62 www.signlink.co.uk Issue 258 - April / May 2025 services in the wrap industry has led to more companies being able to pick up the skills of the trade, thereby boosting its popularity. As he puts it: “Over the last few years there has been a lack of training for the wrap industry and it has been very much a self-taught trade, requiring lots of personal time and money to learn this skill. “Now there are many centres around the country offering both single brand and multi brand training, meaning the new generation of wrap installers can have access to a structured learning process with genuine ‘on the job’ practice.” Just within the last few months, vehicle wrapping events, workshops, and learning centres have been opened by the likes of Avery Dennison, PressOn Automotive, and Make it Happen, expanding the number of professionals who can learn the trade. Bell also highlights the importance of technological advancements in wrapping materials as important in increasing its popularity. He disagrees with what he sees as a general opinion that the sector has been relatively static or unchanged in its core offerings, saying: “Although the view from the outside looking into this industry might make it seem like not much has changed, there have been some really major advancements in technology and product. “There has been serious development into higher gloss finished materials, as well as the development of glue structures that make for faster and easier application. Innovative companies have also created new tools that help the installer achieve techniques that could not happen without these products.” A new addition from APA for 2025 is the PowerJet line, a highly conformable set of cast adhesive films designed to increase the efficiency and quality of wrapping and digital printing. The materials, which were first announced in November of 2024, use ▲ Metamark’s MDC premium cast wrapping film features its patented easyhandling adhesive – MetaGlide practices. “Wrapping exerts further pressures of the material chosen. In printing, ink-loads tend to be high to achieve the poppy colours people want, and the material is elongated and heated during application and applied in the stressed state.” According to Duffy, only specialist materials with proven track records can be relied upon for applications such as vehicle fleet graphics which have a high potential cost of reapplication. She continues: “Choosing cheaper alternatives is a lottery that may deliver a very small win in terms of savings, but that often involves loss due to poor performance and disappointed customers.” Metamark offers a range of printable wrapping films as part of its MD-Class Digital Materials portfolio, which seek to offer high print capability and durability. Among these is MDC, Metamark’s premium cast wrapping film, which features a patented easy-handling adhesive, MetaGlide. For those looking for coloured films for vehicle wrapping, Metamark also offers its MetaCast MCX series, which offers a colour space specially curated by Metamark for automotive application. According to Duffy, the colour range of MCX was chosen with classic, timeless cars in mind. She explains: “It forsakes faddish, fashion colours for established and contemporary instant classics that flatter any vehicle.” Finnish giant, UPM Raflatac, recently purchased Metamark in a deal worth a reported £146m, with the aim of accelerating UPM’s growth into the graphics sector. With this in mind, it would seem that more news of products and innovations from Metamark or its new parent company may be on the way soon. A Persistent Advancement Dave Bell, business development specialist at APA UK, points to the increasing accessibility of training as being key to the growing popularity of wrapping services. According to Bell, an upsurge in training ▼ APA’s PowerJet line is designed to increase the quality of digitally printed wrapping WRAPPING MATERIALS
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