Avery Certification – Toronto/Atlanta
Congratulations to the following wrappers as they passed the Avery Certification test recently held at Proveer headquarters in Toronto and Mutoh's southeast office in Atlanta. These new Avery Certified installers will now be listed on www.carwraps.net, the #1 website for car wraps.
Toronto:
Jason Cormier from Signature Signs and Graphics - Ottawa, Canada
Tyler Cook and Aaron Gillett from Vehicle Wraps - Oshawa, Canada
Atlanta:
Bob Yunque from Shabob Signs - New Market, AL
Josh Tolley from That's a Wrap - Charlotte, NC
Adam Kersey from Adcolour, Inc - Lexington, KY
Jim Miller from Miller Decals, LLC - Woodstock, GA
LA/Phoenix – New Avery Certified Installers
Congratulations to the installers listed below as they passed the Avery Installer Certification exam recently held in Los Angeles and Phoenix. These installers will now be listed at: www.carwraps.net. This site is Google's #1 site for carwrap leads and is a great marketing tool for creating new clients. The next round of certification testing is coming up at the end of July in New Jersey and Texas. The certification exam is open to all installers and is only $299. To sign up go to: http://na.averygraphics.com/AvGrNA_avery_wrap_certification.asp
The new Avery Certified Installers are:
* Matt McDonald - Premier Custom Wraps (Fontana, CA)
* Rob Tafflock - The Sign Source (Hauppauge, NY)
* Brandon Richter - Spectrum Graphics (Phoenix, AZ)
* Chris Halsey - Smart Wrap (Phoenix, AZ)
* Sarah Dean - Smart Wrap (Phoenix, AZ)
* Mykel Foxx- Badass Designs (San Tan Valley, AZ)
Congratulations everyone and best of luck!
First Round of School of Wrap Completed
I just finished the first two Avery-Mutoh School of Wrap workshops and they were a big success. The two hands-on workshop for both Orlando and Dallas were filled with students really eager to learn which always makes it a really fun program to teach. For these 2-day workshops along with the remaining 8 scheduled for 2011 the students learn the fundamentals of my UGIS system on Day 1 and then on Day 2 they wrap a cargo van along with learning how to wrap bumpers and door handles.
The certification tests went well. I want to congratulate Mike Colbath from Yukon Trophy and Awards, Inc. and David Norat of Brush Fire Graphics for passing the test. They are now Avery Certified Installers and will be listed on Avery's new website and given a certificate.
The next round of workshops and certification are coming up in about 6 weeks in LA and Phoenix. In LA, it will be held at NuSign and in Phoenix at Mutoh Headquarters. For more information on the workshops and certification go to:
http://na.averygraphics.com/AvGrNA_avery_wrap_school.asp
Thanks as always to everyone at Avery and Mutoh for their help coordinating this and to Sign Warehouse and Proveer for hosting. A special thanks to Linda Ebbinghaus from Avery.
Mutoh School of Wrap – Advanced Dec. 12
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.
Basic/Intermediate Workshop – Phoenix Dec. 9-10
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:
Rusty Wallace
Today during the first day of the SGIA show Rusty Wallace came by the Mutoh booth while I was wrapping one of his race cars. Its always cool to meet a legend and even more so when they turn out to be really down to earth. Rusty Wallace signed autographs and posed for pictures. I wrapped the hood of his car with Avery's 1005 Supercast that was printed up on a Mutoh Valuejet. I demonstrated my UGIS techniques and showed people how easy Avery is to apply. I will be doing two demos tomorrow and one in the morning on Friday before heading out to a wedding in Santa Cruz.
Another busy U.S. run coming up next week
This Sunday I start a bit of an epic journey. First, I fly out to LA to wrap my buddy's car. He, along with his girlfriend, own an online company called Sweety High. I will be wrapping his girlfriend's BMW with Avery 1005 Supercast with their new 3D overlam. The wrap was designed by Randy Anderson at Mutoh and it was printed on a Mutoh Valuejet. After wrapping it up on Monday I fly to Vegas on Tuesday for the SGIA sign show. I will be doing demos in Mutoh's booth along with Todd LaBrie from Carwraps. For this show Mutoh is bringing in Rusty Wallace's race car. Instead of just wrapping I will be giving small workshops on how to apply graphics so feel free to come on by and wrap Rusty Wallace's car. On Friday I fly to Santa Cruz for a good friend's wedding then Sunday I head out to Painesville, OH - home to Avery Headquarters. At Avery, I will be teaching the Mutoh School of Wrap workshop that runs from October 18-20 (www.mutohschoolofwrap.com). I then head home on the 22nd to my ladies. Well, actually, my wife will be flying to LA on the 22nd from Amsterdam o do a story for a new Tony Scott film so that reunion will have to wait a few days. Frequent flier family.
Calendar Film – Overstretching
Yesterday I wrapped this Porsche for a 1 week promotion. Since the wrap was only on for a week the printer, to make a good profit, used unlaminated calendar film - 3M IJ20. Is this film meant for a car? No way. Is unlaminated calendar film tricky to put on without overstretching? Of course. Is this an expensive, extra curvy car? Clearly. Yet, the install was tight and I have a lot of confidence that it will stay put for a week. Why did I agree to something like this? Well, since moving to Europe I have been exposed to a vast variety of films and vehicles. In the States, I worked only with 3M IJ180C and Avery 1005 EZ. These two films were used for 1 week, 1 month, 1 year, or 3 year installs. Moving to Europe was a challenge for me at first (especially since they don't use air-egress and not even, in this case, Controltac for the IJ20). Yet, its made me a better installer. The key for me has been learning about the limits of what all films can and cannot do and incorporating that into my techniques with avoiding overstretching as my foundation. In fact, I just wrote an article about overstretching for Sign and Digital Graphics magazine. It comes out in October, I think in time for the SGIA show. I'll post it when it comes out.
Epic 2 Week Workshop/Sign Show Completed
I just got back to Amsterdam after completing a 2 week workshop/sign show bonanza in LA and Reno. In week one I taught 2 private workshops for Icon Image Graphics and an owner of a Sign O' Rama in Perth, Australia.
I then worked the Mutoh booth in the NBM Long Beach show.
After getting a Sunday off I then taught the Mutoh School of Wrap that was hosted by Graphics One in Burbank. Monday and Tuesday was the Basic/Intermediate and on Wednesday the Advanced.
Thursday morning I flew to Reno to teach a 2-day private workshop for Sierra Custom Signs.
Friday I flew back to LA to hang out with family then Saturday I returned to my ladies back in Amsterdam. Definitely a high energy run but well worth it. It was nice to meet so many people eager to learn the art of wrapping. Next workshops coming up are at Squeezy on September 2 and the Mutoh School of Wrap at Avery Headquarters in October. For more information on that workshop go to: www.mutohschoolofwrap.com.
NBM Sign Show for Mutoh completed
Yesterday was the last day of demos I did for Mutoh in their booth at the NBM Long Beach show. Over the three days I wrapped a boat using Avery's 1005 Supercast with 1.3mm overlam. The graphics were printed brilliantly with a Mutoh Valuejet. This was only the second time I wrapped a boat so it was nice to get some practice in. One of the aspects of the 1005 Supercast that I like so much is the initial low tack. This enables me to install something as long and awkward as the side of a boat by myself. The reason for this is that I can take the entire backing paper off and install at my own pace. A special thanks to all of those at Mutoh, especially Brian Phipps, for all their help during the show and to Ron Winter from Avery and Todd LaBrie from Carwraps for all their input. Next show on tap is SGIA in Vegas in October. For that show I will be wrapping Rusty Wallace's race car in Mutoh's booth. Exciting stuff so be sure to come on by.
movie clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRUtqgW6Sr8