RTC buses just a start for graphics crew

Now that they've figured how to wrap buses and vans in graphics printed on a durable plastic, what's next for the guys at Carl's Blueprinting and Instruments Inc.

in Reno? Why caskets, naturally.

Or maybe portable toilets.

As they prepared last week to take on one of their biggest jobs yet wrapping RTC buses with The Silver Legacy Resort Casino ads made from printed plastic Rick Derringer and Dan McBride of Carl's Blueprinting were thinking through their next moves.

The process, while requiring the touch of a trained hand, isn't all that different from that used by a homeowner who applies a plastic liner to the bottom of a drawer.

The graphics wrapped around vehicles see the shuttle buses from The Atlantis or RTC buses promoting the Channel 2 news team are produced on four-footwide sheets of plastic in a special printer.

The sheets are laid carefully into place on a vehicle.When a squeegee is pulled across the plastic, it breaks tiny beads of adhesive, and the graphic is locked into place.

Since the company invested in the $100,000 equipment about 18 months ago, the vehicle graphics business has grown to more than 10 percent of the revenues of Carl's Blueprinting, said Derringer, the company's general manager.

"It's expanding as quickly as we can keep up with it," he said.

Along with the RTC buses and casino shuttle vans, the company's giant graphics are seen around town on the van operated by Motion Potion as well as trucks owned by Model Dairy and Sparky's Sports Bar.

"Completely wrapping the van with our Motion Potion creative has become our best and most visual form of advertising to date," said James S.Tonkin, president and CEO for Bio Essentials, Inc., developers of Motion Potion.

"When people see us coming, it turns heads and it completely complements our grassroots marketing efforts."

The vehicle graphics operation isn't yet profitable, and McBride who handles sales and marketing for Carl's Blueprinting is hustling more volume get to the break-even point.

The giant graphics are a natural outgrowth for Carl's.

Along with its traditional blueprint and plan-room operations, the company is a big printer of signs and other graphics for casinos and other businesses in the region.

But while the plastic-wrapping business looks a lot like traditional graphics work writ large, it brings its own challenges.

"We had to learn how to put it on," said McBride.

"Oh! That's the big story."

And at a cost of $8 to $10 a square foot for the installed graphics, mistakes were pricey.

But now that the company's employees are skilled, McBride figures it's time to widen his marketing horizons.

The sides of portable toilets are obvious locations for advertising, he said, particularly because they're typically seen by thousands of people at community events.

An equally big market, he said, could be caskets.

Families could pick from a variety of pre-printed graphics "Raider Nation," maybe or "Return to Sender" that could make a final statement from the deceased.

McBride said he's talked with funeral homes and may take his pitch directly to the casket makers.