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.

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

I just got done teaching two private workshops in LA.  The first one was for Icon Image Graphics and the second was a one-on-one for Craig, co-owner of a Sign O'Rama in Perth, Australia.  The students for both workshops were experienced installers looking to lower their installation times and find new tips and techniques for the more challenging aspects of vehicle installations.  Craig said at the end of the workshop today that it was well worth the time and travel.   He feels that from what he picked up he has lowered his time per vehicle by 1-2 hours.  With 50 vehicles on tap for the rest of the year it adds up to a big profit.  Its nice to see that more and more people get my message which is that quality, durability and speed can be combined if you have the right system and technique. A special thanks to Avery for supplying the 1005 Supercast with 1.3mm overlam and Mutoh for printing up the perfect prints on their Valuejet.

Here's a video from the Icon Image Graphics workshops:

Before this workshop I will be doing demos in Mutoh's booth at the Long Beach NBM sign show.  If you are at the show, come on by to check out the demos or ask me questions as I wrap it up.  Always nice to be doing the sign shows/workshop in sunny California.

"After having attended a few other wrap training classes I was still facing struggles with installs that took longer than expected.  I did some searching on the web and found stellar reviews for Justin Pate and the Mutoh Hands-On Wrap Class.  It was clear that with his years of experience, Justin had developed a unique system to break down the complexity of wrap installations.  I felt that learning them first-hand was a necessity to decrease overall installation times and increase our profits.

The class far exceeded my expectations from the get go.  Justin took the time to explain materials, tools, vendors, techniques and more.  He went over his UGIS technique in detail, with numerous visual and hands-on examples. I couldn’t believe that this system hadn’t been “required teaching” by the major material vendors.  With over 2500+ installs under his belt, it was clear to see that there was a well thought process behind developing his technique.  His has made the UGIS easy to understand, simple learn and a breeze to execute.

In previous classes, we were encouraged to use heat to stretch the material into any space, this however led to premature failure and obvious re-do’s. In fact, the entire class was in awe when Justin installed the side of a Ford Transit using UGIS and no heat. Justin showed us how to “visually read” the material so that we could minimize film distortion. We learned to use proper hand tension and tool technique instead of heat to make the material conform, as we needed.  This knowledge alone has saved us countless hours in install time and re-do’s.

I cannot say enough good things about Justin and what I learned in this class, it’s truly a game changer in our shop.  It will increase production efficiency and quality, which in turn will lead to bigger profits.  My only regret is that I was unable to attend the Advance Workshop the following day. Had I been able to change my flight, I surely would have made it!"

Elmer Martinez
GMediaWraps
GMediaWraps.com
847-791-6668

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96J5_n2MIdA

I just got done teaching the 2-day basic/intermediate workshop for Mutoh at Seal in Elkridge, MD.  Once again, it was a great class.  All the students were eager to learn and wrap, wrap wrap.  We wrapped one of the students vehicles, pictured below.  We worked a lot on technique and understanding the film and really only got to wrapping the car during the afternoon session on day 2.  I was very impressed that with everything they had picked up they wrapped the car in 3 1/2 hours.  Thanks as always to Mutoh for printing such beautiful graphics and Avery for their supa Supercast.  A special thanks to Mark Rugen and Seal for the hospitality.  Tomorrow the advanced workshop and then off to Halifax to teach a private workshop for Avery.

I'm happy to announce that "Techniques and Tips: Vehicle Graphic Installations" videos are coming out in DVD format starting June 5.  The DVD was shot in HD and is over 144 minutes long.  It covers everything from basic techniques like cleaning, hardware removals and properties of the film to advanced techniques like bumpers, deep recessed areas and door handles.  The DVD will sell for $89 and come with a free Squeezy Sleeve.  To pre-order now go to:  dvd@justinpate.net.

Techniques and Tips: Vehicle Graphic Installations will continue to be sold at Carwraps and given to new Mutoh owners via Carwraps (www.carwraps.net)

http://www.vidoemo.com/yvideo.php?i=RnppQXFRcWuRpUUVWUDA&speedwrapping-mutoh-booth-in-vegas

This is the group pic of the basic/intermediate group for the Mutoh School of Wrap workshop at Sign Warehouse in Texas.  This was a really great group of students - very eager to learn and get deep into the process.  Over two days they got up to speed on my UGIS: Universal Graphic Installation system and wrapped a box truck for a local high school and a mini-van for Sign Warehouse.

They really enjoyed working with the Avery 1005 Supercast film with the 1.3 overlam.  I think the three things they liked about it was the initial low tack which made it very easy to reposition, how well it conformed to curves and that it prints great.  All the graphics were printed by a Mutoh Valuejet which meant that they were perfect.  Tomorrow is the advanced class and then I'm heading back home to be with my ladies.  A special thanks to Larry Adams and everyone at Sign Warehouse for helping make this a great workshop and to Crystal Baus and Chris Prince at Mutoh for all their hard work in promoting and with administration.