Killer app: Aura is a van’s best friend for man’s best friend

The Manchester & Cheshire Dogs’ Home (M&CDH) surely does nothing but good – rescuing and finding new, loving owners for wayward, neglected pups and mutts. Its team certainly did not deserve to have their van stolen earlier this year. With their newly donated van lacking the panache it needed, it was time to fetch the positive power of print.

What was produced?
A vehicle wrap of Arlon 6100XLP film finished with a 3220 laminate on a roll size of 1.37m was created by Aura Graphics, who donated its services pro-bono when contacted by M&CDH.

What did the job entail?
Working from an initial brief, Aura’s in-house designers decided to embellish MC&DH’s requests by building out a new design incorporating its existing brand identity. They incorporated block colour, stylised text and high-quality photographs so that the design would ‘pop’ on the orange wrap.

Aura then printed its designs to the Arlon substrate using its EFI Vutek GS3250LX Pro wide-format hybrid printer. Using CMYK process, the orange was a specific Pantone provided by M&CDH that the team worked to match. Each panel was then cut on a Zünd cutting table to be applied to the vehicle.

What challenges were overcome?
Specific conditions were required to perfectly apply the wrap to the van. It was worked on in Aura’s temperature controlled, dust-free application centre.

Before the vehicle was wrapped, it was meticulously cleaned using surface preparation products. Aura technicians removed as many external vehicle parts as possible such as door handles, light clusters, number plates and mirrors to allow them to achieve the best finish.
The wrap was offered up to the vehicle to ensure correct alignment before being applied to the vehicle in vertical sections, matching the panelling of the vehicle to achieve a seamless finish. All wrap panels underwent a post-heating process, baking the film to ensure full adhesion to the vehicle.

Once completed the technicians completed a quality control check on the vehicle to ensure the finished product matched the initial design. The full process took 20 hours to complete.

What was the feedback?
M&CDH manager Anna Stansfield said of the van: “We chose Aura Graphics to create new van wraps for us because we were looking for an agency who understood the importance of a positive and vibrant but clear design that helped spread our message when we’re out and about.

“They’ve really succeeded in this and we’re delighted with their work. Our vans are a really good way of showing the public that we’re out there doing our best for the dogs in our care, and they’re also a great morale raiser for our staff because the people driving
the vans are always getting thumbs-up from passers-by and other drivers – and we love the
new wraps!”

Do you have a Killer App? We are interested in special, difficult or simply fabulous print jobs. Contact Rhys Handley on 020 7501 6388 or rhys.handley@markallengroup.com