@oceanembers said:
Projection will cause distortion at the extremities of the cylinder, so it maybe isn't the best idea for any graphics/decals that aren't decently central, unless you want to start sectioning off areas for different projections. Other than that, yeah projection will work in OP's instance, it was probably overkill for me to suggest UV tools.
Working with one of the UV plugins would indeed be the best and most accurate approach - no doubt...
However, although the OP have set his SU experience to advanced, he seem to have limited knowledge about UV and how it works - as far as I can tell - hence I suggested the projection approach before jumping into more complex plugins and ways to apply textures on cylinder shapes...
You need to learn how to crawl before you know how to walk... π