Wide-format printer MediaCo has used HP Latex technology to help VR Motorsport create a new car design celebrating female racing drivers.
VR Motorsport, founded ten years ago by Vincent Randall, kicked off the season at the Croft Circuit in July with a freshly wrapped Praga R1 racing car, featuring a design commissioned by Motorsport Woman to call attention to female drivers.
Dubbed the ‘art car’, the wrap is based on a 2D piece by artist Cain Caser that was transformed into a 3D wrap by MediaCo.
Mr Randall is also one of the founders and directors of MediaCo, so the project was a natural collaboration. The company produces products including exhibition graphics, retail signage and wallpaper at its 36,000sqft facility in Manchester. It was a HP Latex 3600, installed this year, that was selected to produce the full-colour vehicle wrap.
‘HP Latex inks don’t affect the surface of the material you’re printing on, so if you’re using glossy film for a vehicle wrap then it will stay glossy,’ explained Mr Randall. ‘The inks are also very flexible, which is essential for wrapping cars like the Praga R1 which has a distinctive contoured chassis.’
The uniformity of finish and colour were important to replicate the artist’s original painting, in particular the intricate brushwork. It was not possible to scan the painting, so MediaCo’s graphic artists worked from hundreds of photographs to render the image. The project – including printing by the MediaCo team, wrapping by Visionary Graphics and delivery to Croft – was completed in just one week.
MediaCo was first attracted to HP Latex for its environmental benefits, having already invested in an HP Stitch S1000 for textile work and achieving ‘stunning results.’
‘Sustainability is the future of print,’ Mr Randall finished. ‘MediaCo was the first print company to achieve ISO 14001 in the UK, so we were very impressed by the story of HP and by the environmental credentials of HP Latex and Stitch.’
