Jason Carolla is a vinyl installer and the owner of Studio Graphics in Montreal, Quebec, and in 2017, he joined our ranks of Certified Wrap Installers. We talked with him about what it means to be certified and his appreciation of Avery Dennison films and Wrap Classes. See what he had to say.
What's your history with Avery Dennison?
Jason: I own a company that does wide format printing, design and graphic installations. We started using Avery Dennison mainly in the capacity of 900 Super Cast Series Films due to the outstanding color selection. After working with Groupe PolyAlto, a local distributor in Quebec, they introduced us to the ease of installation and print quality of Avery Dennison films. We found the Avery Dennison MPI 1105 printed better than other materials we were using with our equipment. This compatibility allowed for our intermediate installers to be able to install jobs at the same level as our more experienced installers. With an increased speed of installation as well, the films allow for a positive impact on our bottom line. We now have cleaner applications, and they’ve been easier to use in teaching newer installers how to wrap properly.
How did you decide to take a wrap class?
Jason: When we began to work with Francine Marquis at PolyAlto, she mentioned that an Avery Dennison Wrap Class was coming up in our area. We figured it would be helpful to know more about how the films should be installed, since we liked handling them and had noticed that they printed really well. I signed up for the course to learn more about the film itself, but it was a really nice bonus to see that Justin Pate would be present.
What did you learn?
Jason: Wrap Classes are important for people who want to know how to get the most out of Avery Dennison products. You get to see how to work with films using the best techniques, like cold stretch, which is something you don’t get to do with every brand of vinyl. Once you become more knowledgeable about using the film, it’s more fun and more rewarding to install it. Seeing what Avery Dennison products can do throughout the course and getting the chance to work with Justin were all the convincing I needed to switch to their digital films and to pursue certification.
What does being Avery Dennison Certified mean to you?
Jason: I took the 2017 Certification Exam in April, and it was a bit beyond my capabilities the first time. I’m glad I didn’t give up. After doing more practice with the material, I sharpened my skills and passed in November. I really gained a lot of experience with the work I did in between, and I learned things I would have otherwise missed out on if I would have passed the first time around. Being a Certified Wrap Installer gives you an extra badge of recognition when you’re trying to network for new business, and it helps your online exposure, too. We were recently added to the Wrapper Mapper map.
Certification gives you three things: confidence, knowledge and accreditation in the industry.
Overcoming the challenges of the test shows that you know what you’re doing. When people see it as one of your credentials, it can open new doors. Potential customers know what kind of work you can do and that they will get a wrap that’s at a certain level. The degree of difficulty in the testing phase makes the certification more prestigious, and it’s a badge that i am particularly proud to post next to our brand logo.
If you’re an installer like Jason, you know how valuable it is to earn respect and recognition in the competitive field of vehicle wraps. See the kind of work Jason’s shop does at http://studiographics.ca, and register today for one of our Wrap Classes or Certification Exams across North America at http://avydn.co/WrapClass.
