Vehicle signage sizes, letter heights and artwork files

In Australia. We supply artwork only, so there are no city versions: the same files go to a signwriter in any Australian town, who measures the vehicle before cutting.

Vehicle signage at a glance

Dual cab ute side	1900 × 700mm
Van side panel	2200 × 900mm
Box trailer side	1800 × 600mm
Lettering	5.6mm of capital height per metre of reading distance
Ute door name	capitals of at least 140mm, read from 25m
Ute door phone number	capitals of at least 118mm, read from 21m
Cut vinyl	nothing finer than 2mm, 4 colours at most, no gradients or photographs
Our artwork	$199 for all 7 panels: SVG per panel, PNG at 2000px wide, signwriter spec sheet

The measurements our vehicle template is built on: panel sizes, letter heights by reading distance, the limits of cut vinyl, and what to hand your signwriter.

What size are vehicle signage panels?

A dual cab ute side is typically 1900 × 700mm, a van side 2200 × 900mm and a trailer side 1800 × 600mm, and the table gives every panel our vehicle template draws. They are not exact for your vehicle. A HiLux, a Ranger and a Triton are three different rectangles, and a signwriter measures the vehicle in front of them before cutting anything. Use the figures to plan and to judge what will fit, then let the measured panel decide.

Film and printing are usually priced by area, so the area column is a fair guide to where the money goes on a job.

What the artwork has to work around

Door handles, fuel caps, wheel arches and glass all sit inside a panel's outline, and vinyl over any of them either will not stick or has to be cut through. Artwork is kept clear of them.

Door shuts are handled differently. Artwork can run across a shut, and the installer slits the film along it on the vehicle so the doors still open. On a dual cab ute side that cut falls between the front and rear doors, and on van rear doors it falls down the split. The spec sheet in our vehicle files states where each cut falls.

Vinyl applied right to the edge of a panel lifts, so artwork also stops short of every edge: 42mm on a ute side, 45mm on a van side and 36mm on a trailer side.

How tall should lettering be on a vehicle?

The rule we work to is 5.6mm of capital height for every metre of reading distance. It is a design convention rather than a standard. It is more generous than the figures used for highway signs, which assume a driver who is looking for the sign and strong contrast between the letters and the background. Your own colours may not give you that contrast.

The business name and the phone number are held to different distances. A name can be recognised by its shape from across an intersection. A phone number has to be read digit by digit, usually by somebody who has pulled in closer or is taking a photo, so it is judged at a shorter distance.

Below 118mm on a ute door, a phone number can no longer be read from 21m, which is the distance we hold contact details to on that panel.

Should you use cut vinyl or printed wrap?

Use cut vinyl for flat-colour lettering and simple marks in up to 4 colours, and printed wrap for anything with photographs, gradients or transparency. Cut vinyl is lettering and shapes cut by a blade from sheets of coloured film. After cutting, the waste film is picked out by hand, which signwriters call weeding. Printed wrap is ink printed on to film, which is then applied as a sheet.

Cut vinyl has limits that come from the process, and a file that breaks them goes back to you:

• No gradients. A blade cuts an edge. It cannot cut a blend from one colour to another.
• No photographs. A photograph is printed or it is not used.
• No partial transparency. Film is on the panel or it is not.
• Nothing finer than 2mm on the finished panel. Below that the waste tears when it is weeded, and thin gaps close up when the film is pressed on to a curved panel.
• 4 colours at most. Each colour is a separate sheet, cut, weeded and applied by hand in register. Two is routine and three is normal. Past that, a printed wrap is usually cheaper and better.

Printed wrap has none of those limits, and it is the only choice for photographs and gradients. For a business name, a line of services and a phone number in two colours, cut vinyl is the common choice.

Our vehicle template draws for either. You choose the production mode in the editor, and in cut vinyl mode the panels are set in flat colour. Our production checks hold every cut vinyl panel to the limits above before the template is published, and the spec sheet in your files states which mode the artwork was made for.

What does a signwriter need from you?

Vector artwork for each panel, the production mode, your colours as values, where any seam falls, and the letter heights the layout needs.

• Vector artwork for each panel. Vector can be cut or printed at any size without going soft.
• The production mode. Cut vinyl or printed wrap, and for cut vinyl, which film colours.
• Your colours as values. A hex or CMYK value, rather than a description.
• Where any seam falls. If artwork crosses a door shut or the split in a pair of rear doors, where the film will be cut.
• The letter heights the layout needs. So they can check it still reads once it is fitted to your measured panel.

They will measure the vehicle themselves. Supplying artwork at a stated size with a note to confirm against the measured panel is how the trade works, and a signwriter who is handed a figure presented as exact will find out it is not at the worst possible moment.

What file format does a signwriter need?

Supply vector: SVG, EPS, AI, or a PDF with the type converted to outlines. A JPEG or a PNG is a picture of the artwork. A cutter cannot follow it, and a large-format printer has to enlarge it until it blurs.

Our vehicle template exports an SVG for each of its 7 panels, a transparent PNG of each panel at 2000px wide for proofs and quoting, and a plain-text spec sheet for the signwriter. The spec sheet gives each panel's size, the letter heights the artwork sets and the distance each reads from, where any seam cut falls, and which production mode it was made for. If your signwriter's software needs a vector format other than SVG, ask them before you buy.

How much does vehicle signage cost?

We cannot give you an installed price. Signwriters price from the vehicle in front of them, and the figure changes with the region, the film, the vehicle and how much of it is covered.

What changes the price:

• Area covered. A van side is 1.98 m² and a dual cab ute side 1.33 m², before anything goes on the back.
• Cut vinyl or printed wrap, and for cut vinyl the number of colours, since each one is cut, weeded and applied separately.
• The vehicle itself. Deep recesses, curves and trim take longer to fit around.
• Removing old graphics before the new ones go on.
• Preparing the artwork, if the file you supply is not ready to cut or print.

We sell the artwork. The vehicle template is $199 for all 7 panels, and the files are ready for a signwriter when you download them.

Can vehicle signage be removed?

Yes. Vehicle vinyl is made to come off, and how cleanly it comes off depends on the film, how long it has been on and the condition of the paint underneath, so removal is quoted by an installer who can see the vehicle. If the vehicle is leased or you plan to sell it, tell your signwriter before they quote, because it can change the film they recommend.

Is vehicle signage an asset or an expense?

That depends on your business structure, what the signage cost and how the vehicle is used. It is a question for your accountant or the Australian Taxation Office, and we are not the right people to answer it. What we can tell you is what you buy from us: artwork, sold as a one-off digital purchase with GST included in the price.

Does BrandLaunch install vehicle signage?

No. We supply the artwork, and we do not install signage or quote installation. Any signwriter or wrap installer can fit our files. If you need somebody to fit signage in your area, look for a local signwriter and hand them the files and the spec sheet from your purchase.

The same measurements sit behind our signage templates for shopfronts, A-frames, banners and site signs. For a logo that has to survive on a van door and at a favicon's size, the guide to minimum logo sizes covers the small end.

Common questions

What size is a ute door for signage?

A typical dual cab ute side, across both doors, is 1900 × 700mm. Models differ, so treat that as a planning figure and let your signwriter measure the vehicle before anything is cut. A ute tailgate is typically 1400 × 450mm.

How big should lettering be on a vehicle?

Allow 5.6mm of capital height for every metre the lettering will be read from. A business name on a ute door, read from about 25m, wants capitals of at least 140mm. A van side, read from about 30m, wants 168mm.

Is cut vinyl or printed wrap better for a work vehicle?

Cut vinyl suits flat-colour lettering and simple marks in up to 4 colours, with nothing finer than 2mm. Anything with a gradient, a photograph or transparency has to be a printed wrap.

How much does vehicle signage cost?

Installed prices are set by the signwriter who sees your vehicle, and they change with the area covered, cut vinyl or printed wrap, the number of colours, the vehicle's shape and whether old graphics have to come off first. We sell the artwork, not the installation.

Can vehicle signage be removed?

Yes. Vehicle vinyl is made to come off, and how cleanly depends on the film, its age and the paint underneath. An installer who can see the vehicle quotes removal. Tell your signwriter up front if the vehicle is leased or will be sold.

Is vehicle signage an asset or an expense for tax?

It depends on your business structure, the cost and how the vehicle is used. Ask your accountant or the Australian Taxation Office.