Every week a contractor calls us and says “I want to wrap my truck.” About half of them actually want a wrap. The other half want their truck to look professional and get the phone ringing, and for that, cut lettering or a partial wrap does the job for a fraction of the cost. Here is how we help customers decide.
Option 1: Cut vinyl lettering
Your company name, logo, license number and phone cut from cast vinyl and applied to the doors, rear doors and side panels. No background, no printing. This is what most plumbers, electricians, HVAC and landscaping companies in Los Angeles run, and it is what the Triple S Plumbing vans have.
- Best for: fleets, leased vehicles, anyone whose main goal is “call this number.”
- Cost: the lowest of the three; priced by the size and number of letters.
- Time: usually installed in a day.
- Life: up to seven years on cast vinyl; removes cleanly.
Option 2: Partial wrap
Printed graphics on part of the vehicle, typically the rear and the lower half of the sides, combined with cut lettering on the doors. The printed area carries color, a photo or a pattern, so the vehicle looks branded from across the street without every panel being covered.
- Best for: businesses that want a strong look on a budget, or vehicles with a color that already works with the brand.
- Cost: the middle option; less material and less labor than a full wrap.
- Time: one to two days after printing.
Option 3: Full wrap
Every painted panel covered in printed, laminated cast vinyl. The vehicle becomes the brand, which is why food trailers, event trailers and delivery fleets get full wraps: see the Pacifico and Modelo trailers.
- Best for: vehicles that are seen more than they are driven: trailers, carts, promotional vehicles, delivery fleets with a strong brand.
- Cost: the highest; priced by the vehicle’s surface area and complexity (bumpers, mirrors, deep curves add labor).
- Time: several days including printing.
How to decide in one minute
- What should someone do when they see the truck? Call you: lettering. Remember you: partial or full wrap.
- How many vehicles? More than three: lettering or partial, so every truck matches and new ones are cheap to add.
- Is the vehicle leased or sold soon? Lettering or partial; both remove cleanly, and you are not paying to wrap a truck you will hand back.
- Is the vehicle the business? Food trailer, coffee cart, mobile bar, event vehicle: full wrap.
What is the same in all three
Cast vinyl (we use 3M IJ35), UV lamination on anything printed, a layout proofed on a template of your exact vehicle, installation in our own shop in Pacoima, and a three-year warranty on the vinyl. What differs is how much of the truck is covered.
Send us a photo of the vehicle and your logo and we will recommend one of the three and price it. Request a quote, or see our vehicle graphics page, car wraps and van wraps.