Ensuring Success in Graphic Installation

For many wide-format printing projects, graphic installation is an essential, final step between concept and completion — and for good reason. Successful work isn’t just what comes out of the wide-format inkjet device. It also includes wrapping the 2D print onto a car, van, or other vehicle. It may include assembling and installing numerous panels to complete a visually compelling wall graphic or window display.

“If it’s a wide-format graphics project printed on pressure-sensitive media,” says Ray Weiss, VP of eLearning and certifications at PRINTING United Alliance, “it’s likely that installation of that graphic will be required, and that takes expertise.” His point is well taken, because while many of us possess the skill to install a basic decal, neatly installing one that’s 4x6', onto a textured, cylindrical concrete pillar, perfectly level and without bubbles or creases, is another task altogether. Professional skills are needed.

While some in the wide-format segment hold installation skills as a part of their core competencies, others do not, and seek professional graphics installers to finish the job. According to Weiss, the low cost of entry into graphics installation means a significant number of installers may not possess the skills needed to ensure successful completion of the job. “That’s where the value of certification through the Professional Decal Application Alliance (PDAA) comes in,” he says. “Profitability is essential in the wide-format segment,” he says, “and trusting that an inexperienced, unproven installer can do a complicated job correctly becomes a pretty big gamble.”

Weiss says PDAA features certified graphics installation companies that have demonstrated their skills in one or more of three focus areas: 

• Vehicle and fleet wraps, which ensure proficiency on the complex contours and deep channels found on vehicles, as well as rivets and other features found on semi-trailers. 
• Architectural films (windows, walls, and floors), which show installation experience and excellence for retail and commercial settings. 
• Architectural films (resurfacing), which shows installation experience with resurfacing films, such as 3M DI-NOC.

In today’s printing industry, where inter-segment convergence and the need to tap new opportunities has printing companies branching into new areas, strong connections with qualified graphics installers can facilitate market access. Not only are graphics producers and others accessing professional graphics installers to add to their roster of capabilities, they also are forming networks of installers to expand their reach. “Wide-format producers can ship the printed material to the location of the install,” Weiss says, “and a certified installer can take it from there, doing it in a way that ensures it will stay in place — without failure — through its expected life.”

Graphics producers seeking qualified installation professionals can search PDAA members at printing.org, under the “tools” link, for free. The search provides contact and other information about member companies, and highlights the areas in which each company is certified. Conversely, for graphics installers, a PDAA listing and proof of certification are ways to let producers know they’re available and fully capable to take the job. It serves as a calling-card of credibility.