On Oct. 10, large-format printing experts from Roland DGA Corp. will come together with big rig customization shop Outcast Kustoms, Mooresville, N.C., for a one-day event focused on bringing the latest digital printing technologies to the fleet management industry.
The 2013 Fleet Maintenance Council Meeting, held this year at Outcast Kustoms, is expected to draw dozens of fleet managers from the nation’s largest trucking companies for an afternoon of education and demonstrations on the art and business of fleet wrapping.
“According to the American Trucking Association, more than 3.1 million professional truck drivers log close to 398 billion miles each year in the U.S. alone,” said April Locklear, who co-owns Outcast Kustoms with her husband, Kelvin. “And while commercial vehicles present a tremendous opportunity for companies to advertise their products, the vast majority of these trucks sport very little in the way of design elements, a logo at best. Our customers enjoy a distinct marketing advantage on the road by coming to us and investing in digitally printed fleet graphics. Every truck, bus or RV we see pulls into our shop as a blank canvas and rolls out of here a traveling billboard.”
Working primarily with trucking industry leaders such as Ryder, Penske, Salem Leasing, Estes, Budget and Freightliner, the Outcast Kustoms team design, print and install graphics on everything from box trucks to 18-wheelers for some of the world’s most popular brands. Outcast Kustoms has two facilities totaling more than 66,000 square feet. The magnitude of each project and the artistry involved are so unique and intriguing that the Discovery Channel’s Velocity Network has given them their own reality TV show, simply titled “Outcast Kustoms.”
Outcast Kustoms relies on a digital workflow, including digital printing equipment from Roland. Recently, the Locklears installed one of Roland’s newest and most advanced printers for the vehicle graphics market, a 64-inch SOLJET Pro 4 XR-640 large format color printer/cutter.
According to Andrew Oransky, senior director of marketing and product management for Roland DGA, “Outcast Kustoms is really one of the best shops in this business. Few companies can operate on such a grand scale and deliver the kind of results we see here. We look forward to meeting members of the Fleet Maintenance Council and to showing them all that our digital printing technologies have to offer.”