Vinyl bus wrap goes on historic tour

In 1787, Northern and Southern states at odds over slavery fought over whether slaves would be counted as persons for tax distribution and apportionment of representatives to the U.S. Congress. The compromise: only three-fifths of slaves would be counted. Documentary filmmaker and high-school teacher Eric Williams saw a teachable moment in the election of President Barack Obama and raised donations to film a 1,900-mile bus trip from Dallas to Washington, D.C., for eight De Soto Middle School students taking part in the historic inauguration. Donors included 360 Wraps, a Dallas, Texas, firm that designed, printed and installed a whole-bus graphic wrap, as well as Avery Dennison Graphics and Reflective Products Division, Painesville, Ohio, which donated 800 square feet of printable vinyl.

The motor coach, seen by an estimated four million people on its tour through sites of African-American history, served as promotional billboard, filmmaking lab and history class for the students. The resulting film, “Three-Fifths: Countdown to History,” shows the students stopping at Little Rock High School, the King Center in Atlanta and former stations on the Underground Railroad. The Avery MPI 1005 Easy Apply RS™ conformed to the motor coach’s complex curves and rivets and was installed without damaging original paint, while the company’s DOL 1360 Gloss overlaminate gave the graphics a glossy finish. Find out more at www.averygraphics.com.