A Brief History of Vinyl Wraps and Lettering
Signage has never just been stationary. Vehicles have been used to convey messages for years, as far back as in 1900, when Milton Hershey simply advertised his chocolate company on the side of a vehicle, and later, when Kolb’s Red Label Bread soon followed suit using more complex typefaces and imagery. When motorized vehicles boomed, lettering became even more popular, but the method of choice – hand-painting – dwindled as vinyl came into the picture. When the Goodrich Corporation accidentally invented vinyl in 1926, they had no idea the various uses their new creation would have, one of which being the primary method of lettering and wrapping vehicles. It wasn’t until the 21st century that vinyl printing technology became both affordable and accessible for the public to use, changing the design industry forever.
Vinyl Wraps vs. Vinyl Lettering: What’s the Difference?
Imagine a vinyl wrap as a giant sticker wrapped around the entire surface of your vehicle, from the bumper, hoods and even curved areas. It’s like a custom paint job, only cheaper and easy to remove or change if needed. Vehicle wraps are completely customized to your business with branding in mind and offer space for logos, website URLs, hours of operation, phone number, email addresses, social media links, and more. Wraps can also cover only a portion of the vehicle – this is referred to as a “partial wrap”, which is still a cost-effective and eye-catching way to utilize the space on your vehicle for advertising. Vinyl wraps also cover the original manufacturer paint, which is perfect for when it’s time to retire a vehicle from your fleet because you’ll gain a higher resale value.
Vinyl lettering is similar; however, it’s a smaller more constrained sticker that only covers a specific space on the vehicle such as the sides or the back (trunk or tailgate). Vinyl lettering comes in a range of colors and also allows your company to broadcast its logo, color scheme, and even a specific typeface for branding. The size can be adjusted based on the measurements of the vehicle, and installation is quicker and easier than a wrap; multiple vehicles could be lettered in the same amount of time it takes for one vehicle to be wrapped.
Why Choose Vinyl Wraps or Vinyl Lettering?
The value of adding advertisement for your business on your vehicle has been proven to beat newspaper, television, and even social media ads. In fact, the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) says that more than 95 percent of Americans are reached by media targeting vehicle drivers and passengers. Imagine a number of impressions – a number of times your advertisement is viewed by the public – you could receive from a wrapped or lettered vehicle compared to even the storefront sign for your business. It’s estimated that outdoor signs cost $3.56 per thousand impressions while newspaper ads cost $19.70 for the same number of impressions. One wrapped vehicle will net between 30,000 and 80,000 impressions per day, depending on how far and where the car is driven. All in all, the cost is estimated to be less than $44 per million impressions. At the end of the day, your vehicle is a mobile advertisement for your business!
Let Us Meet Your Vinyl Wrap and Vinyl Lettering Needs!
Check out our vehicle graphics page and learn more about vinyl wraps and vinyl lettering. We also invite you to browse our photo gallery to see for yourself just how noticeable our wraps and lettering are. Enjoy the video of one of our vehicle wrap installations so you can see the entire install process from start to finish.
Remember, your vehicle is a mobile billboard, so why not utilize it and advertise your business with wraps or lettering? All Star Signs is happy to help and make your business – and your vehicle – shine!