By Melissa Donovan
Graphics that are printed and finished properly are pivotal to the final appearance, but arguably if a graphic isn’t applied well, everything else is for naught. Many businesses stake their claim in installation. Their field experience is instrumental, a way to trial and error the best application methods for various substrates, ultimately yielding a successful graphic.
Above: A large Lintec project was completed for Procter & Gamble’s OH headquarters, which Couch installed using a wet technique.
Early Years
Based out of Seven Mile, OH, RAC Graphixs prints and installs wide format graphics, but today maintains a major focus on installation. Owner, Randy Couch, started the business in 1990. Fishing competitively was his passion and he moonlighted as a designer and printer of boat graphics. Due to a back injury, Couch ended up turning the side gig into a full-time profession. In 1994 he purchased his first 42-inch printer and soon after won his first job, printing banners placed in car dealerships for a motor oil company.
The steady income allowed the business to grow. Couch built a building behind his house in 1998, which became the main headquarters for RAC Graphixs. 2007 presented another worthwhile opportunity. It won a contract with Butler County, OH’s sheriff department, deeming RAC Graphixs the sole printer and installer of all its vehicle graphics, from cars to tractors and trailer wraps.
With the income from the Butler County work, Couch invested in a 64-inch Roland DGA Corporation printer and a new laminator, accelerating the shop’s throughput.
Ramping Up
Well into 2015 RAC Graphixs thrived on work contracted through Butler County as well as other lucrative projects. Then Couch received a call from 3M Commercial Graphics, asking him to prototype certain installations as well as install decal kits at Chevy and Ford car dealerships.
At the time, there was no network of installers trained on how to properly apply graphics. Couch’s experience had gained him a sort of reputation in the community and he rose to the forefront of installation expertise. From 2015 to 2020, he personally trained 150 people on how to work with substrates and install certain applications.
Today, he is a top 3M Preferred Graphics Installer of vehicle, wall, and floor graphics as well as 3M’s DI-NOC architectural finishes. Couch is well known in the installation world and his knowledge allows him to travel all over. To date he has worked in over 400 cities and 42 states. From 2016 to 2019 he flew close to 286,000 miles.
Optically Clear Windows
Besides installing 3M and other vendors’ media, Couch has experience installing Lintec of America, Inc.’s window films.
In 2021, 3M referred Couch to ADEX International. It needed someone to install 4,000 square feet of Lintec window film at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Couch was up to the task.
The install led to many more jobs with Lintec’s window materials. “It’s the most phenomenal optically clear film I’ve ever used. When installed the right away, Lintec film looks like it was painted on glass,” shares Couch.
Another large Lintec project was completed for Procter & Gamble’s OH headquarters, which Couch installed using a wet technique. “The wet install allows for applying big sections of media at once. If you don’t have enough solution on it, it can dry quick and turn white. A special type of squeegee also helps to avoid scratching the media.”
Couch completed the Procter & Gamble install independently. “99 percent of what I do, I do myself. Working solo I am able to figure out how to do stuff much quicker,” he says. His wife of 48 years, Sharon, is also an asset, grabbing liner backing from the printed graphics as each panel is installed, which speeds up the process.
For the Love of Install
With the increased demand for Couch’s installation services from outside companies, he estimates that today about one third of RAC Graphixs’ work is printing, and the other two thirds is installation. And that’s okay, because the install is his favorite part.
May2025, Digital Output
