps that feature your logo, custom images, graphics and text can make your company a household name.
• More space: If you have a complicated design or a significant amount of information to share on your vehicle wrap, a full vehicle wrap will give you a large enough canvas to display it properly. While you should never clutter your custom business car wraps, some designs simply need a larger space to show off all they have to offer.
• More cost-effective than paint: Of all three options, full vehicle wraps are usually priced the highest since they require the most material to produce. Though they carry the highest price among vinyl vehicle graphics, full vehicle wraps are much less expensive than a paint job. Some companies go with paint jobs because they think paint offers superior quality, but in truth, vehicle graphics look just as good for a fraction of the cost.

How Do I Know Which One Is Best for My Business?

Now that you’re fully aware of all the top options available to companies, you’ll need to narrow down what you want from your vehicle graphics. Companies regularly rely on a variety of business car wraps to spread their messages and improve the visual appeal of their vehicles.

As you try to narrow down what wrap is right for you, consider some of the primary factors that go into picking a vehicle wrap:

1. Business Type

One of the first factors that go into crafting commercial vehicle wraps is the type of business that the graphics will be representing. For example, a company that offers services in a community may want to use a larger vehicle graphic to make sure that there’s plenty of space to provide the company’s contact info without looking cluttered. In contrast, a company that hauls products for distributors may not need to improve their brand awareness among the general public, making a minimalistic graphic an appealing option.

You may also want to look at your competitors. Do they usually go with small decals or full vehicle wraps? Knowing this information can help you decide if you want to buck the industry trends or go with something more familiar to consumers.

2. Type of Vehicle

As you try to select a graphic, you’ll need to think about the type of vehicle where you’re going to be applying the graphic. Consider, for instance, the differences that might arise between placing a graphic on a box van versus a compact car.

For one, the price for a full vehicle wrap for a box van is going to be higher than for a compact car due to the van requiring significantly more material and a longer install process. Another concern might be the level of detail or information you want to place in your design. A partial wrap on a van might convey your message appropriately, while a full vehicle wrap might be needed to do the same on a compact car.

Due to the differences in vehicles, you should have a full handle on the shapes and sizes of your company’s vehicles, as you decide which wrap or decal option is best for you.

3. Budget

A chief concern of most companies is staying within their budget. On their own, vehicle graphics are less expensive than getting a custom paint job that features a custom advertisement or logo. If you’re running on a tight budget, you may want to use stand-alone vehicle graphics. Those with a larger budget, however, may want to spend their money on a partial or full fleet wrap.

4. Subtle or Bold Design

Companies have an aesthetic and brand to follow whenever they produce any form of advertisement. Vehicle wraps are no exception.

For companies that like their brand to have a bold, in-your-face appearance, they’ll likely want to select a full vehicle wrap. The full wrap lets you turn the entire surface of your vehicle into an attractive advertisement that’s sure to catch the attention of other drivers. With full vehicle wraps, your company can feature large-scale graphics that have complex designs and large lettering to stick out to viewers.

While any company wants their messaging to be easy to read and capture the attention of others, some prefer to have more minimalistic graphics. In this case, a company is wise to go with a pared-down vehicle graphic. The graphic can still feature readable and eye-catching lettering, but leave most of the vehicle’s surface alone.

5. Community Awareness

If you’re thinking about adding new graphics to your vehicles, think about how aware people are of your business already. If you’re new to an area and trying to make a name for yourself, a full vehicle wrap may be ideal. After all, a full wrap is the best at capturing attention and making people more aware of your company. The wrap can communicate what services or products you offer to consumers with high-resolution images, graphics and text.

More established companies may not need to make people more aware of their presence and may want to go with a smaller graphic. For example, a partial wrap or a simple decal that lists the name of the company and logo can still provide significant value to an established company. If your company goes on house-calls, a minimal design will help clients quickly identify your service vehicle. Additionally, the graphic will still subtly reminds potential customers or clients about your presence.

Choose SpeedPro for All Your Commercial Vehicle Wraps

If you need fleet vehicle wraps or graphics, you should work with a studio that has a long track record producing vinyl vehicle graphics. As vehicles come in a variety of shapes and sizes, a studio needs to know how to produce vehicle graphics that will adhere to the surface perfectly. With a nationwide network of studios, SpeedPro has your back no matter your vehicle graphics needs.

Find your local studio today to speak with a representative about the ways that SpeedPro can help turn your vision for vehicle graphics into a reality.