Justin Murray
Pyramid Visuals Ltd

After researching the many different companies on the internet that provide this service it has become more apparent that the demand for this alternative form of promotional advertising has increased considerably over the last 2 years. Small businesses, large corporations, media outlets and others that want to attract attention are turning to vehicle advertising as a means to that end. There is no doubt that there is lots of value to be made in wrapping vehicles. Vehicle wrapping is fast becoming one of the hottest forms of outdoor advertising. Digitally generated graphics printed on to vinyl and ‘wrapped’ on to vehicles

The competitive market is expanding considerably in this field and most companies that provide vehicle livery service and signage, promote heavily, their vehicle wrapping capabilities, on their websites with a impressive array of their completed work.

Because of the flexibility of the materials used, customers are allowed to be more creative in design and can be more easily accommodated to achieve the desired end result.

Vehicle wrapping and vinyl car wrap

Regardless of the brand name, experts stress the use of cast over calendared vinyl for vehicle wrapping. While calendared vinyl starts out as a solid and is melted and formed into a sheet, cast vinyl starts out as liquid. The end result is that calendared vinyl has a memory of being something else and cast vinyl does not. In application, if you use calendared vinyl over a rivet, then it will tent because calendared vinyl tends to shrink a bit. Cast vinyl doesn\’t shrink so it allows installers to go over rivets, corrugation and complex curves that run both horizontally and vertically with greater ease and longer-lasting performance.

Most large companies that want to advertise on their vehicles don’t have to be sold on vehicle wraps. But the high cost compared to traditional vehicle graphics will cause some individual operators and small business owners to cringe. This is because when customers look at the initial costs they think it’s a lot compared to normal vehicle graphics and do not think of it as their best marketing opportunity.
Maybe one avenue to be explored to overcome this train of thought would be to work with vehicle financing companies to work the price of the wrap in to the lease.

Getting the customer to stretch their imagination and visualise the greater impact that this would generate, rather than normal vehicle graphics, is the key.

The first virtue of vehicle wraps is visibility. They will always get attention. Vehicle wraps make great “brochures”, as long as viewers have sufficient time to review an offering’s benefits. Their effectiveness as an ad medium can suffer. Vehicle wraps may suffer from too much “background noise.” Effective design is achieved through simplicity, clarity, crispness, balance and punch. How many wraps have you noticed that failed to convey a simple, clear message? Does the wrap convey value to viewers or does it just shout, “Notice me!” like a commercial that entertains without leaving a meaningful product message?

A few examples of the business advantages are..

They can provide exposure in urban places and motorways
Allow advertising where no billboard space exists giving geographic and demographic flexibility.

A less intrusive and annoying form of advertising or promotion
Vehicles can be stripped of wrapping with no damage paintwork. Great for companies that lease vehicles.
Cars, Vans, Trucks, Lorries, Buses, Trains, Boats, Yachts, Bicycles, Farm Vehicles maybe Aircraft ? Just a few examples of vehicles that wrapping could be applied. Maybe in the future even the general public will turn to a vehicle wrap instead of a new ‘paint job’ for their beloved mode of transport. Certainly it would be a cheaper alternative for a ‘colour change’ whilst keeping the original paint work just incase they got bored!

On 2 seperate occassions, the team from Channel 5’s “The Gadget show” set out to test digital and conventional film cameras and enlisted the help of Pyramid Visuals.

On both occassions, the duo posed for a professional photographer who took photos with 2 similar cameras using similar lenses, one being film and the other being digital.

The photographs were then shipped off to our premises where we had them blown up to a massive size, printed on one of our super wide digital printers, welded together using one of our hot air welders and then hung up for display at the milleneum building in Birgingham.

You can read both fascinating accounts on our website.

Suzis Double Take – Part 1

Suzi’s Double Take – Part 2

Print Week October 2008

Killer app… The Monument building wrap

WHAT A giant lifelike print of the exterior of historic London landmark The Monument to The Great Fire of London, hiding restoration works taking place on the building.

WHO The building wrap was printed by Weybridge-based super-large-format firm Pyramid Visuals.

WHERE The Monument is a 61m-tall structure located in the City of London. It stands exactly 61m from Pudding Lane, where the fire of London is believed to have started in 1666.

HOW Before creating the artwork, Pyramid Visuals took high-resolution photographs of the structure capturing it at all angles, which were then printed on a mesh-material with high tear resistance. Four of these were produced on an HP Scitex 1500 and joined using a hot-air welder. The sky scene was artificially imposed by the print firm.

WOW As the building represents a momentous point in the history of London, it was important the print looked realistic as tourists continue to visit the site while The Monument is being worked on. The wrap was attached to the scaffolding by a team of abseilers who had to match up the four sides precisely to create a lifelike image. Detailed assessments of weather conditions were needed, which showed that the wrap couldn’t be attached to the top of The Monument as the strong winds in the area would cause a vortex

http://www.printweek.com/news/856679/Killer-app-Monument-building-wrap/

Pyramid Visuals was founded in 1993 to produce a range of promotional graphics for car dealerships. Now employing 25 people it has built up a substantial product offering for the indoor and outdoor signage markets. Based in Weybridge, Surrey UK, it specialises in producing a range of large to super-wide print including posters, fleet vehicle livery, signage, exhibition displays, event branding, film and television backdrops, window displays and building wraps for its customers.

Pyramid : Case Study Background

Prior to investing in HP’s digital technology Pyramid Visuals thoroughly researched the printers available on the market. “Our customers are all market leaders in their field, therefore the print quality of our work needs to reflect this. We spent six months investigating the presses and it was our opinion that the print quality of HP’s digital printers was second to none,” said Scott Meader, production director, Pyramid Visuals.

The company purchased its first HP press in 2002, installing the UK’s first HP Scitex XL1200 and has continued to invest in HP’s digital printing technology. The company currently operates six HP presses including an HP Scitex XL1200, a recently purchased HP Scitex XL1500, two HP Designjet 9000s and two HP Designjet 5500s.

Enabling sustainable growth into new markets.

“Investing in a combination of HP ink technologies – solvent and aqueous – has not only allowed us to start producing a wider variety of products but also to move into new markets,” explained Justin Murray, managing director, Pyramid Visuals. “After installing our first HP Scitex press we started to undertake a broader range of jobs and moved into producing print for the outdoor market. Customer demand for our work was so high that we invested further in HP’s digital technology, purchasing our HP Designjet printers so that we could produce the complete range of printed collateral needed for indoor and outdoor events and exhibitions.”

Pyramid Visuals uses its HP Scitex XL1200 and its HP Scitex XL1500 to produce vehicle wraps, billboards, backdrops, banners, indoor and outdoor signage and building wraps.

“Our HP Scitex presses are incredibly versatile and allow us to print on a wide range of media including canvas, mesh, self adhesive vinyl and paper, allowing us to be flexible when meeting our customers’ needs,” explained Meader. “We have recently completed a series of exhibition stands where we had to print on carpet. The presses coped with printing on this difficult substrate brilliantly; images were crisp owing to the high definition print quality.”

The term “eye catcher” enters a new dimension where advertisements adorn entire building facades. The question of how such large-format images are created is answered by English enterprise Pyramid Visuals Ltd. The Weybridge-based digital print specialist is primarily known for its high-quality vehicle graphics, created using vinyl print techniques. Fully aware of the fact that visual communication of brands and companies is becoming increasingly important, Pyramid visuals provide clients with new ways of addressing the public.

Together with two friends, Justin Murray began designing, producing and applying advertising, decorative and informative graphics for vehicles in 1993. This business was made viable thanks to vinyl printing techniques coming into their own, techniques which promised drastic quality improvements over conventional printing. “Having a background in the arts, I was able to dedicate my creativity to Pyramid visuals’ work from the very beginning,” reports managing director Justin Murray. “Based on our initial success, we gradually opened up new fields of business. Today, we mainly offer graphic designs for vehicle, the design and production of signs and large- format digital print.”

The experts for large-format designs, many of which cover entire building facades or attract attention at trade shows, have recently extended their portfolio, although vehicle graphics have remained the core competence of Pyramid Visuals. In the fields of business, the company cooperates closely with a number of advertising and marketing agencies whose ideas are then created by Pyramid Visuals.

Advertising that cannot be ignored is usually an unachievable ideal for many companies wishing to present products or services in the best possible way. Considerable wastage is often regarded as a necessary evil in advertising, Pyramid Visuals proves that it can be avoided. The company has gained an excellent reputation in large-format advertising, and real-world applications bear out this claim, in keeping with the motto “think big”.

The Large-format vinyl prints open up new avenues in marketing. They may be more expensive than conventional signs and banners, but effectiveness analyses conducted by the advertising industry have shown that such adverts are economically viable. The towering print, which can also be designed in such a way that they cover only certain parts of a building facade, will definitely leave a lasting impression on people. Depending on their size they can be seen from great distances. Both complex images and simple messages can be accommodated, which, due to their purist design and memorable lettering, can be grasped in a fraction of a second. Vinyl prints are not only used in advertising, but are also suited for veiling buildings during construction or refurbishment work.

Considering the downturn development of the effectiveness of classic visual advertising, Pyramid Visuals offers clients promising new marketing options, for instance as part of a company’s corporate design strategy or for classic advertising. The digital printing machines used by Pyramid Visuals will print on almost any material with a maximum width of five metres; the maximum resolution goes up to 1,440 dpi. The possible applications for these large-format prints include vehicles, truck canvases, exhibition signs, backgrounds and backdrops for films, theatre and television, building facade advertising, banners and signs. Pyramid Visuals’ service portfolio ranges from design conception and production all the way to the installation.

Without exception, Pyramid Visuals utilises state-of-the-art technology in its projects, which guarantees a maximum of quality and flexibility. Equally important as a success factor is the motivation of its employees, whose expertise and dedication ensure that many first-time customers become satisfied repeat customers. “Nowadays, we are active on a worldwide scale,” relates Justin Murray. “This is particularly true in the case of trade shows, one of the most important being Las Vegas, where our competence can be appreciated at numerous presentation booths.”

Pyramid Visuals has been enjoying healthy growth for a number of years. With twenty-four members of staff, the company generated around two million GBP in the past business year. Distributors support the company in most European markets. “One of the reasons for our excellent development has been the success of our international clients, some of whom have seen remarkable growth,” adds Justin Murray. “All production is carried out in Great Britain. For the installation work, We rely on competent service teams. We offer our clients a complete service portfolio that leaves nothing to be desired. It is always a pleasure for us to present our clients with innovative ideas, aimed at adding attractive perspectives to their corporate identity or product presentations.”

In 2007, Pyramid Visuals was contracted by the city of London to supply a number of 25m X 15m panels to wrap around the Monument in Monument street london, as part of the restoration plans for the Monument.

The panels had to be printed seperately then welded together to create a large enough panel to be used in the wrapping of the Monument.

Read more on this mammoth task that was hugely successfull.

As a company, Pyramid Visuals, have been looking for innovative ways to promote products for our clients on the conference stage.

In conjunction with one of our more high profie customers, Glaxo Smithkline,
we developed a monster Polystyrene wall made up of different sized blocks and with cut vinyl graphics pasted all over it.
Measuring 3658 height and some 2095 wide the visual impact created at their latest conference was just awesome.
Coupled with the 27 panel pop up system and inserted TV screens we were able to create a stunning visual display.

What is Vehicle wrapping ?

Outdoor media has become a vital element in advertising and the media mix. It plays a complementary role to several advertising tools and can also stand-alone.

Outdoor has become a multi-billion pound industry that includes roadsides, above and below ground ads – and most recently, moving vehicles.

When we hear about outdoor advertising our thoughts automatically gravitate toward billboards and storefront signs. One medium within the outdoor arena that is sometimes overlooked is vehicle wrapping. Vehicle wrap offers an advertising tool that doesn’t wait to be seen but goes out and proactively markets itself. This approach is quickly becoming an outdoor standard as a cost-effective complement to billboards.

Long commutes are becoming more acceptable as the population moves farther out into the suburbs. These longer commutes also make it harder to reach potential customers. Those are prime demographics for most advertisers. And what better way to reach them than by sitting next to them for a couple of minutes at a traffic light? The vehicle wrap can be thought of as a rolling billboard that’s in constant movement and covers vast areas (including the places all the other media can’t reach). Wherever consumers travel in the course of a day a vehicle wrap is sure to be there, driving your message home.

Vehicle wrapping is the new mobile outdoor advertising medium and seems to be popping up in every major city in the UK and abroad. Wrapping vehicles is about placing large detailed decals. Applying them to vehicles is a very sophisticated process involving being able to print on the vinyl films and perfectly cover the vehicle with that advertisement. A good wrap must be able to cover the windows but not impede visibility and its vinyl materials must be weather resistant to heat, UV, cold and wind. Adherence to the vehicle shell is important, as the wrap must stay on without it peeling off, before purposely being pulled off. Lastly, the vinyl must be easily removed without damaging the vehicle surface with an adhesive residue or even worse, stripping the exterior paint off the vehicle.
car & van vinyl wrapping

Pyramid puts its money where its mouth is

In common with many other companies who embark on the lengthy transition between general sign-maker and all round graphics provider, Pyramid Visuals initially cut its colour teeth on the Gerber Edge, the thermal transfer printer first introduced by Spandex nearly a decade ago, which produces outdoor durable graphics directly on to vinyl. However, whilst most companies mark their next step down the colour route with the purchase of an Arizona or one of the new generation low-cost, solvent ink-jet printers, Pyramid has gone the whole hog and in a grand gesture, has splashed out on a Scitex XLjet. To compliment its investment in this six-colour ink-jet printer wasn’t enough, the company has also invested a further £250,000 in the purchase of a Miller Weldmaster, a machine that uses heat pressure to create highly durable, yet inconspicuous seals and seam to assist in the creation of perfect banners.

The man behind this bold enterprise is Pyramid’s chairman John Fidler, whose totally endearing “in for a penny, in for a pound” philosophy, will, he believes, pave the way for Pyramid to become one of the industry’s foremost trade suppliers. Speaking at the opening day of the company’s new 6,500 square ft headquarters in Byfleet, Surrey, Fidler explains that this latest expansion comes some ten years after Pyramid was first established in nearby Woking. He says: “The acquisition of the Gerber Edge originally provided us with the means to expand into digital colour and thus to broaden our area of operation, in fact, this aspect of the business has been so successful that increasingly, we have had to outsource some of our printing work, a clear indication that is was the right time to substantially increase our own facilities.”

Fidler’s background is actually in engineering which may go some way towards explaining his entrepreneurial zeal, but managing director Justin Murray, who along with production director Lester Meader is responsible for the day-to-day running of Pyramid, is equally enthusiastic. “We want to provide others with the sort of service that we wish we had had access to,” Murray says, adding that Pyramid’s experience of outsourcing revealed that there is a ready-made niche for it to occupy. He continues: “We’ve realised that there is a real opening for a discreet and reliable trade supplier who also understands the needs of sign-makers and their special requirements for durability. We are aiming to become the first port of call for many sign companies when a project incorporates a colour element that they can’t produce in-house.”

Once this course had been agreed upon, a major capital investment was, says Fidler, the only sensible option. “We felt that rather than purchasing an interim level printer it would, in the longer run, make more commercial sense to acquire a super-wide, high production machine that was versatile enough to accommodate anything from posters to billboards and everything in between.”

After carefully considering all of the various options on offer, the Scitex XLjet 3 emerged as the clear favourite. Fidler and Murray agree that it was the vibrancy and quality of the colour reproduction that finally swung it in the XLjets favour, but the fact that it is one of the fastest printers in its class, outputting at 75 square m/hour, coupled with the fact that it can switch effortlessly be between four-and six colour printing onto wide variety of different substrates, were also important considerations. And in order to make the most of its blistering speed, Pyramid has also invested in a hot air solvent diffuser system that will help to accelerate drying time and thus pave the way for the XLjets 24-hour a day operation, which Fidler identifies as an ultimate goal.

Remarking that this extra purchase, along with the installation of the mighty Miller Weldmaster, underlines Pyramid’s total commitment to the task in hand, Fidler says that his long years of experience in the engineering industry have taught him that dedication to quality is of paramount importance. He says: “in addition to our investment in capital equipment, we have also allied ourselves with leading vinyl manufacturing Avery in order to offer the Avery MPI Supreme Cover for the graphics that we produce, thus ensuring that our customers receive a guarantee from the film manufacturer as well as the assurance that comes with using Scitex inks and equipment. In addition, we will be using Spandex as our materials supplier of choice and will also be able to call upon its extensive knowledge of the sign industry whenever we need it. I think all of this combines to illustrate our determination to get it absolutely right.”

At present, Pyramid employs a staff of 14, including four field-based sales representatives covering Kent, Essex, Sussex, London, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire plus two in house sales people who will be promoting the new facilities up and down the country. Murray is keen to welcome further recruits, particularly those who can demonstrate a real talent for all aspects of colour management. “We’d be interested in talking to anyone who thinks that they can usefully add to the scope of our skills and service.”

This is echoed by Fidler who adds that, whilst the company’s main target is the trade customer. He is also interested in discussing how Pyramid can help other colour producers expand their own facilities. His refreshing robust attitude is summed up in the following statement: “The demand for digital colour is increasing all of the time it’s certainly a big enough cake and, provided we work together, everyone involved in all sectors of the industry will get a fair share.”

Woking News & Mail December 2002