Sun Studio Dubai: print on any surface, any material
Ink0%
ENالعربية
Contact
← All insights
Wall printing 5 Oct 2026 7 min By Technical Engineer, Installation and Support

Truck Tarpaulin Printing in Dubai: Why We Used a German Wall Printer on a JETOUR Truck

The tarpaulin was too thick for a roll-to-roll printer and coated in a grey the client wanted to keep. So we printed the branding where it hung, on the truck, with the wallPen we normally use on walls.

Close-up of a wallPen print head with its UV light on, printing the JETOUR wordmark onto the grey tarpaulin side of a truck, an operator watching from below

Yes, a truck’s tarpaulin can be printed directly, without taking it off the truck. We did exactly that for Elite Group Holding, the distributor of JETOUR cars in the UAE: the JETOUR wordmark, Drive Your Future, the Elite Group logo and the web address, printed straight onto the grey tarpaulin sides of the company’s two trucks, left and right, four sides in all. We printed them in the service hall of the JETOUR showroom in Al Ain, and the whole job took six hours.

The printer was a wallPen, the German-made machine we normally use for printing walls in homes, offices and gyms. Below: why this job needed it, how a wall printer works on a vehicle, and what to check before you brand a truck this way. The project itself is written up as a case study: JETOUR truck branding for Elite Group.

Why couldn’t the tarpaulin go through a large-format printer?

Because it was too thick, and because its grey had to stay. The usual way to print a tarpaulin is on a roll-to-roll machine, which feeds the material off one roll, past the print heads and onto another. This tarpaulin was too thick to go through one.

The colour closed the other route. The tarpaulin is coated in a specific grey, and that grey was part of the look the client wanted. Printing new curtains would have meant replacing the material, and the coated grey with it.

So the branding had to go onto the tarpaulin as it was, while it hung on the truck. The client had no other option, and a surface that has to be printed where it stands is exactly what a wall printer is built for.

What were the other options?

Two, and neither suited these trucks.

  • New printed tarpaulins. Print new curtains on a roll-to-roll machine and fit them. That needs a material the printer can take, and it replaces the grey the client wanted to keep.
  • Lettering or printed film applied on top. Cut letters or a printed film stuck onto the tarpaulin. It can work, but a film has an edge, and on a curtain that moves, flexes and gets washed, the edge is where it lifts. White lettering on grey would also mean a second film in white.
  • Printing directly with a wall printer. The ink goes onto the tarpaulin’s own coating, in place, with no film and no edge.

Direct printing won here because of this tarpaulin. On a truck whose curtains can be printed new, or whose panels are flat and painted, the answer may be different, and we would tell you so. Why film edges lift is explained in why UV DTF peels.

How does a wall printer print on a truck?

The same way it prints a wall: standing on the floor beside the surface and printing it as it travels along. The wallPen E2 stands on a wheeled platform that runs on floor rails laid along the truck, and prints up to 4 metres high with no limit on length.

The blank grey tarpaulin side of a truck before printing, wallPen floor rails laid along it and the printer at the far end, an operator beside it
The rails laid along the truck before printing, the wallPen at the far end of the blank tarpaulin.

Before it prints, it measures the surface with a laser and compensates for unevenness, which matters on fabric: a tarpaulin is never as flat as a plastered wall. UV LED lamps beside the print head cure the ink as it lands, so every pass is dry before the next one starts.

The wallPen printing the JETOUR wordmark onto the tarpaulin. The blue light beside the print head is the UV lamp curing the ink.

wallPen states that the machine is developed and manufactured in Germany, at its facility in Wissen. Sun Studio belongs to the same Dubai group as PRO TECHnology, which distributes wallPen in the Middle East, so read our view of the machine with that in mind. How the machine handles walls, from surface preparation to print quality, is covered in how direct-to-wall printing works, and why we chose it in our experience with the wallPen on site.

How do you print white lettering on a grey tarpaulin?

With white ink. The colours in a UV ink set are transparent: printed straight onto grey they can only make it darker. Anything that has to read lighter than the tarpaulin, like the Elite Group Holding lettering on these trucks, is printed in white.

Close-up of the truck tarpaulin: the Elite script printed in black and ELITE GROUP HOLDING LTD printed in white ink on the grey coating
The Elite script in black and the company name in white ink, both printed onto the grey coating.

Black needs no help on a grey ground, which is why JETOUR, the tagline and the web address went down in black, and only the Elite Group words in white.

Will a print on a truck tarpaulin last?

That depends on sun, washing and how often the curtain moves, so plan it like outdoor signage. wallPen’s own guidance for outdoor surfaces is about two years, and five or more with a UV clear coat on top. A truck adds what a wall does not: the curtain flexes when it is opened, and the whole vehicle gets washed. The JETOUR tarpaulins were printed without a clear coat.

If the truck lives outdoors, ask for a clear coat over the print, keep artwork away from the folds and fixings of the curtain, and check it after the first months in service. What decides the life of a UV print in general is explained in how long UV printing lasts.

Can a wall printer print on other vehicles?

On surfaces that are large, vertical and hold still in front of it, yes, and each one is tested first. A curtain-side truck was one. Box bodies, trailers and other vehicle panels are assessed the same way: what the surface is made of and coated with, whether the printer can stand close enough along its length, and how the vehicle will be used.

An operator at a wallPen printer standing on rails close to the grey tarpaulin side of a truck, the printed word Drive just visible behind the machine
Working close to the tarpaulin: the machine needs a clear run along the vehicle and a surface that holds still.

Looking for the machine itself rather than the service? PRO TECHnology sells and supports the wallPen wall printer in the region. To build a business around one, its guide to starting a wall printing business in the Gulf sets out the first months, from the demonstration wall to the first paying clients.

Common questions

Can you print directly on a truck in Dubai?
Yes, in Dubai and elsewhere in the UAE, where the surface allows it. We printed the left and right tarpaulin sides of two JETOUR trucks for Elite Group Holding directly, four sides in all, with a wallPen wall printer standing beside each truck in the service hall of the JETOUR showroom in Al Ain. Every vehicle is checked first: what the surface is, how it is coated and how the vehicle is used.
Do you have to take the tarpaulin off the truck to print it?
No. The wallPen prints the tarpaulin where it hangs. It stands on rails alongside the truck and prints the side as a vertical surface, the same way it prints a wall.
How long does it take to print a truck tarpaulin directly?
The JETOUR job, the left and right sides of two trucks, took six hours in all. For any other vehicle the time depends on the area to print and the artwork, so we confirm it when we quote.
Why not print a new tarpaulin on a roll-to-roll printer?
That is the usual route, and it was closed here. The tarpaulin was too thick to feed through a roll-to-roll machine, and its grey coating was part of the look. New curtains would have replaced both.
Can you print white on a grey or dark tarpaulin?
Yes, with white ink. UV colours are transparent and can only darken the surface, so anything lighter than the tarpaulin, like the Elite Group lettering on the JETOUR trucks, is printed in white.
How long does a direct print on a truck last?
Outdoors, wallPen’s guidance for its prints is about two years, and five or more with a UV clear coat. A vehicle adds washing and the movement of the curtain, so ask for a clear coat, keep artwork off folds and fixings, and check it after the first months in service.
Is direct printing better than a vehicle wrap?
It is different. A wrap covers the surface with printed film and can change its colour completely. Direct printing puts ink on the surface you already have, with no film edge. On these trucks the tarpaulins could not go through a printer and their grey had to stay, so direct printing was the way.
How is truck branding with a wall printer quoted?
Per job, once we have seen the vehicle side, the artwork and the area to print. Send photos and dimensions and we will come back with a quote.

Have a truck to brand?

Send photos of the side, its dimensions and the artwork, and tell us what the surface is. We will tell you whether it can be printed directly and how.

Sun Studio LLC
Al Quoz First, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Call: +971 4 346 7422
Email: info@sunstudio.ae

Send your truck on WhatsAppContact Sun Studio about truck branding

More insights

Wall printingWhy We Chose wallPen for Wall Printing in the UAE: Our Experience on SiteWall printingHow Direct-to-Wall Printing Works: Surfaces, Preparation, Print Quality & TimeWall printingOffice Wall Branding & Retail Wall Graphics in DubaiBuyer's guidesHow Long Does UV Printing Last? The Five Things That Actually Decide ItBuyer's guidesWhy Your UV DTF Is Peeling, and When to Print Direct Instead