Well, here you are in Phoenix, AZ. After a long period of uncertainty, you’ve decided to move your family and business to Phoenix, AZ. You’ve been here in the summer before and feel OK with the heat and you’re really looking forward to the fall, winter, and spring here when the weather is outstanding. You’re also looking forward to participating in the growing Phoenix business environment. You’re bringing your two full-wrap food trailers with brilliant graphics. You plan to hit the ground running and bring your brand of street cuisine to the Phoenix marketplace.
Wait just a minute. Let’s take a closet look at those trailer graphics and wraps to see if they are up to the task of surviving in the hot desert sun day after day. Yes, Phoenix really is different. 3M, one of the highest quality manufacturers of digital printing wrap media, is one of the few who provide a durability guarantee for their products. However, when you read the fine print, you find that the guarantee period for Phoenix and the Arizona desert environment is severely de-rated compared to the rest of the US. 3M recognizes through exhaustive testing that the sun and UV intensity here is far worse than almost anywhere else in the US.
Where was your wrap installed? Do you know what vinyl was used to wrap those trailers? How about the laminate? If you still have your invoice, it should tell you what was used. Many vinyls, perfectly acceptable elsewhere in the country, will quickly fail here in Phoenix.
No invoice? Well, you probably need to start quarterly inspections of the wrap, to see when it starts to fail so that you can get it replaced. You don’t want to let the wrap burn or crack. If it burns, it can permanently ruin the underlying paint. If it cracks, it will be much more expensive to remove. So, take 5 minutes once every 3 months and look closely. Early detection will allow you to get a re-wrap for a reasonable price, without any damage to the vehicle paint.
If you have any questions about your wrap or the suitability of the vinyl used to the Phoenix climate, give Blue Chip Signworks a call at 480-785-3940. We’d be glad to help.
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