Vehicle Wrapping Materials: Making the Right Choice

With the sector expanding and more product options on offer than ever before, entering into vehicle wrapping can seem quite daunting to sign-makers wishing to expand their portfolio of services.

However, with business reportedly booming and the potential revenue streams for signage increasing as new technologies and methods become available, now is the time to add vehicle wrapping to your arsenal of branding choices.

Here we speak to a range of major vehicle wrap manufacturers including 3M, Metamark, APA, and William Smith, to find out what products they offer, how they differ, and what the wider trends of the industry are.

A Mark of Quality

The prevalence of vehicle wrapping services from signage companies seems to be more common than ever, with companies looking for full branding coverage across all parts of their businesses.

For Reanne Duffy, senior marketing executive at Metamark, this change is self-evident. As she puts it: “There is evidence suggesting that wrapping, even at a basic level, is part of more producers’ outputs than at any time since the application was pioneered and commercialised.”

For Duffy, there are a range of factors that need to be considered when choosing wrapping materials. Sign-makers who choose to wrap vehicles without properly considering the effects of weathering, the application of the print, and the general longevity of the product, will, in her opinion, be made to pay for their lack of research down the line.

As she stresses: “The first thing to consider is the application environment. Graphics applied to vehicles are subject to the most extreme weathering and ageing effects thanks to continuous exposure to UV, rapid temperature cycles, and the stresses from commercial vehicle cleaning practices.

“Wrapping exerts further pressures of the material chosen. In printing, ink-loads tend to be high to achieve the poppy colours people want, and the material is elongated and heated during application and applied in the stressed state.”

According to Duffy, only specialist materials with proven track records can be relied upon for applications such as vehicle fleet graphics which have a high potential cost of reapplication.

She continues: “Choosing cheaper alternatives is a lottery that may deliver a very small win in terms of savings, but that often involves loss due to poor performance and disappointed customers.”

Metamark offers a range of printable wrapping films as part of its MD-Class Digital Materials portfolio, which seek to offer high print capability and durability. Among these is MDC, Metamark’s premium cast wrapping film, which features a patented easy-handling adhesive, MetaGlide.

For those looking for coloured films for vehicle wrapping, Metamark also offers its MetaCast MCX series, which offers a colour space specially curated by Metamark for automotive application. According to Duffy, the colour range of MCX was chosen with classic, timeless cars in mind. She explains: “It forsakes faddish, fashion colours for established and contemporary instant classics that flatter any vehicle.”

Finnish giant, UPM Raflatac, recently purchased Metamark in a deal worth a reported £146m, with the aim of accelerating UPM’s growth into the graphics sector. With this in mind, it would seem that more news of products and innovations from Metamark or its new parent company may be on the way soon.

A Persistent Advancement

Dave Bell, business development specialist at APA UK, points to the increasing accessibility of training as being key to the growing popularity of wrapping services.

According to Bell, an upsurge in training services in the wrap industry has led to more companies being able to pick up the skills of the trade, thereby boosting its popularity. As he puts it: “Over the last few years there has been a lack of training for the wrap industry and it has been very much a self-taught trade, requiring lots of personal time and money to learn this skill.

“Now there are many centres around the country offering both single brand and multi brand training, meaning the new generation of wrap installers can have access to a structured learning process with genuine ‘on the job’ practice.”

Although the view from the outside looking into this industry might make it seem like not much has changed, there have been some really major advancements in technology and product

Just within the last few months, vehicle wrapping events, workshops, and learning centres have been opened by the likes of Avery Dennison, PressOn Automotive, and Make it Happen, expanding the number of professionals who can learn the trade.

Bell also highlights the importance of technological advancements in wrapping materials as important in increasing its popularity. He disagrees with what he sees as a general opinion that the sector has been relatively static or unchanged in its core offerings, saying: “Although the view from the outside looking into this industry might make it seem like not much has changed, there have been some really major advancements in technology and product.

“There has been serious development into higher gloss finished materials, as well as the development of glue structures that make for faster and easier application. Innovative companies have also created new tools that help the installer achieve techniques that could not happen without these products.”

A new addition from APA for 2025 is the PowerJet line, a highly conformable set of cast adhesive films designed to increase the efficiency and quality of wrapping and digital printing.

The materials, which were first announced in November of 2024, use a newly formulated technology to adapt to flat, curved, or shaped surfaces while allowing for quick installation. The line, which features both gloss and matt finishes, have been developed to offer a high mechanical resistance, ensuring long-lasting durability without losing aesthetic quality.

For digital printing, the PowerJet range offers two key options, namely gloss white and gloss metallic silver. Both vinyls are designed for UV and latex printers, reportedly providing strong colour reproduction and fast drying of inks. APA is also in the process of designing solutions for solvent and eco-solvent printers.

Speaking of the range, Bell asserts: “Here at APA, we are always looking for the ‘next best thing’ and strive to always improve anywhere we can. Our latest PowerJet wrap material achieves exactly this. It is a product of hard work and dedication, fuelled by feedback from our customers to achieve a user friendly, easy to apply, stable cast wrap material with excellent aesthetics and high gloss.”

More Materials Manifested

For Pen Webley, 3M’s commercial branding and transportation marketer, the choice for signage companies to expand their offerings into wrapping is a no-brainer. “Signage companies are often the first point of contact for exterior and interior branding projects”, he posits, “so growing their skill set and service offerings in vehicle wrapping will help them deliver a complete service to their customers, providing an end-to-end service.”

Manufacturer 3M film wrap portfolio has continued to expand over the years. The company now offers an extensive range of solutions, including printable and protection film products. Its latest printable film, the Print Wrap Film IJ280, was reportedly designed in response to feedback from installers worldwide, who wanted improved print quality, clarity, and colour depth in comparison to previous incarnations.

The IJ280 introduces 3M’s new Comply v4 air release technology which, as Webley explains: “It channels airflow for smooth results with minimal heat, applies faster, and without fear of rework”. As with many modern wrap products, the film has been designed to combine initial repositionability with strong adhesive qualities once set.

Webley highlights a range of advancements seen in wrapping in recent years, increasing the speed of application, quality of prints, and durability of wrapping products.

“Improvements in conformability, ease of repositioning, and reduction of initial tack all help aid application in terms of quality and time taken”, he says. “Print quality remains top of the list of must-have features, combined with a choice of overlaminates, which helps wrappers offer a wide range of designs for their customers.”

3M were one of a range of major manufacturers at Wrapfest 2024, a UK-based show for vinyl installation and vehicle wrapping professionals which took place at Silverstone race circuit.

The manufacturer unveiled its new Protection Wrap Film at the event – the non-PVC series, which is designed to allow for a combination of personalisation and protection at the same time. The range offers a range of colours including gloss, matt, and metallic, whilst simultaneously protecting vehicles from rock chips, scratches, water, and dirt. The film is also 70% thicker than typical vinyl films, aiming to offering longer-lasting protection.

Speaking to SignLink at the event, Amy Cattanach, 3M’s UK channel manager, said: “The film range has a fantastic gloss level which you cannot get with a vinyl, and that’s the first thing you notice when you see it. It has self-healing technology, it repels water, and it comes with a ten-year warranty backed by 3M, which you will not get with a vinyl film.”

The Will to Grow

William Smith are a reseller of a range of wrapping materials from major brands including 3M, Avery Dennison, and Arlon. However, the company has its own range of materials which has seen recent additions.

Gillian Harrison, training and applications manager at William Smith, goes into detail, saying: “Many might not realise that here at William Smith we have recently added our very own VION Wrap Pro to our VION range and it’s certainly being well received.

“When we decided to add a cast wrap to the VION range we knew exactly which features and benefits we needed. Its stunning white point optimises the achievable colour gamut and gives digital prints an added punch.”

The series, first launched in October of 2024, features ‘VFLOW+’ air release channels which are designed to give a bubble-free finish. It also includes what William Smith has labelled “EZYGLIDE technology”, a feature which reportedly allows for easy repositioning of the vinyl.

Ideal applications of the VION VWrap Pro series include full and partial vehicle wraps, fleet branding, and stainless-steel wraps for both industrial and decorative projects.

Harrison warns those wishing to invest in wrapping materials to not simply go for the best price, instead focusing on the features and benefits designed to make for easier installation, eye-catching detail, and the longevity of wraps after installation.

She argues that choosing a cheap material can cost you in the long term, saying: “If a company chooses to buy a material purely on price but that material doesn’t have repositionability then suddenly it has to use two or three fitters and quite possibly will still end up with a higher percentage of waste resulting in costly reprints. Suddenly that cheaper material is not looking so attractive.

“But if the company chooses a material which has repositionable adhesive along with air release technology then it can install more quickly using only one member of staff. This frees up their workspace and results in higher profitability.”

While these points may seem fairly straightforward and obvious to some, Harrison insists that this behaviour of choosing products purely by cost is still very prevalent in the industry. “I know I sound like I’m preaching to the converted”, she adds, “but you’d be surprised just how many companies still only buy on price rather than looking deeper at the features and benefits.”

Harrison concludes with a hint that new technologies in the wrapping sector are on the horizon. When asked if there are further innovations coming soon, she simply states: “All I can say to that is watch this space.”