IT SOUNDS LIKE the zenith of a wrapper’s dream: “… a featured car in Lucas Oil Stadium and when we removed the cover to unveil it, the car looked stunning, absolutely flawless under the stadium lights.” But this was reality at the 2023 PRI Show in Indianapolis last December for husband-and-wife co-owners Micah Simms and Donna Gritters of Twisted Grafix (Thayer, IN).
这听起来就像是包装工梦想的顶点： “......一辆在卢卡斯石油体育场亮相的汽车，当我们揭开盖子揭开它的面纱时，这辆车在体育场灯光的照射下显得美轮美奂，绝对完美无瑕"。但对于 Twisted Grafix 公司（位于印第安纳州塞耶市）的夫妻共同所有者 Micah Simms 和 Donna Gritters 来说，这就是去年 12 月在印第安纳波利斯举行的 2023 PRI 展会上的现实。
Regular viewers of Discovery Channel’s Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings will recognize the featured car as “Roxie,” a custom Mustang driven by John Poole from 336 Mafia Drag Team. Poole contacted Simms and Gritters in January 2023 to change the wrap for the upcoming season. “He was rebuilding the entire car and updating the chassis and engine,” Simms says. The team wanted something that would stand out at events using purple and orange colors for multiple sclerosis and autism awareness ribbons. Poole has been battling MS for more than 30 years.
经常收看探索频道《Street Outlaws》节目的观众一定认识这对夫妻： No Prep Kings》节目的老观众一定会认出这辆名为 “Roxie ”的赛车，它是由来自 336 Mafia Drag Team 的 John Poole 驾驶的定制野马赛车。2023 年 1 月，Poole 联系 Simms 和 Gritters，希望为即将到来的赛季更换包装。“他正在重建整辆车，更新底盘和发动机，"Simms 说。车队希望用紫色和橙色代表多发性硬化症和自闭症意识丝带，在赛事中脱颖而出。Poole 与多发性硬化症斗争了 30 多年。
After working in CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X8, Simms and Gritters emailed five designs based on a blend of their ideas. Within minutes, Pooled called, excited that one of the designs “hit the nail on the head.”
Simms 和 Gritters 使用 CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X8 工作后，根据他们的想法通过电子邮件发送了五份设计方案。没过几分钟，Pooled 就打来电话，兴奋地说其中一个设计 “一针见血”。
Because Roxie was in parts and couldn’t be measured for templates, Simms and Gritters scoured the internet for a similar Mustang body style and luckily found one about 35 miles away. “We went to the dealership, told them who we were, why we were there, and what we were doing and they were kind enough to let us measure the car in the back lot,” Simms recalls.
由于 Roxie 是零件，无法测量模板，Simms 和 Gritters 在互联网上搜索类似的野马车身样式，幸运地在 35 英里外找到了一辆。“西姆斯回忆说："我们去了车行，告诉他们我们是谁，为什么去那里，以及我们要做什么，他们很好心地让我们在后车场测量汽车。
The best advice Simms can offer for wrapping any type of racecar is to measure. “If you aren’t 100% sure, especially on dirt cars with fab bodies, get that tape measure out and make a template,” he says.
对于包装任何类型的赛车，Simms 能提供的最好建议就是测量。“他说："如果你不能百分百确定，特别是对于车身有窟窿的土赛车，就拿出卷尺，做一个模板。
He and Gritters planned on wrapping the car in March or April, but due to delays during the rebuild, and the fact that Twisted Grafix was relocating to a shop still under construction, wrapping did not happen until just a few days before the show opened. They used SAi FlexiPRINT SE Mutoh Edition to drive their MUTOH ValueJet 628 to image their proprietary Twisted Grafix 3200 wrap film, then their Gfp 230C laminator to apply their own 3100 gloss laminate. They trimmed the graphics using Summa WinPlot and their Summa S2 120T.
他和 Gritters 原计划在 3 月或 4 月对这辆车进行包覆，但由于重建过程中出现延误，加上 Twisted Grafix 要搬迁到仍在建设中的车间，所以直到车展开幕前几天才开始包覆。他们使用 SAi FlexiPRINT SE Mutoh 版驱动 MUTOH ValueJet 628 对其专有的 Twisted Grafix 3200 包膜进行成像，然后使用 Gfp 230C 覆膜机进行 3100 光面覆膜。他们使用 Summa WinPlot 和 Summa S2 120T 对图形进行修剪。
Though Simms couldn’t comment on the vinyl manufacturer, he did state, “We’ve been using it since late 2018. We have also been working on a full line of color-change wrap films and some specialty films like holographic glitter vinyl that we have been using and plan to bring to the market in the near future.”
虽然 Simms 无法对乙烯基制造商发表评论，但他表示："我们从 2018 年底就开始使用它了。我们还一直在研发全系列的变色包装膜和一些特殊薄膜，如全息闪光乙烯基，我们一直在使用，并计划在不久的将来推向市场。”
Roxie arrived in Indy less than wrap-ready: The handles, spoiler, parachute, etc., were still on the car, and the parachute blocked the rear bumper. “We opted to remove the door handles rather than wrap them because they would be the areas that got the most wear,” Simms says. “Because his series rules mandate working headlights, tail lights, turn signals and marker lights, we removed them to tuck in the edges of the wrap for a clean look and re-installed them after wrapping.” Roxie ended up being a hit at the 2023 PRI Show and did a great job to raise awareness of autism and MS.
Roxie 抵达印第时的包装准备并不充分： 车把、扰流板、降落伞等还在车上，降落伞挡住了后保险杠。“西姆斯说："我们选择拆除门把手，而不是对它们进行包覆，因为它们是磨损最严重的部位。“因为他的系列赛规定车头灯、尾灯、转向灯和标记灯必须正常工作，所以我们拆下了它们，将包覆边缘塞进去，以获得整洁的外观，并在包覆后重新安装。Roxie 最终在 2023 年的 PRI 展会上大受欢迎，为提高人们对自闭症和多发性硬化症的认识做出了巨大贡献。
Simms and Gritters have been in business since 2008. In 2010, Gritters wanted to set values in their business to help with community work and charities. They sponsor police events, cancer walks, fundraisers, benefits and more. “A lot of shops don’t see a return on doing these — and we don’t either necessarily, but sometimes it isn’t all about the money,” Simms says, adding, “Sometimes the impact of just being nice is felt more than we can see, or even know, but it’s there.”
Simms 和 Gritters 自 2008 年起开始经营。2010 年，Gritters 希望在自己的业务中树立价值观，为社区工作和慈善事业提供帮助。他们赞助了警察活动、癌症步行活动、筹款活动、慈善活动等。“Simms 说：“很多商店在做这些事情时看不到回报，我们也不一定看到回报，但有时并不完全是为了钱，”他补充说，"有时，我们的善举所产生的影响超出了我们的想象，甚至我们自己都不知道，但它确实存在。
