When your business reaches a point where you are ready to purchase a company vehicle, you have hit an important milestone. When you are ready to purchase an entire fleet of vehicles, that’s when you really know you’ve hit it big. Of course, that fleet of company vehicles will need some graphics in order to provide the high-profile advertising that you want and deserve. With that in mind, what questions should you ask about fleet graphics and wraps before buying?
1. How Can Fleet Graphics Be Removed?
If you have purchased a used fleet vehicle, you might need to remove the old decals before it’s ready for use. Even if that isn’t the case, you might need to change or remove these decals at some point. Most shops will use steam, heat, and citrus-based cleaners to remove old decals so that no trace remains.
2. How Long Will Fleet Graphics Last?
Even though these decals aren’t terribly expensive, they aren’t something you want to pay for regularly. As such, you need to make sure that you get a good service life from any decals that you buy.
The main thing that determines the lifespan of your graphics is the material from which they are made. If you are told that the graphics are only guaranteed for 1-2 years, it means that they used inferior materials. When made from proper materials, these decals should last 3-7 years.
Shady operators will sometimes try to use inferior materials to run a simple scam. When you ask questions about about fleet graphics and wraps, they tell you that they used high-quality material and charge you accordingly. In reality, they bought the cheapest material they could get, allowing them to pocket the extra money.
3. Do Fleet Graphics Require Maintenance?
When we say that these graphics should last 3-7 years, we are also assuming that the owner does a little bit of maintenance. For the most part, this maintenance consists of keeping the vehicle’s exterior nice and clean.
If dirt, grime, and other filth should collect on the decals, it will cause them to degrade more quickly. Things like mud, road salt, bird droppings, and tree sap will eat away at the surface of the decal, reducing its lifespan. When you wash the surface of your decals, use only water and a non-abrasive detergent.
4. Do I Need To Get A Full Vehicle Wrap?
Some people don’t understand the fact that there are multiple types of vehicle wraps. You don’t necessarily need to go for a full wrap, meaning one that covers most or all of the vehicle body. Instead, you can go for a partial wrap that only covers a certain portion.
If you want to save money by getting a partial wrap, you should take care to select a car that matches your company’s color scheme. In this way, you just have to use the decal wrap to add the details, which is bound to be a little cheaper.
5. How Long Will The Vehicle Be Out Of Service?
Decal jobs have to be done with a lot of care and precision. Even the smallest mistake can wrinkle the surface and ruin the entire thing, so installers have to take their time. As such, high-end service professionals will often have long waiting times.
Regardless of how busy they are, you should not be willing to wait more than a month. If this seems excessive, remember that custom decals have to be ordered or created. That kind of thing will always add a lot of wait time to the project. Either way, it’s important that you get a definite time frame.
6. Are Your People Properly Qualified For Vehicle Wraps?
As we mentioned before, questions about fleet graphics and wraps are important. Decal/wrap installation is a task that requires very specific skills. If an unqualified person does the job, you could end up with something very ugly. That’s why you should ask for (or look for) some kind of professional certification.
There’s no need to be an expert in this field, but you can verify the training of your installation professional by looking for certifications from the PDAA (Professional Decal Application Alliance), the SGIA (Specialty Graphics Imaging Association), or the UASG (United Application Standards Group). All of these are respectable and accredited organizations, so any of them should be good enough.
7. What Color Do You Recommend For Fleet Graphics?
Although you probably don’t need to ask this question, it can be very revealing when you ask. If you are dealing with a shyster, when concerning questions you should ask about fleet graphics and wraps, they will use this as an opportunity to push very specific color choices, claiming them to be superior for wraps. In reality, they are just trying to lay a sales pitch down. When asked these questions, a true professional should recommend that you match the colors of your brand to best suit the needs for your graphics or wraps. If you have found this article to be interesting and helpful, feel free to fill out the contact form below.