PUBLICATION CENTER

To make it easier for graphic producers to find qualified installers, SGIA has launched a new website for the Professional Decal Application Alliance (PDAA).

“We have improved the Find an Installer search function, expanded the installer gallery, and added PDAA social-media tools,” says SGIA VP of Markets and Technologies Dan Marx.

Through the improved site, you can find PDAA Master Certified installers or locate professional installers by in certain states or cities. You can also develop a network of installers that can help you expand your company’s reach.

In a March 15 post on the PDAA site’s blog, Marx previewed the soon-to-be-released results of the PDAA Graphic Installer Industry Survey. Marx writes: “Of the companies that responded to the survey, 25.7% provide installation services only, 59.1% provide both printing and installation services, and 13.5% provide only printing services.”The top three applications reported by print-and-install companies were vehicle marking, glass, and interior walls. For installation-only companies, the top three applications were semi-trucks and trailers, transit vehicles, and vehicle wraps.

SGIA is also planning a wrap-related webinar at 2 pm ET on Wednesday, April 28. In the webinar, entitled “Making Wraps Fit Better,” Rob Ivers will explain how to ensure that wraps fit the vehicle as you intended. He will explain three important steps to creating and customizing templates before beginning the wrap design and present tips on creating clipping masks, choosing backgrounds, tiling, overlaps, curing, finishing and more. Ivers will also discuss how to layers in masks in Photoshop to easily create customer proofs while building the actual print-production files.