Are Car Signs A Good Investment For Your Business?

If you’ve spent time driving on the UK roads recently, the chances are that you’ve seen plenty of vehicles covered in decorative graphics advertising everything from individual trades to radio stations or even the latest films. These stunning effects are achieved using vinyl wrap, which is one of the most cost-effective forms of advertising. With up to 3,000 people seeing your vehicle every day, the cost of each impression can be as little as 0.04 pence.

The benefits of mobile advertising

The average vehicle wrap lasts at least 5 years, which means half a decade’s worth of high impact impressions, compared with an advert in the paper or on radio that could be both more costly and only temporary. People often respond well to vinyl car signs because they’re perceived as a non-invasive form of advertising.

An additional benefit if you have a fleet of vehicles is that your vinyl graphics are easy to scale across a wide range of bodywork, creating a consistent and uniform look. And because corporate colours and branding can be precisely reproduced, you’ll create a positive and professional impression wherever your vehicle goes, increasing brand recognition.

One of the less obvious benefits of vinyl wrapping is that it can protect the paint work of your vehicle against everyday wear and tear, stone chips and extreme weather. Vinyl wrap is easy to maintain and protects the resale value of your vehicles when you come to upgrade, and because colour and graphics are integrated you can change the look of your cars and vans easily without the need for expensive resprays. If you lease your vehicles, removable vinyl wrapping is the ideal way to brand your car or van while minimising depreciation.

So, what exactly is a car wrap?

Remember the old days when you bought a cheap white van, maybe resprayed it in your company colours, then had your logo and contact information painted on by hand? A vinyl wrap changes all that. By printing your chosen graphics and contact information on a heavy-duty vinyl in the colour of your choice, you can quickly and effectively change the look of your vehicle and transform it into a mobile billboard.

Wraps can be either full or partial and can even cover the windows. Printed in full colour on high-quality vinyl, a properly installed wrap used with the appropriate laminate can last around 5 years: for a lorry that can be seen by up to 10 million people a year that’s a lot of impressions!

If you think that vehicle wraps are only for companies with large vehicle fleets, think again. By using well-designed car signs on your vehicle you’re not only getting your name and logo out there, but in the eyes of the public you’re putting your company on the same footing as the big boys.

The cost of car wrapping varies depending on the complexity of the graphics and the model of your vehicle. Cut vinyl lettering is the cheapest option, and is the affordable alternative if you simply want to display your company name and contact details on the rear of your vehicle. Partial wraps are less expensive than full vehicle wraps, but compared with the cost per impression for direct mail (£1.94 per 100 impressions) and radio advertising (£1.21 per 100 impressions) the investment in vinyl car signs is the advertising gift that keeps on giving.

How car wraps can impact your ROI

There’s plenty of anecdotal evidence of companies tripling or quadrupling their conversion rates in a matter of months after investing in fleet wrapping. Although there is no average return on investment for vehicle wraps, as it’s a measurement that depends on your company, the effectiveness of your design, and the location and times that your vehicle is driven, there are several ways that you can track and measure your car wrap return on investment (ROI).

The key is to build exclusivity into your car sign advertising. For example, include a mobile number that you can use to track enquiries from vinyl wraps. Or include a discount code that only appears on your wrapped vehicles. Create a landing page and add the URL to your vehicle wraps to gain an accurate measure of the number of impressions generated by your mobile advertising. These are all easy and cost-effective ways to measure the effectiveness of your car signs in Gatwick and beyond.

Choosing the right signage company

Whether you get the best return on your investment depends on whether you choose a sign company that can deliver the best design, production and installation to create a really eye-catching and memorable vehicle wrap.

Don’t rely on your own designs and DIY installation, but spend some time finding the best company to create vinyl wraps that really deliver. Check out their portfolio and the technology that they use, from 3D modelling templates to wide-format printers. The company you choose will also need a clear understanding of your specific campaign and the market that you’re targeting. In fact, they should be able to suggest ways that your car signs and vinyl wraps can really exploit the power of mobile marketing.

At the Sussex Sign Company, we understand the power of car sign marketing and have one of the best vinyl wrap teams in the business. For car signs in Gatwick and across the South East that really pop and can maximise your ROI, contact us today via phone or email.

Vehicle Signage: Is Wrapping Or Lettering Better For Your Promotional Vehicles?

Vehicle signage has been around for as long as there have been advertising vehicles, right back to the days of the horse and cart when a sign writer would paint on the name and location. It’s a method that has proved incredibly long-lasting: at least until the advent of vinyl.

Now it’s possible to add QR codes, website urls and social media information to basic contact details. You can outfit your fleet in a livery that matches your corporate colours without the need for a respray and can even minimise depreciation by using a protective vinyl car wrap. So, which is a better choice for your vehicles: lettering or a full or partial wrap?

What is vehicle lettering?

There are hundreds of different coloured vinyls, with a range of different finishes, including reflective and metallic, to create eye-catching effects. A good designer will create some fantastic designs using lettering and cut vinyl effects, meaning that they’re a good choice for a temporary marketing campaign, as they’re more affordable than a full or partial vinyl wrap.

What’s a car wrap?

By using large sheets of printed vinyl to wrap a vehicle you can radically alter its appearance. As well as providing contact information, you can create a real brand presence with an innovative design. Wraps can also create consistency across a fleet of vehicles of different shapes and sizes.

Wraps can incorporate graphics, images and much more to create a stunning first impression that makes your vehicles really stand out and that reinforces your brand identity.

Wraps versus lettering

There are benefits to both wrapping and lettering depending on your circumstances and the type of campaign that you want to run. Lettering can be particularly useful if you’re running a one-off campaign or if you wish to add seasonal decals. Lettering is also the more affordable choice, although it is not necessarily more cost effective: if you’re planning on keeping the same look and feel on vehicles across your fleet then wrapping may be the better option.

If you’re an established B2B company that has a pre-existing customer base, then you may only need to invest in lettering to provide a smart corporate appearance to your vehicles. However, because lettering doesn’t have the same level of impact as a full or partial wrap, your message may not appear as professional as that from a vinyl-wrapped fleet.

Although lettering and decals may be the perfect choice if you simply want to add your company name and contact details to the rear of your van, there’s no doubt that a well-wrapped car or van will create 360-degree visual views in a way that lettering alone can’t match. You may find that the impression created by professional graphics and a durable car wrap has the greatest return on your investment per impression of any of your marketing channels.

Another benefit of choosing a full vinyl wrap over a partial wrap or lettering and decals is that the vinyl will help to protect your vehicle, meaning a higher trade-in or resale value when you come to upgrade your fleet.

What information should I include?

Your choice of included information depends on whether you use lettering or wrapping. Vinyl lettering can be an affordable way to include your company name and contact details. However, wrapping gives you the freedom to add QR codes and more information. However, you should be careful not to make the design too cluttered or potentially confusing. Your design should include the most important information in a clear and concise way. Below we list the essential information to include in your design.

Your logo and company name: your brand is your biggest asset and as such should appear consistently across all your marketing materials from letterheads to car wrap. Your logo and company name need to be larger than any other information on your design, to drive brand identification.

Your phone number: if you have an office and a mobile number, list the one that will definitely be answered.

Your website: your url needs to be as memorable as possible to capture attention. Ensure that it is included in your wrap design.

Your services: choose a maximum of three services that your company provides that are the core of your business, and choose simple and effective wording to clearly get the point across.

Ask the professionals

It might seem obvious that a vinyl wrap is the way forward if you really want to harness the power of mobile advertising. That’s why, if you’re looking for vehicle sign writing in Arundel, it’s important that you choose a company that will advise you on the best choice for you and your business: if you’re a man with a van then cut vinyl lettering may be more than adequate to inform potential customers about what you do and to provide your contact information. If you’re a bigger business with more than one vehicle then vinyl wrapping may offer a wider and more flexible branding choice for your fleet.

At the Sussex Sign Company, we offer a fully integrated service that will take your ideas from conception to execution, thanks to one of the best vinyl wrap and lettering installation teams in the country. Whatever your needs in terms of vinyl lettering or wrapping, contact us today via phone or email and we’ll be happy to advise you on the best options for your business.

Creating The Perfect Vehicle Signage For Your Van

If you’re a small business, the chances are that your marketing budget may be equally small. But vehicle signage offers real ‘bang for your buck’ in terms of return on investment and is one of the most effective forms of advertising out there.

However, it’s not always budget that stops small business owners from using vinyl wraps to turn their vehicles into mobile billboards, with 40% of tradespeople preferring to remain anonymous. It’s understandable: advertising your business could make you a target in a big city. But with as many as 3,000 people seeing your van every hour, can you afford to ignore such a powerful way of creating a lasting impression?

The decisions you make will depend entirely on your circumstances, but if you want to make the most of the power of vinyl van wrapping to provide some highly effective and passive advertising, what are your options?

Let’s assume you that don’t have a strong B2B customer base and that you’re a new business looking to promote yourself effectively. There are two great options to consider: vinyl vehicle signage, which is composed of individual letters and logos, or a full or partial vehicle wrap. The advantage of a vehicle wrap is that you can change the colour of your van to match your corporate colours without a costly respray, and the wrap can also protect your vehicle and minimise depreciation.

Create your look

You may choose to keep it simple by using vinyl lettering to outline your business name, logo and contact details. You can create the design fairly easily yourself, although a professional designer will ensure that everything is located on the vehicle in such a way that it’s displayed to best advantage.

A full or partial wrap creates an even more eye-catching effect, incorporating colours and graphics that will help to build and enforce your brand. A full wrap is the most expensive option, but also the most flexible, although a partial wrap can also create a real impact.

A professional designer will model a range of effects for you using the latest technology. As an added bonus, new technology ensures that a damaged wrap can be quickly and easily replicated and the design can be scaled across a range of vehicles for consistent branding.

What and where?

Vehicle signage professionals agree that the best way to create the biggest impact is to keep it simple. Visual clutter can confuse the eye and may mean that your message is lost. Stick with strong colours that complement or contrast, a simple message, and an identifiable logo and name. Your contact details should be kept to a website address and a contact number, and fonts should ideally be san serif to be easy to read.

So where should you put your contact information? Ideally, this should be placed across the back of your van, so potential customers travelling behind have sufficient time to capture the information. You may also wish to specify the area that you’re based or operate in. And don’t forget to make it absolutely clear what your business is, especially if it’s not apparent from the company name alone! You should choose graphics and phrases that give the customer all the information that they need in a clear and concise way.

You get what you pay for

This is definitely the case for vehicle vinyl wrap. Before buying, you should weigh up the pros and cons of cast and calendered vinyl in relation to the type of marketing impact you want to achieve. If you want to run a cheap and time-limited campaign to spark interest in your brand, then calendered vinyl will be the more cost-effective choice. Want to apply business name and contact details across the fleet so that they look professional and consistent? Then you need high-quality and durable cast vinyl.

Another consideration is the choice of overlaminate used to extend the life of the wrap. Calendered laminate will be suitable for a calendered wrap, but not if the vehicle is particularly curvaceous. It can also be applied over a cast vinyl wrap to keep costs low but be aware that it’s prone to bubble and pop if misapplied.

Choosing the right sign company

If you’re looking for vehicle signage in Worthing, and you want a simple sign with your company name and contact details, you may wonder whether you even need to use a professional company. The answer lies in whether you want to create the best possible professional impression. If the answer is yes, then you need a sign maker that can offer you a complete range of integrated services.

The ideal sign maker will offer a professional design service, production that meets your exact specification and a top-class installation service. The latter is crucial, as poorly installed vehicle signage will undo all your good work and create a poor impression. At the Sussex Sign Company, we have a highly talented team who understand the art of vinyl wrapping. After all, this highly effective form of marketing means that you can build your brand just by driving around and being a presence on the streets.

Measured by the cost per impression, a vehicle wrap is one of the most effective forms of advertising there is. If you’re interested in maximising your return on investment by creating stunning vehicle wraps that get your business noticed, then contact us today via phone or email and we’ll be happy to help you create an eye-catching wrap.

Frequently Asked Questions About Vehicle Wraps

One of the most frequently asked question about vehicle wraps is surely: “What kind of RoI can I expect from a wrap?” The answer is that it’s impossible to accurately measure the return, but just consider the statistics: vehicle graphics in a high-traffic area can be seen by 3000 people an hour, resulting in a boost in your name recognition of over 15 times that it would be without the wrap. Still not convinced that a vehicle wrap is a great idea for your business? Ninety-one percent of people notice vehicle graphics, and over 30 percent of them study that information closely. Factor in the fact that we’re spending 20 hours per week in our cars – that’s over a third more than 10 years ago – and you have a compelling argument for turning your company car or vehicle fleet into mobile billboards.

What is a vehicle wrap?

You may not know what a vehicle wrap is but the chances are you’ve seen one. If you’ve ever noticed a car with eye catching graphics advertising products or services, then you’ve seen a car with a vinyl wrap. A car or van wrap is basically one enormous vinyl sticker that is wrapped around the entire vehicle. Rather than confining your marketing message to the rear of your vehicle, a vinyl wrap let’s you make every inch of the body work into a mobile billboard.

What are the benefits of a vinyl wrap?

Imagine a form of advertising that doesn’t bully or hector, that is always on 24 hours a day, and that has the lowest cost per impression of any marketing channel. That’s the power of vehicle wrapping. Whether on the road or in a car park, your wrapped vehicle is creating impressions in the gentlest and most passive way while boosting your brand awareness in a way that no other media can match. A full vinyl wrap has the added benefit of protecting your vehicle against everyday wear and tear and extreme weather, while the flexibility of wrapping means you can give your vehicles a custom colour and look at a fraction of the price of painting. And because you can scale a wrap design over every vehicle in a fleet, you’ll create a consistent and highly professional impression.

How is the cost of a wrap calculated?

The cost of a wrap depends on a range of factors including the size of the car and the complexity of the body work, the type of vinyl used and the length of time the wrap takes to install. Most good sign making companies will quote for common types of vehicle.

What material does a vinyl wrap use?

There are two distinct types of vinyl that are used to wrap vehicles: calendered vinyl and cast vinyl. Cast vinyl is the highest quality and the most durable product, particularly when protected by a cast vinyl laminate.

How does it work?

Imagine a huge sticker or very stretchy wrapping paper that can be pulled into shape and then heated for maximum adhesion. Installing a vinyl wrap professionally is really an art form, and an improperly installed wrap will quickly start to bubble and lift, ruining your investment. A professionally installed wrap will not have visible cut lines, wrinkles or creases but will cover the vehicle absolutely seamlessly for the best possible effect.

Design – DIY or go pro?

If you’re limiting your marketing efforts to cut vinyl lettering then you can do it yourself, but a full or partial wrap needs the skills of a talented designer working with the latest modelling technology to make the biggest impact. Only by accurately modelling in advance can you have a real sense of how your wrap will work, and be able to tweak any confused messaging or over-busy graphics. If you don’t go through this process, you’ll find you’ve wasted a lot of money on a vinyl wrap that looks unprofessional and cluttered – the opposite of the effect you’re aiming for.

How can I find the best installers?

The best installation teams are fully trained and accredited in installing vinyl wrap, so look for proof of their abilities and experience before you make any commitments. A good sign company will offer an integrated installation service and will be able to show you a portfolio of finished projects both for inspiration and for you to assess the quality of the work.

Can I remove a vinyl wrap?

Yes, you can. In fact vinyl wraps can be a highly cost-effective way to promote a temporary marketing campaign. Because your initial investment is so low compared with other more traditional advertising channels, vinyl wrap and cut vinyl lettering are ideal for your short-term marketing strategy. Make sure you have the wrap removed by your installers as they’ll use the right products and techniques so that the wrap is removed without over-enthusiastic scraping or glue residues.

How do I choose the right company?

When you’re investing in vehicle wraps in Littlehampton, it makes sense to ensure that your sign company can offer integrated services that mean your wrap will be designed, produced and installed to the highest standards using the best-quality materials. Ask to see a portfolio and have a design consultancy before you make any firm commitments. At the Sussex Sign Company we’re committed to ensuring that you get the best possible return on your investment, which is why we offer the complete range of services with one of the best vinyl wrap installation teams out there. If you want to harness the power of mobile advertising with a stunning vehicle wrap, contact us today via phone or email for more details.

Why Car Wrap Advertising Is Your Secret Weapon

We’ve all seen them – vehicles wrapped in eye-catching graphics, with a great slogan. Maybe they’ve been in front of you in a traffic jam, or parked outside the supermarket. Perhaps you’ve seen one as you drop the kids off at school, or maybe there’s one parked in your road.

Car wrap advertising is on the rise, and no wonder. With costs per impression as low as 30p per thousand impressions, it’s a cost-effective form of advertising with enormous reach – far more than a static billboard. Yet vinyl wrapped vehicles are still regarded as an unusual form of advertising – and that makes them your secret weapon.

Eye-catching and attention-grabbing

In a stream of vehicles, you can’t help noticing the one with the car wrap – and that’s the point. Car graphics, when executed well, make your car stand out from all the other traffic on the road, and your brand becomes associated with that cool and creative vehicle. Who doesn’t want their brand to be associated with a form of advertising perceived as creative and innovative?

Better yet, wherever your vehicles are, they’re creating impressions without you having to do anything at all. That kind of passive advertising works because you’re not pushing your message at the audience, but allowing them to discover it for themselves. Your potential customers may not pay attention to your standard vehicle, but wrap it in a well designed car wrap graphic and their eyes will naturally gravitate towards it. By being in your face without being ‘in your face’, you won’t breed any negativity towards your brand.

Advertising by stealth

It’s this stealth advertising that makes car vinyl wrapping such a cost effective and adaptable way to get your message out there. According to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA), a vinyl wrapped car can generate between 30,000 and 70,000 impressions daily on the US roads, and in the UK, a vinyl wrap on a long-haul vehicle can generate 10 million impressions a year. It’s that impressive reach that makes vinyl wrap advertising so cost-effective.

Wrapping your vehicle in a well-designed vinyl wrap will help it stand out from the general visual noise, to create a real impact without you having to do hours of painstaking market research. This is a form of advertising that attracts interest across the demographic spectrum, penetrating markets from millennials to baby boomers. Advertising research has shown that that level of penetration is directly linked to an uptick in sales.

Agile marketing

Agile has been a buzzword for a while now, and agile marketing is designed to be nimble and responsive to market conditions and customer feedback. Agile marketing is experimental and it’s about knowing how to fail smart – and that’s where vinyl wrap is your friend.

An agile marketing plan is about running a series of low cost campaigns and seeing what works, and using the small scale failures as a unique learning opportunity. The great thing about car wrap advertising is that your campaigns can be totally flexible – start with the standard CTA then customise the message and the graphics to suit different campaigns. If you fail, it’s easy to craft another message, and if you want to be responsive to seasonal events you can add snowflakes or a jack o’ lantern.

Because vinyl wraps can be full or partial, and combined with cut letters and vinyl graphics they give you unparalleled freedom to try different combinations and see what works best for you. It’s the ultimate low cost way to experiment and fail smart, or to create a campaign that can be taken from temporary to permanent without a huge extra outlay. However you choose to organise your vehicle wrapping, it’s there until you decide to remove it.

Unexpected bonus

Using car graphics in Bognor Regis, or across the south coast, may be a brilliant way to get your message across, but it’s also an excellent way to protect your investment in company vehicles. Whether you have one company car or a fleet of vans, by wrapping them in vinyl that is car wash resistant and UV repellent, you’ll be protecting the original bodywork from deterioration caused by sunlight and wear and tear.

Vinyl wrap was first used in Germany in the 1990s, when it was used to convert domestic cars into standard beige taxis. After-service vehicles were usually sold at a heavily discounted price or had to be completely resprayed to make them marketable, but the Germans soon discovered that the vinyl wrap protected the bodywork, making reconversion both straightforward and profitable. The beauty of vinyl wrap is that, alongside all its other advertising benefits, it will protect your car bodywork for the amount of time it remains in place. That can make a difference when you come to sell on or upgrade your fleet.

Ask the experts

If you’re interested in boosting your advertising with the power and stealth of car vinyl wrapping, then you need a company that can take your ideas from conception through to design and installation. Only a company with the expertise to offer truly integrated services will fully unlock the potential of car wrap graphics for your vehicles. At the Sussex Sign Company, we have the expertise and the skill to turn your vehicles into mobile billboards that create hundreds of thousands of impressions, without you having to lift a finger. Contact us today via phone or email and our design, manufacture and installation teams will be happy to help you exploit the power of vinyl wrap for your next campaign.

How to Choose the Best Signwriter for Your Business

Finding a great signwriter should be easy in this day and age. After all, we have the internet with its range of trade checking websites to help us make that decision. For example, if you were looking for signwriting in Crowborough, you’d Google it and take your pick. But how will you know you’ve really chosen the right signwriter to take your ideas and concepts from design to installation?

If you want to ensure that you’ve found the right signwriter for you, you need to be clear on why you need quality signage for your company and the type of signage that’s going to work for you. Having the killer idea is only one piece of the puzzle – your signs should be executed to your specifications, using the right corporate colours and logo, manufactured from durable and appropriate materials and installed in the right place.

What Quality Signage Means for Your Business

Signs are a brilliant marketing tool for any business. They’re your primary visual assets, and they’re a powerful tool for promoting brand recognition. A great sign will differentiate your business from the competition – over 76% of consumers say they’ve visited a business because of the quality of its signs – and provide advertising 24/7. And once you’ve paid the upfront costs, good signage is one of the most cost-effective forms of marketing there is, creating impressions all day every day.

Given what a great return on investment signage has, and how much it can boost your brand, finding a sign company that can meet your needs becomes even more imperative.

Individual Expertise or Integrated Services?

It’s very tempting to try to find the best designer and invest in some exceptional designs for your signage. After all, creating a visual wow factor is what will set your signs apart from the competition and attract customers to walk in off the street. Then you’ll need to find a company that can manufacture those signs and make good on your designer’s vision, and then you’ll need to find a handyman who can install them with good-quality fixings in the optimum position.

Or you could find a sign company with an excellent reputation that offers all these services as an integrated package. The advantage for you is that you’ll know exactly what’s going on at every step of the process. A good sign company will be able to optimise every step of the process and even offer you a maintenance package so your signs remain in the best possible shape.

Experience and Expertise

When choosing your signage provider, you can’t afford to settle for an amateur because your signs need to look polished and professional. You need a signwriter who knows what works and can advise you on the right design, colours, fonts, materials and message, and who knows exactly what size of signs you need and how to display them. It may be tempting to choose a start-up that has interesting and innovative ideas, but when you’re making an investment in your visual assets, you really need to work with a company that knows what works. Who knows, in ten years you might be asking that start-up to design your new signs now that they’re established and experienced in the business.

Ask around, and don’t be afraid to approach businesses that have signage you particularly like. After all, you don’t want to rip off their signage: you simply want to create first-class signage that boosts your brand and boosts your local reputation.

Check Out Their Portfolio

A sign writing company’s portfolio should speak for itself, offering you a wide range of creative and innovative design solutions for your business. After all, if you can see from their previous work that they’re capable of creating exciting and eye-catching signs for a range of businesses, the chances are they’ll be able to work the same magic for you.

Make sure the company offers a wide range of design options and would be happy to create a campaign that encompasses everything from illuminated signs to vinyl car wrapping. Do they offer a wide colour range and the latest print technology? And will they be able to source the best materials for the job?

Will They Work for Your Business?

A good signwriting company will really engage with your business to create signage that is active and engaging for your potential customers. Don’t settle for the passive and generic – if your signwriters can’t deliver a range of ideas for powerful and exciting signage, then you need to look elsewhere. If your signwriter has produced signs that really stand out from the crowd for other clients, then you can trust them to create the same quality of signage for you.

Choose a Company You Can Trust

You don’t always want a company that is cheap and fast – when it comes to signage, you want a company you can trust to deliver the maximum return on investment. Quality will always count when it comes to creating a suite of signs that attract the attention of potential customers and bring them in through your doors. That’s why you need a company like the Sussex Sign Company, who can create bespoke signage that delivers everything your company expects and more. Whether you’re looking for halo lettering, wayfinding signage or vinyl car wraps, we can deliver them all, so contact us today via phone or email for more details.

Why Halo Illuminated Signs Are So Popular On The British High Street

Wherever you look on the average British high street, you’ll see illuminated signs with a subtle and sophisticated halo lighting effect. This beautiful way of highlighting and differentiating a sign uses built up letters and LED lighting to create the effect.

What is the halo effect?

Using lightweight and hollow letters, the internal LED lights are projected backwards onto the wall, creating a halo of light behind the letters. This is an extremely effective and eye-catching effect that can also match your company’s brand colours to produce beautiful – and energy efficient – signage.

Creating 3D effects

The use of channel letters creates a 3D effect, which is enhanced by the use of the LED halo lighting. Your sign company should mount the letters themselves on spacers, allowing the halo effect to amplify, while the use of either contrast colour or high impact white will further enhance the sense that the letters are floating in mid-air, creating an incredible 3D boost.

If you want to heighten the illusion of the letters floating in mid-air even further, try alternating lighting effects to highlight some letters more than others – the range of effects you can create is infinite and can even lend the appearance of movement.

If you want to create another level of illumination, then ask your sign company to panel mount the entire sign and then halo light the panel itself. Not only is this an excellent way to differentiate your sign from a similarly coloured background, but it creates a real wow factor with the extra level of illumination.

Eye-catching communication

In the visual noise of the typical high street, creating a sign that communicates with your potential customers and develops brand awareness is paramount. Nothing does that more effectively than a halo illuminated sign, which is why they’re so popular with big high street brands like M&S and Caffe Nero. The reason you can automatically identify their branding is thanks to well executed halo illumination using bright white to make the brand name pop.

Why use LEDs?

LED lighting is the ideal way to illuminate channel letters. Energy efficient and capable of a comprehensive range of lighting effects, LEDs last for 20 years or more and don’t require a large and potentially dangerous transformer, giving your business the flexibility to get the best possible return from your investment in halo lit signage.

Halo illuminated signs: not just for outdoors

The combination of your corporate colours and font, when used in a branded illuminated sign, are a powerful mnemonic for your business. So why only use such a powerful tool for the outside of your building. Across the British high street, you’ll see the repetition of halo illuminated signs throughout some stores, to reinforce brand awareness. It’s a trick you can use in your own premises.

If you’re looking for a sign company in West Sussex to execute beautiful halo illuminated signs for your business, then contact us at The Sussex Sign Company via phone or email. We’re experts in using LED technology to create stunning signs that ensure the best possible return on investment for our clients.

The Seven Steps to a Perfect Car Wrap

Wrapping your car in vinyl may have started as a quick way to transform domestic vehicles into government taxis in Germany, but it’s now worth its weight in gold as a low-cost, high-impact way to advertise your goods and services. Mobile advertising creates more impressions than any other form of advertising, and it creates a great impression with your potential customers, who perceive your business as create and innovative.

So there are plenty of great reasons to choose vehicle wrapping in Hailsham and across the South East, but how do you go about getting the perfect car wrap for your vehicles?

Choose Your Company with Care

There are sign companies and there are are car wrapping companies, both of which can do half the job you need. Of course, if you have a talented design team, then you could go ahead and get your vinyl printed and then installed by a wrapping place. But for a precision job like vinyl car wrapping, you need a sign-making company that can take your ideas from conception right through to installation. You’ll have input at every stage of the process, and your sign-making company will have the expertise to create and install the wrap you want, modelling potential outcomes for you so you can get the best possible RoI on your new car wrap.

Get the Design Right

Putting your logo on your business card is straightforward. After all, it’s a simple 2D rectangle. But a car or a van is a 3D surface with curves and different planes that need to be taken into account when designing your car wrap. An experienced designer will have access to a wide variety of vehicle templates, so they can model your design for the best possible effect. You don’t want to find that your image looks distorted or your message doesn’t fit, do you?

A great designer will take every inch of the vehicle into account and will have previous experience in designing wraps for your type of vehicle. They’ll be able to make suggestions about what works best so that your vinyl wrap is both easy to understand and easy on the eye. A car wrap failure is the easiest way to switch off potential customers.

You Get What You Pay For

Choose a low-grade vinyl and you might save a few pounds but you’ll pay the hidden costs of taking a hit to your reputation when your vinyl wrapping quickly starts to look tattered and tired. You’ll also have to take into account the costs of having your vehicle rewrapped. If you make the same mistake across your entire fleet, it can really hit you in the pocket.

Having said that, simply choosing a brand name rather than a vinyl which is the most compatible for the job you want doing can have its own problems. Again, an experienced sign-making company will be able to advise you on the best materials for the job. You don’t want to ruin your car wrap graphics because you used the wrong materials.

Print and Prep

Once you have your killer design and choice of materials in place, it’s time for your sign company to print your images on to vinyl using a wide-format printer. A good company will respect the print profile of the vinyl you’re using, which instructs the printer about exactly how much ink to use, resulting in a vibrant and eye-catching image. Ignore the profile and you can end up with a flat, muddy image or one that’s over-saturated. Neither will give you the effect you’re looking for.

But let’s assume you’ve found a great company to design and produce your vehicle wrapping in Hailsham and it just needs to be applied to your car. Not so fast, because what follows is possibly the most painstaking part of the entire business. In order to get the very best results for your vinyl wrap, you’ll need to have your car prepared for wrapping. And that means removing every speck of grease, grime and oil that could stop the vinyl from sticking properly.

Your installers will also fill in any dings in the paintwork and deal with any rust so that the installation is as flawless as possible. Even a squashed bug can make your vinyl wrap bulge and ruin the seamless effect you’re looking for.

Why is this so important? Because great preparation is the only way to make the most of your beautifully printed and brilliantly designed car wrap graphic. Any bulging, lifting or adhesion problems will lead to a poor end result. Unfortunately, it’s a long and tedious job, and one where a poor-quality installer may be tempted to cut corners.

Install and Go

Every other step of the process now hinges on getting the installation right. That’s why it’s so important that your print company can offer high-quality installation. It takes hours to get this step of the process right and requires experience, patience and a steady hand. A good installer will not overstretch the vinyl or skimp on the all-important post-installation step of heating the vinyl to kill its ‘memory’ so it doesn’t ping back into its old shape. All these steps are time-consuming and can be boring, so unscrupulous wrapping companies can be tempted to skimp on them. You’ll be the first to notice if they do.

Ask the Professionals

If you want to get the best of car wrapping in Hailsham or anywhere else in Sussex, then you need to contact the Sussex Sign Company. We offer the integrated services you need to design, produce and install superb vinyl car wraps that will create thousands of impressions. Get in touch with us via phone or email today for more details.

The Art of the Vinyl Car Wrap

Eye-catching vinyl-wrapped vehicles are becoming more and more common on our streets. And no wonder – these mobile billboards make millions of impressions a year and can be used for long-term or short-term promotions with the addition of a decal. Flexible and cost-effective, vinyl wrap advertising is catching on fast.

If you’re looking for a company capable of creating vehicle signs in Lewes, you’ll need to check out whether they have a dedicated vehicle wrapping team. Why? Because wrapping a vehicle so that there are no lines, bulges and wrinkles to spoil the integrity of the design is an art.

Why You Should Vinyl-Wrap Your Vehicles

Think of a vinyl wrap as like lightweight armour for your car. Properly laminated, it can last ten years, during which time your vehicle is protected from wear and tear and damage from the elements. Highly mouldable and stretchable, vinyl can make your car look immaculate and give a professional shine to your advertising campaigns. And when you want to change your branding or make your campaigns more responsive, you can either opt for a partial wrap and decals or start all over again with a full body wrap.

Measure for Size

Before you even think about ordering your vinyl wrap, you’ll need to measure up your vehicle or vehicles so you have a good estimate of how much vinyl you’ll need. Don’t skip this step – a vehicle left half finished because you didn’t order enough vinyl will create a really poor first impression.

The easiest calculation is to measure the length of your car, multiply by three and add an extra five metres. The best way to plan for how much vinyl you’ll need for a professional car wrap is to ask the professionals and work with them on creating a design that will take advantage of the particular bodywork of your company car or van fleet.

Clean It Up

Next you’ll need to clean like you’ve never cleaned before. Waxes and oils affect the adhesion of the vinyl, so it’s critical that these are stripped from the car body before wrapping can start. Get right into the wheel wells and under the hood, as these are areas that you don’t often see yet can compromise the effect of your body wrap if you don’t pay attention to them.

Then you’ll need to give the bodywork a thorough going-over with paint cleaner and alcohol to get rid of any traces of grease. Also pay attention to any rust or paint chips. Because vinyl stretches over your vehicle like a second skin, any obvious blemishes will stick out, so fill any chips and deal with those rust spots. The rule of thumb is if you can feel it, it will show up on the outside – and that includes dead bugs!

Plan It Out

Before a wrap is applied, an installer will size up the vehicle and make a start with the most awkward pieces like the bumpers or the bonnet. It can often be easier to detach mirrors and trim rather than spending a long time trying to work round them. It might take five minutes to remove them and make your life easier.

Never Over-Stretch

Each piece of the wrap is applied separately by removing the backing paper and then smoothing into place with a squeegee. Sounds simple? Far from it. Experienced wrappers will know just how far a wrap can be heated, stretched and repositioned, but over-stretching the vinyl is one of the easiest mistakes to make. Do that and you’ll thin out the glue, resulting in imperfect adhesion of the vinyl. You’ll also distort the pattern and affect the finish, whether it’s matte or glossy.

Cut It Out

A really good installer can trim away the excess while the vinyl is in position on your car. The easiest way to achieve a good result without the risk of cutting into the paintwork is to peel away the edges, trim the vinyl to fit, and reapply.

Where you’re dealing with creating accurate seams, a product like knifeless tape will allow you to overlap two pieces of vinyl over the tape and then pull away the Kevlar thread, which neatly and accurately slices away any unwanted vinyl for a seamless finish.

Don’t Forget the Post-Heat

If you’ve applied a partial wrap to flat areas like car doors and bonnets, where no stretching of the vinyl is required, you can skip this step. But if you’ve applied a full car vinyl wrap, including mirrors and bumpers, then it’s imperative that you apply a heat gun to those areas so your stretched vinyl doesn’t shrink back to its original state.

Why Do I Need Vehicle Signs?

In a busy city like Los Angeles, a car with a full vinyl vehicle wrap can generate a staggering 30,000 to 70,000 impressions a day. Even in the UK, a long-haul truck with a vinyl wrap will generate ten million impressions during the course of a year.

But unless your vehicle wrap is done to the most professional standards, you’ll only create a poor first impression which turns potential customers off. At the Sussex Sign Company our technicians are highly experienced, and they’ll ensure that you get the maximum return on your investment from this powerful form of mobile advertising.

If you’re interested in getting your vehicle wrapping done by the professionals, contact us via phone or email today and we can discuss implementing your car wrap design ideas with our fully integrated design, manufacture, installation and maintenance services.

Why Your Sign Company Can Be Central To Delivering A Brand Experience

Whether your retail premises have recently undergone a refit, or you’re designing a walking route around a stately home, the challenges that face you are fundamentally the same: how can I use beautifully designed signage to enhance the brand experience for customers and visitors?

The problem that faces you is whether you can use bold and innovative signs to head off frustration, and whether you can develop a wayfinding strategy that hits all the touchpoints of your customer’s experience to positively improve brand recognition and experience.

Apply online navigation to offline spaces

Your customer should never be confused about the space they’re in. Signs need to be consistent with your branding and attractive and clear enough to bring in first time customers who can quickly interact with the brand thanks to the cues from your signage. Just as customers browsing your website will click away if the navigation isn’t simple, precise and consistent across the site, so your offline customers will go elsewhere if you don’t apply the same navigation principles.

The decision making process

Wayfinding is about keying into the critical decisions that consumers make and giving useful information at every decision point. The fact is a well-designed entrance will attract people when the overhead sign may be ignored, but the success of your overall strategy is directly dependent on how well all the elements of the wayfinding environment come together in the designs you create with your sign maker.

Wayfinding and the branding experience

If wayfinding is part of a wider visual environment, then it must be part of the broader conversation around branding. After all, it’s the purpose of good quality signage to control the movement of consumers within the retail environment. From the first touchpoint with your brand, you need to establish clarity and tone of voice, whether that’s a map on a flyer or spoken instructions on a phone message.

Interact with the space

Retail spaces are no longer designed to be static. Instead, ranges, layouts and promotions often change, which makes effective signage absolutely vital in helping customers navigate the store successfully, and creating a positive impression of their interaction with your brand. Treating the signage as integral to the success of the overall design will help avoid pitfalls that lead to frustration and disconnection with your brand.

Using a sign company to make signs work

You’ll need both directional signs (those with a visual clue like an arrow) and location signs (those that tell you where you are). Ask your sign maker to produce a group of signs that use corporate colours to enhance your signage, and pay attention to contrast, fonts and font size and accessibility. Remember that your customers will assume a frictionless brand experience that is the same offline and online, and if you don’t deliver, you’ll create a poor brand experience and impression that can be hard to recover from. Search out a decent sign maker who can help you deliver.

If you’re looking for an experienced and professional sign company in London, or the south-east, then here at the The Sussex Sign Company, we strive to earn the best ROI for our customers. Contact us via phone or email for more details.