At the start of 2022, many of you may recall that Kate and Shaun, the directors of The Sign Maker, embarked on an exciting new journey by acquiring WheelCover.com. They purchased the company from Ian, who had been supplying us with blank wheel covers that we enhanced with our graphics. If you’d like to learn more about the history of WheelCover.com, be sure to check out our previous blog on our main site by clicking here.
Since taking over the company nearly two years ago, we have significantly expanded our selection of wheel covers. With so many options available, it can sometimes be challenging to determine which one suits your needs—whether for personal use or trade. To simplify your choices, we’ve created this handy guide to help you select the perfect cover.
We often use industry-specific terms like cut vinyl, full wrap, and screen printed, which may be unfamiliar unless you're in the trade. So, let’s break those down for you.
Semi-Rigid Covers vs. Soft Covers
Semi-rigid covers feature a hard plastic centre and a soft material skirt. The rigid centre has a flat front and gently curved edges. We utilise high-quality vinyl fabric to create the skirt, which is sewn onto the rigid plastic here at our facility. A bungee cord is integrated into the skirt, allowing for a secure fit over your wheel. The hard plastic has a glossy finish, and we stock a wide range of semi-rigid wheel cover sizes to accommodate many wheel types. Occasionally, we encounter unique sizes that we don’t stock, which is where our soft wheel covers come into play.
Our soft covers are crafted entirely from the same high-quality vinyl fabric used in the skirts of our semi-rigid wheel covers. Our skilled seamstresses meticulously sew these covers to ensure they are of excellent quality.
Cut Vinyl Wheel Covers
Cut vinyl involves using a plotter cutter machine to create lettering or images from a single colour of durable vinyl, available in a wide range of colours. This adhesive-backed vinyl is applied to the flat section of the semi-rigid wheel covers. While designs can incorporate multiple colours, they typically consist of silhouette-style images. This method is highly effective for straightforward designs and is a popular choice for business wheel covers, but it is only available for semi-rigid options.
Screen Printed Covers
A step up from cut vinyl are screen-printed covers. This traditional technique yields long-lasting designs applicable to both semi-rigid and soft wheel covers. Although the setup for screen printing is more complex—requiring a minimum order of 25—it results in a tougher, more seamless finish, making it an ideal option for garages.
Printed Wheel Covers
For those wanting more intricate designs or photographs on their wheel covers, our printed wheel covers are the best choice. Our designer can work with your provided artwork or create a unique design from scratch. The design is printed, and our vinyl team then laminates it for enhanced durability. This printed design is applied to the flat section of the semi-rigid wheel covers, while the outer curved edges remain unprinted. We also offer printed designs for soft wheel covers, applying and laminating them for longevity.
Full Wrap
Full wraps for wheel covers are akin to car wrapping, but exclusively available for our semi-rigid options. We can provide everything from simple one-color wraps to fully printed designs. Unlike our printed wheel covers, where only the flat section is printed, a full wrap covers the entire hard plastic part of the wheel cover. This choice is perfect if you prefer to eliminate the visible black gloss ring around your design.
A particularly popular option is a matte black full wrap, topped with cut vinyl lettering in a glossy finish. This combination looks striking, especially with white cut vinyl on top or for a more subtle effect, black gloss vinyl.
Order your wheel cover today by clicking here.