ST welcomes Rob Ivers in his inaugural column.
By Rob Ivers
For 2009, Rob Ivers, a 30-year, vinyl-graphics veteran, will author ST’s “Real World Vinyl” column. He offers seminars, video training and hands-on instructional sessions related to vehicle graphics and other vinyl applications. He also serves as certification director for the Professional Decal Application Assn. (PDAA) and created the PDAA VIP installer-certification program that’s been adopted by Arlon, Avery, FLEXcon and MACtac.
I feel privileged to author this column. Many of you don’t know me, so how I got into this business should provide a good introduction. Knowing my background may help you understand my perspective as a vinyl-graphics professional. My goal is to provide you with information to help you cope with the real-world vinyl challenges that confront installers today.
In 1978, I worked for a small company, Novus Windshield Repair of Kansas City, which repaired cracked windshields. We injected resin into the cracks with gentle pressure; rushing the job usually cracked the glass. I spent most of my time at car lots and truck lines. Even when repairing four or five windshields at once, I had lots of idle time. Working on straight commission – and being young, energetic and ambitious -- I wanted to make that idle time productive. I decided to find another service to offer the same customers.
Vinyl was a popular tool for various automotive repairs and accents. Repairmen used them to repair dashboards or body-side moldings, as well as to apply pinstripes. Among those, vinyl pinstriping appealed to me, so I started my business, R & B Stripes. I didn’t know anything about it when my vinyl-graphics journey began.
Does that sound familiar? Did you wake up one day and realize you wanted to fabricate and install vinyl signs or vehicle wraps? They look cool, and you thought you could makes lots of easy money in a business with a low startup cost.
Vinyl’s (and my) evolution
In 1978, the vinyl-graphics industry was in its infancy. No training schools, classes or books existed, and, of course, personal computers and the Internet hadn’t been invented. I quickly learned how little I knew. All I had were questions. What should I use to clean the surface? How do I remove vinyl? Worse, how do I remove this sticky adhesive?
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