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When, why and how to use roll striping
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By Rob Ivers
Fashion seems to go in cycles. For example, wide ties were fashionable, fell out of style and then came back. The same cycles apply to single- and double-breasted suits, men’s hair length and women’s skirts.
What about “graphics” fashions? Seventeen years ago, one- or two-color graphics and lettering were the norm. When full-color digital printing became widely available, the improved technology stood out. Today, digital printing has become commonplace, and advertising is inundated with photographic images.
In a soft economy, clients seek affordable ways to deliver their messages. To satisfy their budgetary concerns and help get them noticed, get back to basics. Simple, solid-color graphics are due for a comeback. Wouldn’t it be nice, at least for some jobs, to put aside elaborate, time-consuming designs, and forget about color matching, solvent migration and curing issues?
How I learned striping
In 1978, I started my business as R&B Stripes. The R&B were Rob and Beth, my wife. Stripes were our specialty; we applied narrow, decorative pinstriping to cars. Back then, we considered a 2-in. stripe wide. I remember when the introduction of 6- and 24-in. roll striping signified a major development. The 60-in.-wide material (and bigger) that’s available today would’ve been unimaginable.
-->Vinyl cutters hadn’t been invented, so we hand-cut lettering, logos and graphics. Roll striping was a life-saver. Imagine having to hand cut and premask 6-in.-tall stripes for 40-ft.-long trailers!
When vinyl cutters were introduced, we quickly learned that buying roll striping still offered a more cost-effective solution. We purchased premasked, ready-to-apply, roll material in many standard sizes and colors. For special sizes and small quantities, we used a vinyl cutter. It was labor-intensive, and having to trim material to size after premasking created a disadvantage. To make the stripe easy to line up and install, we’d trim exactly on the edges, which was very difficult.
Many suppliers offer roll striping. To increase your profits, and offer savings to your customers, consider integrating roll striping into some of your projects.
When to use roll striping
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