A vehicle wrap rarely goes wrong on the van. It goes wrong in the file. Artwork built at the wrong resolution, a logo in RGB, a design laid out on a rectangle instead of the actual body of a 2024 Transit — those are the problems that turn up at proof stage, and they are the ones that move a Nashville install date.

Big Visual Group has been wrapping vehicles since 1998, and the shop publishes its file specifications openly. This is what those specifications mean when the surface is a cargo van, a box truck, a trailer or a tour bus, and what to hand over if you want the first proof to be close.

Why a wrap file is not a poster file

A poster is flat, one size, and read from a fixed distance. A wrap is none of those things. The artwork has to survive being cut into panels, stretched over a curve, tucked around a door edge and trimmed at a handle. It is viewed from forty feet in traffic and from three feet in a parking lot.

That is why the file submission guidelines give vehicles their own resolution band, their own bleed and their own color rules. A file that is technically beautiful at 300 ppi in RGB is still the wrong file for a wrap.

Start with a template for the exact make and model

Design on a template, not a sketch. A van side is not a rectangle: it has a shoulder crease, a sliding door gap, a fuel door, badges and a wheel arch, and the panel seams fall where they fall regardless of where your logo wants to be.

If you have your own design team, Big Visual Group’s concepting and design team will generate that template for you: they photograph the vehicle, take measurements and build a template for the exact make and model. The same service covers large interior spaces with intricate design needs.

Note that the templates published on the templates page are for display systems — banner stands, hop-ups and linear kits — not vehicles. Vehicle templates are made per vehicle, which is the only way the panel breaks land in the right place.

Resolution: build it for the viewing distance, not for the file size

The guidelines set resolution by application, measured at final size. Vehicle graphics, wall graphics and window graphics all share one band: no less than 50 ppi and no more than 100 ppi. Both ends of that band are real. The floor protects the detail; the ceiling keeps you from shipping a file that is far larger than the output needs.

The pattern is viewing distance. A billboard is read from hundreds of feet, so 25 ppi is enough. A business card is read from twelve inches, so it needs 150 to 300. A wrap sits in between, which is why 50 to 100 ppi at full vehicle size is the band — and why a 300 ppi file of a van is not a better file, just a bigger one.

Scale the file down, and label the scale

Nobody builds a full-size box truck panel at 1:1 in Illustrator. The guidelines accept four scales and only four: 100 percent (1:1), 50 percent (1:2), 25 percent (1:4) or 10 percent (1:10). When you supply a scaled file, the scale has to be noted on it. An unlabeled file at an odd scale is the single easiest way to get a proof back at the wrong size.

Scaling down also scales your effective resolution, so raster images need compensating. The guidelines give the arithmetic: if a file is at 1:10 and you want 100 ppi at final size, the artwork at 1:10 needs to be 1,000 ppi. Vector art and outlined type do not have this problem, which is one more reason to keep logos and lettering as vectors.

Three inches of bleed, on every edge

Bleed varies by product, and a wrap asks for the most of any job the shop runs:

• Wrap — 3 inches, all sides. The print has to carry well past the edge of the panel it covers, because a wrap panel gets tucked, wrapped and trimmed in place rather than cut to a line.
• Fabric and vinyl — 1 inch, all sides. This is the band for most custom banners and soft goods.
• Rigid and small format — 0.25 inch, all sides.

Bleed must always be included. It is not optional, and it is not something the shop can invent for you without guessing what should be at the edge of your design.

Color: CMYK and Pantone Solid Coated, nothing else

This is where brand files most often fight the printer. The rules are short:

• Work in CMYK and Pantone Solid Coated values only. The print software reads Pantone Solid Coated fills, and that is what holds color accuracy.
• Do not convert Pantone spot colors to their CMYK builds. Converting throws away the information the software is looking for.
• Do not use custom named spot colors. A swatch called “Company Blue” means nothing downstream.
• Pantone Uncoated, Pantone CVC and the other libraries do not carry the same accuracy. Solid Coated is the one.
• RGB files are accepted, but they risk a color or profile shift. The default working color space is U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2.
• Some Pantone Solid Coated colors cannot be achieved in process printing at all. Worth knowing before you promise a brand team an exact match.
• Do not set objects to overprint unless the design department asks for it, and strip crop marks, trim marks, registration marks, color bars and page information out of the submitted file.

Big Visual Group is G7 Master certified for color accuracy. If your wrap is color critical — a fleet that has to match painted vehicles, or a brand with a single recognizable color — ask for an actual material sample or a Catzper color grid chart for a Pantone match before production rather than after install. Printed samples, proofs and color matching services carry an additional charge and additional turnaround time, so raise them early, while the schedule still has room.

File formats, fonts and the content proof

Accepted formats, in the shop’s order of preference: PDF saved at Press Quality, then TIF, EPS, INDD, AI, PSD. Certain formats suit certain jobs, and the sales consultant will tell you which one your wrap wants if you are unsure.

Two things travel with the file. First, fonts and links: embed or include every linked image, and outline your fonts — outlining is preferred — or include them. The Package command in Illustrator or InDesign does both jobs in one step. Second, a proof: every submission should include a low-resolution PDF or JPG content proof of the art, so there is no argument later about what you intended to send. Finished files go through file submit.

Full wrap, partial wrap or decals — the file changes

How much of the vehicle you are covering changes the artwork, not just the price. A full wrap is designed across the whole body as one image. A partial wrap is designed to end somewhere deliberate, which means the paint color becomes part of the composition. Cut decals and lettering are not printed artwork at all in the same sense — they are shapes, and they need clean vector paths.

If you are still deciding, three posts cover the trade-offs in detail: full wraps, partial wraps and decals compared, the Tennessee buyer’s guide to wraps, fleet graphics and decals, and car decals in Nashville. For lettering only, see vinyl lettering in Nashville.

The vehicle itself matters too. Big Visual Group wraps cars, trucks from short-bed Chevys to 18-wheelers, buses, trailers, boats — the vinyl is specified to hold up in freshwater and saltwater marine environments — and one-off vehicles including Zambonis and golf carts. The shop also wraps things that are not vehicles at all, such as guitars and drums, which in Nashville is a more common request than it sounds.

If you do not have artwork yet

Plenty of fleet jobs start with a logo and nothing else. The in-house team covers that end: creative concepting, print design, logo design and brand standards development, with designers who work on the brand rather than just the panel. Every project also goes through pre-press, where designers assess and pre-press the files to the correct specifications before printing or fabrication begins.

If the wrap is one piece of a larger program — vehicles plus window graphics, plus wall graphics, plus architectural signage at the building — say so at the first conversation. The color conversation is much easier to have once across a whole program than four times in sequence.

What happens after the file is approved

A sales consultant manages the project from beginning to end, so the person who takes your call is the person accountable for the schedule. Through the online customer portal you can track progress, view proofs, submit change requests and approvals, reorder and pay, which is covered under consultation and management.

Printing and fabrication happen at the Antioch facility — see production and fabrication — and the crew that applies the vinyl handles installation and fulfillment. The whole sequence is set out on our process.

On warranty: all custom vehicle wraps are covered under the 3M MCS Warranty, and the shop is 3M certified. Fleet vehicle wrap programs run locally and nationally, which matters if your vehicles are not all parked in Davidson County. For how long a wrap should last once it is on, see commercial vehicle wrap lifespan in Nashville and the best vinyl materials for vehicle wraps.

Send this with your quote request

Seven things move a wrap from a conversation to a proof:

• The year, make, model and body style of every vehicle, and a note on any that differ.
• Photographs of each vehicle from the front three-quarter, both sides and the rear.
• Your logo as vector artwork, with Pantone Solid Coated values.
• Whether you want a full wrap, a partial wrap, or decals and lettering.
• Any text that has to appear by rule — a USDOT number, a license number, a phone number.
• Whether the vehicles can be off the road together, or have to go through in batches.
• The date the vehicles need to be back in service.

Read the file submission guidelines before you build the art, and the FAQ for the short answers. Big Visual Group designs, prints and installs from 5764 Crossings Blvd in Antioch, southeast of downtown Nashville. Request a quote or call 615-731-3700.

Frequently asked questions

What resolution should vehicle wrap artwork be?

No less than 50 ppi and no more than 100 ppi at final size. If you are supplying a scaled file, multiply: artwork at 1:10 needs 1,000 ppi to land at 100 ppi full size. Vector art and outlined type are resolution independent and avoid the question entirely.

How much bleed does a vehicle wrap need?

Three inches on all sides — the largest bleed of any product the shop runs. Fabric and vinyl take 1 inch, rigid and small format take 0.25 inch. Bleed must always be included in the submitted file.

What file format should I send for a wrap?

PDF saved at Press Quality is preferred, followed by TIF, EPS, INDD, AI and PSD. Embed or include all linked images, outline or include all fonts, use the Package command in Illustrator or InDesign, and include a low-resolution PDF or JPG content proof of the art.

Will the wrap match our brand color exactly?

Work in CMYK and Pantone Solid Coated values, leave spot colors unconverted, and avoid custom named swatches. Big Visual Group is G7 Master certified for color accuracy. Some Pantone Solid Coated colors are not achievable in process printing, so for a color-critical fleet request a material sample or a Catzper color grid chart before production. Samples and color matching services carry an additional charge and turnaround time.

Can you build the wrap template if we do our own design?

Yes. The design team will photograph the vehicle, take measurements and create a template for the exact make and model, then hand it to your designers. That is the same service used for large interior spaces with intricate design needs.

The file is the job

Everything a wrap is judged on — whether the logo lands between the door gaps, whether the blue is your blue, whether the panel reads from across the parking lot — is decided before anything is printed. Get the template, the resolution, the bleed and the color right, and the install is the easy part. Get them wrong and the van sits in Antioch while the artwork goes back.