vehicle lettering.
A lettered van is seen thousands of times a day, with no media budget. Logo, contact details and key message cut in automotive-grade vinyl and applied to your vehicle in our workshop. The essentials of visibility, without covering the entire bodywork.
Vehicle lettering answers one simple question: what should someone remember after seeing you for three seconds at a red light? Usually a trade, a name and a number. We build the layout around those three pieces of information, taking account of the vehicle's actual shapes: ribs, handles and windows cut through words if they are ignored.
Application takes place in the workshop, on cleaned and degreased bodywork, at a controlled temperature: that is what makes it last. The vinyl comes off cleanly when you sell the vehicle, without damaging the original paint.
Adding a vehicle in six months' time? We keep your cutting files: the new one will be identical to the previous ones, with no need to start from scratch.
from the vehicle template to the application.
questions we are asked.
Is lettering really enough, or do I need to wrap the whole van?
Lettering carries what matters: your logo, your trade, your phone number. It goes straight onto the bodywork as it is, takes half a day to fit and comes off later without damaging the original paint. A full wrap changes the vehicle's colour and covers every panel, which means more preparation and a longer stay in the workshop. If your van is already the right colour, lettering is enough.
What can people actually read when they pull up beside me at a red light?
Three things, no more: your trade, your name, your number. Drivers see your van side-on, at a distance, for a few seconds. We size the letters for that distance and keep the message on flat panels, away from body lines and handles, which chop words in half. A full address or a list of services simply cannot be read at that speed.
If I buy a second van next year, can it be made to match?
Yes. We keep the cutting files for your lettering from one vehicle to the next. If the second van is the same model, we work straight from those files and there is no artwork to redraw. A different shape needs the layout adapting to the panels it has, keeping the same letter sizes, colours and proportions. Both vans then read as one fleet.
When I sell the van on, what state will the paint be in?
No different from the day the lettering went on. The film comes off without damaging the original paint, and the manufacturer's warranty on the vehicle is unaffected. Underneath, the paintwork is exactly as it was: you hand over a plain van, with no trace of your business and nothing to put right. Removal is done in the workshop, like the fitting. Tell us when a sale is coming up and we will book it in.
Could the lettering be a problem at the technical inspection?
No, provided nothing that has to stay visible is covered. Nothing goes over the plates, the lights, the mirrors or the windscreen, and the manufacturer's own markings are left clear. Lettering sits on the bodywork; it does not alter the vehicle itself. If your trade calls for regulatory markings, tell us before we draw the artwork and they are built into the layout.
How long does it last before it fades and starts to peel?
Five to ten years, depending on the film fitted. Fitting is done in the workshop, on bodywork that has been washed and degreased, at a controlled temperature. How long lettering lasts is decided there as much as by the film itself. Blackbee is a 3M Select Graphic Provider, an approval that covers graphic films. We confirm the period that applies to your vehicle before any work starts.