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.
