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Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2026-09-23 Origin: Site
When Australian fuel retailer Solo rolled out its station rebranding program, the company needed far more than ordinary decals. The project covered complete forecourt branding: an oversized feature wall graphic more than eight meters tall and eleven meters long, fuel grade decals for every dispenser, safety warning labels, and playful food-zone graphics for the Break Time convenience store. MAC Labels was selected to engineer, print, and deliver the entire graphic package. This case study explains the requirements, the material decisions, and the production techniques that made a nationwide fuel-station rebrand achievable from a single supplier.
Solo operates a chain of fuel and convenience stops across Australia, pairing its "Break Time" retail concept with forecourt fueling. A rebrand of this kind touches nearly every visible surface of a site: the canopy walls, the pumps, the storefront, and the food-service area inside. Because fuel stations run seven days a week, the graphics also had to be installed quickly, survive harsh outdoor conditions, and still look flawless up close.
Solo defined a demanding set of performance criteria before production began:
5+ years of outdoor UV resistance. Every graphic had to hold its color and structure through years of Australian sun.
Oil and stain resistance. Forecourt and food-zone surfaces are exposed to fuel vapors, grease, and frequent cleaning.
Gray opaque adhesive. The adhesive layer had to block out the colors and marks of the underlying panels so old surfaces would not show through the new graphics.
Air-egress adhesive channels. A patterned adhesive face lets installers squeegee out trapped air, which makes large-format application dramatically faster and cleaner.
Clean removability. When a future rebrand comes, the film must peel away without leaving adhesive residue on the substrate.
Extreme dimensions. Individual graphics exceeded 8 meters in height and 11 meters in length, far beyond any single printed panel.
To meet these requirements, MAC Labels matched Solo's functional specification to a proven material system: 3M IJ40C Controltac graphic film as the print substrate, 3M 8510 matte overlaminate as the protective top layer, and HP Latex inks for printing.
Each element solves a specific problem. The 3M IJ40C vinyl carries Controltac pressure-activated adhesive with air-release channels, directly addressing the covering, installation, and clean-removal requirements. The matte overlaminate adds a glare-free shield against UV exposure, abrasion, oil, and staining, which protects both the ink and the vinyl beneath it. HP Latex ink provides durable, water-resistant color output suited to long-term outdoor display. Together, the three components form a combination engineered for multi-year outdoor service rather than short-term promotion.
Wide-format printers have a physical width limit — roughly 1.5 meters of printable area in typical industry equipment. A single 8.1-meter by 5.4-meter wall graphic therefore cannot come off one printer pass. MAC Labels split Solo's artwork into a tiled panel layout, combining horizontal and vertical splicing so that every panel fits the printer while the assembled image stays continuous.
The goal of the layout work was simple to state and difficult to execute: the finished installation must read as one uninterrupted image, with no visible seams. That demands consistent color output across panels, precise alignment of continuous pattern elements — such as the flowing ribbon shapes in Solo's brand graphic — and disciplined panel numbering so installers can sequence the application correctly on site.
The full production schedule for the project covered thirteen distinct graphic items:
No. | Graphic | Size |
|---|---|---|
1 | Main brand wall graphic (ribbon pattern) | 8102 × 5400 mm |
2 | Horizontal brand banner strip | 11 m × 1 m |
3 | Ice cream cone graphic | 508 × 727 mm |
4 | Soft-serve graphic | 284 × 502 mm |
5 | Coffee cup graphic | 550 × 756 mm |
6 | Burrito and pie graphic | 2013 × 1137 mm |
7 | Cupcake and donut graphic | 1829 × 1039 mm |
8 | Sandwich graphic | 883 × 607 mm |
9 | "Treat Yourself to a Break Time!" bubble | 2335 × 1087 mm |
10 | Clock mascot graphic | 1470 × 1050 mm |
11 | Tile strip pattern | 950 × 1200 mm |
12 | Solid color stripe (roll stock) | 50 mm × 75 m |
13 | SOLO logo decal | 156 × 115 mm |
Not every graphic in the project was a full-coverage print. For the Break Time food area, Solo wanted decorative icons — ice cream, coffee, donuts, sandwiches — that would appear to float on the surface with no visible background edge. MAC Labels produced these elements as kiss-cut transparent graphics: the artwork is printed on clear film and cut precisely through the facestock while the liner stays intact, so each icon peels off as a clean individual shape.
The result inside the store is a graphic treatment that looks seamless and slightly dimensional, without the hard rectangular outline a square-cut decal would leave behind. Kiss-cutting also simplified installation: installers applied dozens of individual icons quickly, each one positioned exactly where the design called for it.
Fuel dispensers carry their own labeling obligations. The project included high-visibility grade decals — green Unleaded + E10 and orange Unleaded 91 — plus safety labels such as Stop Engine and No Smoking warnings. These small-format pieces must stay legible for years despite fuel splash, sunlight, and public handling, which is why they were produced on the same 3M film system as the large graphics. The 3M Scotchal film construction used for these labels provides the reflective-quality durability expected in forecourt environments.
Oversize panels are vulnerable in transit: a single crease can ruin a panel that took careful color matching to produce. MAC Labels packed the order in two formats depending on each item's dimensions — flat-sheet packaging for rigid-format panels and roll packaging for longer strips — so every item arrived 100% intact, free of impact marks and folds, and ready for immediate installation.
The Solo rebrand shows how a single converting partner can handle the full span of a fuel-station graphics program: engineering an oversized wall graphic through intelligent panel splicing, selecting a 3M film and lamination system rated for multi-year outdoor exposure, and producing everything from an 11-meter banner down to a 156-millimeter logo decal under one quality standard.
For brands planning a similar program, the practical starting points are:
Define the environment first. List every exposure the graphics will face — UV, fuel, oil, cleaning chemicals, abrasion — and match materials to the worst case.
Plan the tiling early. Share final artwork dimensions with your converter before production so panel splicing can be designed into the layout instead of improvised later.
Request the right adhesive construction. Gray opaque adhesive with air-egress channels and clean removability solves covering, installation speed, and future rebranding in one specification.
Confirm packaging standards. Agree in advance how oversized panels will be packed and protected so nothing creases in transit.
If you are evaluating custom graphics or label programs for fuel, retail, or transportation environments, explore graphic film solutions or contact MAC Labels through the customization services page to discuss your project requirements.
