As wrap jobs have become more and more popular for both commercial applications and individual consumers looking to customize their vehicles, more and more print shops are exploring their wrap printer options - and seeing what they’ll need to spend to capture a slice of the market.
随着外包装工作越来越受商业应用和寻求定制车辆的个体消费者的欢迎，标识商店正在探索新的薄膜打印机选项，寻求捕获市场的一线商机。
Testing the Waters
测试水域
In Phoenix, Zachariah Lujano has spent the past five years doing colorful and increasingly complex work at his Wrap Nation shop. The company decided to test the waters and invested in a second-hand Mutoh ValueJet 1324, a 54" eco-solvent printer with output capabilities that fit the shop’s needs. Lujano says the results (and his happy clients) have Wrap Nation considering adding a second, brand-new Mutoh machine, as wraps continue to become a more in-demand product.
过去五年，在菲尼克斯，Zachariah Lujano在他的标识商店里做了很多丰富多彩的项目。最近，该公司决定对水域进行测试，并投资了一台二手Mutoh ValueJet 1324，这是一种生态溶剂型打印机，具有满足店铺需求的输出功能。Lujano说：“我跟客户都非常愉快的看到它给我们带来的理想效果，这是一台全新的Mutoh机器，它使薄膜变成了一个需求更高层次的产品。
“We’ve gained so much natural, organic feedback from our customers, and we’ve never had any problems with the machine,” he says. He’s also been particularly impressed by the Mutoh’s interweave technology, which allows a wide range of edge patterns to more easily and accurately line up graphics. Lujano currently devotes about a day’s worth of work to each wrap job, and says that an additional printer would definitely add some opportunities.
他还说：“我们从客户那里获得了很多直接有效的反馈，以前我们从未觉得机器有任何问题，需要进行投资和改善的。除此之外，最为重要的是我对Mutoh机器的交织技术留下了深刻的印象，因为交织技术能使边缘图案容易、精确地进行排列。”接下来，Lujano继续投入大量的资金在外包装的项目上，为开拓市场赢得更多机会。
Long-Term Implications
长期影响
For those interested in testing the wrap job waters, Fabrizio Soto, vice president of marketing for production printing and wide-format products at OKI Data Americas, says sign shops need to consider the long-term implications of buying equipment that seems affordable up front but may not provide the quality or volume of work needed as business picks up.
对于有兴趣测试外包装工作水平的人，美国OKI Data公司产品营销副总裁Fabrizio Soto表示：“标识商店需要考虑购买设备所带来的长期影响，有些设备虽然看上去价格实惠，但可能无法提供所需的工作质量或数量。
“You want to review the ink properties, print head stability and print technologies, and the warranty,” he says. “For wrap applications, outdoor durability and ink penetration are important. It is also critical that you request live demonstrations of any print speed you would expect to use, prior to purchase. Choosing a versatile printer, built to outlast growth and with considerably less cost per month, is a better option.”
Fabrizio Soto继续补充道：“在选择一款合适的设备时，除了要查看墨水的属性、打印头的稳定性，以及保修条款以外，对于包装应用的户外耐久性和油墨渗透力的考虑也是非常重要的。当然，你也可以要求在现场演示你所选择这款设备的打印速度，要清楚的是，选择一种多功能打印机必然是一个好的选择。”
OKI Data recently launched its ColorPainter E-64 printer as a low- to mid-volume machine suitable for those entering the wrap market. Soto says the system uses much of the same technology as the company’s higher-end units, including low-odor SX ink, suitable for a wide range of high-density color and good outdoor durability. When used in combination with 3M media and lamination, 3M’s MCS warranty offers product protection for up to seven years.
最近，OKI Data公司推出了一款ColorPainter E-64打印机，作为进入外包装市场的中低容量机器。Soto说：“该设备采用了一些高端技术，包括低气味SX油墨，拥有高密度的颜色和良好的户外耐用性。当这种设备与3M公司的层压介质结合使用时，产品保修时长可达七年之久。”
“A printer upgrade can provide a platform to compete or help gain more margin, so this is where increasing your speed can affect your business,” Soto adds. “If you are producing jobs at 120 square feet per hour but an upgrade allowed you to produce quality work at a minimum of 350 square feet per hour, you could be at least three times more profitable. An increase in volume can also drive down your price of media, allow you to take on larger jobs and be profitable in many ways.”
Soto补充说：“将打印机升级，使速度提高将会影响业务水平，同时还可以提升竞争能力，帮助企业获得更多利润。如果之前的打印机是以每小时120平方英尺的速度来工作，而升级后的打印机可以以每小时350平方英尺的速度进行高质量工作，你的利润至少可以提高三倍。此外，产品数量的增加也可以降低价格，从而让您在其他方面承担更多的工作并从中获利。”
Do Your Homework
做功
Reliability – and the proper maintenance – go a long way in also keeping a shop’s wrap printer business flowing smoothly, so shops need to do some homework. Matt Richart, co-owner of Digital EFX Wraps in Louisville, Kentucky, has been a loyal Roland customer for more than a dozen years, with equipment he says has never been down for more than 24 hours in that entire period. He says a benchmark investment of $25,000 to $40,000 is necessary to get a printer solid enough for a busy commercial shop.
对设备进行适当的维护，有利于保持标识商店的业务流畅，同时，标识商店还需要做一些额外的功课。位于肯塔基州路易斯维尔，Digital EFX Wraps公司的所有者Matt Richart表示: “为了让打印机操作起来足够稳固，一个标识商店至少得投资2.5万美元到4万美元在打印设备上。”
“We can’t afford to be without our printer – it’s what makes our business go,” he says. Currently, Richart’s shop uses a Roland Soljet Pro 4 XR-640 printer/cutter, a sophisticated machine that receives automatic technology updates while it chugs away doing overnight print jobs.
他说：“我们买得起打印设备，是我们业务能迅速发展的主要原因。” 目前，Richart的商店使用的Roland Soljet Pro 4 XR-640打印切割机，是一台复杂而功能性很强的机器，它可在自动进行技术更新的同时，完成隔夜打印。
“We do a weekly head clean on our printers, along with doing test prints to make sure all print heads are working properly,” Richart says. “Just like your vehicle, if you don’t take care of it, you will have many costly repairs as the life of the printer goes on. We have a dry erase decal on each printer that shows the last time it was serviced and cleaned, so we can make sure each printer is working properly.”
Richart说：“我们每周都要进行打印测试，确保所有的打印头都能正常工作。就好像你的车，如果你不定期进行维护和保养，也许会让你产生许多额外的维修费用。因此，我们在每台打印机上都安有一个干抹布贴图，贴图会显示最后一次维修和清洁的时间，提醒工作人员，确保每台打印机都能正常工作。”
Richart is also the host and facilitator of Roland DGA’s Born to Wrap workshops, held at the company’s California headquarters and at other locations around the country. The two-day classes cover not only the basics of wrap jobs but also measuring, scaling and printing; an additional class also provides an overview on design, quotes and pricing, as well as marketing for newcomers to the business.
Richart也是Roland DGA公司“Born to Wrap”项目的主办人和推动者，该公司的总部在加利福尼亚州，他们在全国各地举办了研讨会。两天的研讨会不仅涵盖了外包装的基础知识，还涵盖了测量、缩放和印刷等流程、设计、报价的概述，以及营销方案的讲解。
“Knowing your printer is step one. Making sure it is maintained, cleaned properly and runs like it’s supposed to will allow consistent prints every day. Timing your prints so that your installers will have material ready each morning will also allow jobs to get done quicker – one tip is to make sure you add your print time in each job, as most people just look at the material, ink and laminate cost as the overhead.”
要使产品达到一个好的效果，首先，要维护、清洁好打印机，确保它能正常运行。其次，在为您的打印产品进行定制时，需要安装人员每天早上都先能准备好材料，以便让工作更快地完成。另外，还要检测好墨水和层压板。
Thinking Ahead
前瞻性思考
Michael Maxwell, senior manager of sign and graphics with Mimaki USA, agrees that proper workflow management means thinking ahead for maintenance issues, and suggests print shops consider equipment that allows for ink flexibility, as well.
美国Mimaki公司的高级主管Michael Maxwell同意上述说话：“设置正确的工作流程，意味着我们需要在设备维护的问题上展开思考，并考虑设备油墨的灵活性。
Mimaki’s JV and CJV printers offer a nozzle check unit, a nozzle recovery system, integrated heaters and an uninterrupted ink supply system to self-manage some cleaning issues and provide consistent results.
Mimaki的JV和CJV打印机提供喷嘴检查单元、喷嘴回收系统、集成加热器和不间断供墨系统，可以自我来解决一些清洁问题，并提供出色的效果。
Maxwell also says speed can sometimes be the wrong measurement of success, and suggests sign makers carefully consider printing with post-production efficiency in mind.
Maxwell还表示：“对速度的要求，有时可能会成为一个错误的测量因素，建议专业人员在仔细考虑以后，再定制打印的效率。”
“Identifying how many panels the job will take, how long it will take to properly laminate, stage and apply the graphics to the vehicle in question, should all be considered before printing the job,” he says. “By implementing this strategy, printers can improve the overall look and feel of each job and alleviate potential technical concerns, while meeting the demands of their customers, in a consistent and timely fashion.”
在打印工作开始之前，专业人员需要确定好操作时需要多少块面板、如何将图形适当地进行叠加、分阶段应用所涉及的薄膜需要花费多长时间等问题。通过每个细节地实施和部署，打印机才可以改善产品的整体外观和感觉，并缓解潜在的技术问题，以合理有效地方式来满足客户的需求。
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