13 Food Truck Wraps Good Enough to Eat
In case you weren’t aware, it’s no easy thing launching a food truck business. Food Truck Nation says the average cost of starting a food truck is $50,000 to $60,000. Moreover, you’ll need to acquire more than 40 government-mandated permits before you can operate legally. Yeesh. Nonetheless, it’s a competitive space, which is why some food truck owners smartly invest in making their rolling lunch wagons look as appetizing as possible. Enter the vehicle wrapper, who serves up the style that food trucks need to swallow up the competition, as seen in the following examples.
Northbound Smokehouse Brewpub
Creative Color (Burnsville, MN)
You’ll notice this is Creative Color’s third appearance in this gallery, and for good reason. This vibrant, outdoor-themed wrap was produced using an HP Latex L28500 printer, 3M IJ180Cv3 vinyl and 3M Scotchcal 8518 Overlaminate.
Marcel’s Belgian Waffles
Arizona Color Wraps (Phoenix)
Arizona Color produced the graphics using Avery Dennison Graphics Solutions’ Supercast MPI 1005 Easy Apply RS air-release media, which it decorated using its HP 260 latex-ink printer. A Seal 54-in. laminator was used to apply Avery’s DOL 1360 glossy laminate to preserve the wrap’s verdant hue.
El Jefe
Creative Color (Burnsville, MN)
This taco truck is giving off Day of the Dead vibes with an artful skull, hinting at its menu with barn animal illustrations. The graphics were produced using an HP Latex L28500 printer, 3M IJ180Cv3 vinyl, 3M Scotchcal 8518 Overlaminate.
Souped Up
Streamline Designs (North Tonawanda, NY)
The client came to Streamline with a vision of a 1950s comic book, and the shop turned around a design that went on to claim Mobile Cuisine’s prize for 2017 Best Food Truck Graphic Design. The graphics were printed on a Roland Soljet Pro 4 XR-640, wrapped with 3M Controltac IJ180Cv3, and laminated with 3M Scotchcal Gloss Overlaminate 8518.
Two Awkward Birds
Wraps for Less (Orlando)
An old Airstream trailer was given the look of newly polished chrome, via wrap, thanks to 3M’s Wrap Film Series 2080 Gloss Silver Chrome. The shop then added a border of water and grass along the bottom of the Airstream using Arlon Graphics SLX+ to save money and give it a distinctive look.
Sweet Cheeks Snowballs
Absolute Perfection Inc. (Sykesville, MD)
This client liked the retro vibe Volkswagens evoke, so the shop paired Sweet Cheeks’ playful color scheme with a pin-up vibe for a savory result.
Carolina Blue Smokehouse & Taproom
Designer Wraps (Pitman, NJ)
The wrap design for the client’s truck, aptly named “Baby Blue,” required creating “real-looking” stacked firewood on its back end, a nod to the restaurant’s actual smokehouse. The wrap was printed on a MUTOH Eco-Solvent printer using Avery Dennison 1105 EZ RS film with DOL 1360Z laminate, then installed over the course of two days.
Taco Monster
TNT Customs Graphics and Signs (Red Deer County, AB, Canada)
The shop transformed this trailer with a client-provided design, printing it with a top-of-the-line Roland DG TrueVIS VG-640 wide-format printer.
Baldy’s BBQ
Creative Color (Burnsville, MN)
The design team completed the wrap’s rendering using Adobe Illustrator, and the Creative Color Studio generated the wrap with 3M Controltac IJ180-10C media that was decorated on an HP DesignJet L28500 latex-ink printer. Scotchcal 8518 glossy overlaminate will keep the swine smiling for several years.
Taste Buds
Canawrap Imaging Inc. (New Westminster, BC, Canada)
The client needed a visual identity created as they were a new business and served only private movie sets, so Canawrap learned who Taste Buds was as a service provider in order to apply fitting visual details. The brightly colored wrap was produced with 3M materials and overlaminates.
Sweet Jazz Treats Bakery
Paradise Graphix (Monroe, OH)
Professional photos taken of the bakery’s creations were incorporated into the wrap’s design, printed and installed in-house using Avery Dennison MPI 1105 Super Cast Film material and 1360Z overlaminate, then printed on their Epson large-format printer.
HAPA SF
Custom Vehicle Wraps (San Francisco)
A 600-sq.-ft. wrap that prominently announces the Filipino delicacy of sisig – a pork, jalapeno and lime concoction – was printed with a Mimaki JV3-160SP solvent-ink printer and top-coated with 3M’s 8519 Luster-Finish Overlaminate.