I will also be doing a 1/2 hour demo at Mutoh's booth as part of their all-inclusive educational platform that they are putting together for ISA.  For these demos I will be applying Avery film to different parts of cars.  All film will be printed with a Mutoh Valuejet.

At either demo, feel free to come by and ask questions as well as pick up the latest info on the Avery-Mutoh School of Wrap and my new DVDs that are under the Techniques and Tips instructional platform.

The advanced class for the December Mutoh School of Wrap workshop was a true pleasure to teach.  All the students had taken the 2-day Basic/Intermediate workshop so we could really build on my Universal Graphic Installation System.  I was truly amazed at quickly the students picked up all the tips and tricks, especially when we got to bumpers and doorhandles.  The students really understood the concept that with a fluid system wrapping a bumper is no different than wrapping a hood.  Sometimes I felt like Yoda but they understood that with sound technique and the right approach all vehicles become the same which leads to high standards of quality, durability and efficiency.

I think one big factor that helped the learning process was the Avery 1005 Supercast with 1360 1.3mm overlam.  The low tack and supreme flexibility of the Supercast really gives installers a sense of confidence and flow.  Over the course of 3 days the students plowed through 150 yards of film, by far the most for a School of Wrap workshop.  This is a testament to how hard the students worked.  Thanks to everyone at Mutoh for all their help and for a great 2010 School of Wrap.  I'm really looking forward to next year which will have more dates.

The Basic/Intermediate School of Wrap workshop was a big success.   All the students were very eager to learn which always makes for a great 2-days.  Since we were at Mutoh headquarters, the students got a demonstration of the Mutoh products from Randy Anderson.  Randy answered lots of questions and provided some valuable insight that is always a plus for the workshop.  The students worked with Avery's 1005 Supercast and 1360 1.3mm gloss overlam.  The graphics were printed by a Mutoh Valuejet.  As with all the Basic/Intermediate workshops they wrapped a car completely.  In this case, it was Randy's car and it came out great.  Thanks to everyone at Mutoh for all their help for 2010, especially Randy Anderson and Michelle Pugh.  Another thank your to NT Cutter, Milwaukee, and Benzomatic for providing tools for all the classes.  The new schedule for 2011 I hope will be announced this week.  Here are the pics:

Hard at Work

Brian Phipps General Manager striking a pose:

Randy's finished car:

More work:

Today I wrapped up a BMW for the CEO of Sweety High (www.sweetyhigh.com) in Los Angeles.  The film used was Avery's 1005 Supercast and their new 1340 Supercast overlam.  The vehicle was designed by Randy Anderson at Mutoh and it was printed up on a Mutoh Valuejet.  A special thanks to Paul Roba for the film and for Mutoh for printing it up.  I went out of my way to make this wrap extra special as I am good friends with the owner.  I particularly like the pink accents on the antennae, side mirrors, hubcaps, emblems and door handles.  I hope the ladies at Sweety High enjoy.

Yesterday I wrapped two scooters.  Normally, wrapping a scooter makes me want to jump out the nearest window or quit wrapping and become a garbage man.  However, times are different.  The film I used was Avery's 1005 Supercast along with then new Supercast overlam.  What a big, big difference.  For lack of a better word, the film just kind of breathed onto the application surface.  What I mean by this is that I used very little heat on the entire wrap.  Instead, I used very subtle adjustments when I pulled on the film.  The film just kind of knew where I wanted it to go and went there.  I had used this combination of film/overlam before but it was on a fairly easy car.  To use this combination on something as curvy and challenging as the scooters, well, I have to hand it to Avery.  Thanks to Paul Roba from Avery for the guidance and hook up.  I look forward to more wraps with this film, even on scooters.

The ISA show in Orlando this past weekend went really, really well.  The crowd turnout at Mutoh's booth was big with lots of people inquiring about the Carwraps Business Builder and my videos/workshops.  Todd LaBrie, owner of Carwraps, and myself did 3 demos a day, highlighting the strengths of our program which is efficiency and quality.  I used Avery's new 1005 Supercast film for the demos and people were very into it.  I think this is going to be a very good product for Avery.  High quality media that prints and installs extremely well for an excellent price point.   Smart on their part to make the price point the same as their old 1005 Easy Apply RS.   The people at Mutoh, particularly Randy "The Man" Anderson, went out of their way to make sure the booth looked great.  Always a pleasure to do the demos for Mutoh.   The next U.S. event on the horizon is the hands-on workshop at Sign Warehouse from May 10-12.  For more info on the workshop go to:  www.mutohcarwraps.com.

For X-mas this year, my mom asked me to wrap her car so that it looked like wood.  I thought this would be a good chance to experiment with a new combination of film/overlam.  For the Mutoh workshops/signshows for 2009 I used Avery 1005 Easy Apply RS film with a 2.0mm overlam.  I like a thinner overlam for it helps the film conform better to bumpers and recessed areas so, for my mom's wrap, I used Avery's glossy 1.3mm overlam.  The thinner overlam really made a big difference in how the film conformed to curves and recessed areas.  It was also just as easy to handle as the 2.0 overlam, an added bonus.  I highly recommend this combination of film/overlam (1005 Easy Apply RS/1.3mm glossy overlam) and will it for all my sign shows and workshops in 2010.  I would like to shout out a few thank you's for helping make this wrap happen.  For the design, Todd LaBrie and Chalong Nanthamong of Carwraps created the file/art work.  Randy Anderson and Ken Parsley of Mutoh did the printing/shipping.  Lance Hutt, Molly Waters and Ron Winter of Avery coordinated/supplied the Avery film and overlam.  Rob Rule and Kyle of Signs Now in Boise for letting me use their space and helping out when needed. Now my mom is the coolest 72 year old driving around Boise.  Merry X-mas and  a Happy New Year.

Afternoon Speedwrap Demo

I did demonstrations in Mutoh's booth to promote the new HD online streaming videos, Techniques and Tips: Vehicle Graphic Installations.  Their home is on the Carwraps webisite - www.carwraps.net. Over the course of the 6 day show, I noticed a tangible turning point for this project. 

We (Carwraps and myself in conjunction with Mutoh) launched this project about a month ago.  Since it was a new project, people took some time to understand the focus and message of the instructional platform. 

At one point during the show, I could just see that click, both in the audience and with people from the industry.  The wheels are really starting to turn.  Exciting stuff.

The message - Efficient printing, designs and installations = money and time."

I'm looking forward to next week - working Mutoh's booth at the SGIA show in New Orleans (Oct. 7-9)

Afternoon Speedwrap Demo