SignWorks recently completed a project for Silman Construction that called for low energy vinyl, a special type of vinyl used to apply vinyl to oil based polycarbonates because the adhesive on regular vinyl do not adhere well to these types of plastics. In fact, we recently had to replace the large 18” safety decal pictured when it was improperly mounted in the wrong orientation. It made us think that it would be helpful to our client base to understand the various types of specialty vinyl products that exist.
Specialty vinyl comes in a variety of forms but we will focus on the ones we have used and speak about the typical applications:
- Low Energy Vinyl: As mentioned previously this vinyl is used with oil based plastic surfaces because regular vinyl adhesive does not adhere well to certain types of polycarbonates.
- Frosted/Etched Vinyl: This type of vinyl is used to give the appearance of etched glass and is often used to add an element of privacy to glass conference rooms. We have also used it to create unique personalized logo’s and dye cuts for windows and doors for some of our clients.
- Perforated Vinyl: Used for vehicle windows, this type of vinyl is often used in combination with wrap vinyl to allow the windows to act like a design canvas, while preventing the design elements from impeding visibility from the inside of the vehicle.
- Translucent Vinyl: When vinyl is being applied to acrylic or LEXAN sign faces that will be lit, it is imperative that a translucent vinyl (that will allow light to sign through) is used.
- Reflective Vinyl: Often used on traffic signs, this type of vinyl allows for night time visibility. Many police and fire departments, as well as ambulance companies, use reflective vinyl on their vehicles to enhance night time visibility.
- Textured Wall Vinyl: This is a specially vinyl product that will adhere to rough surfaces such as concrete, brick and mortar joints.
- Floor/Street Vinyl: These vinyl products are made to be anti-slip and durable even with heavy foot traffic.
- Wrap Vinyl: This vinyl is conformable to the shape and curvature/contours of a vehicle body allowing graphic imagery to be displayed across the entire body of the vehicle. Some clients will select chrome, matte, camouflage or other finishes instead of creating a design palette.
There are other types of specialty vinyl on the market including color change vinyl and a variety of others but we wanted to focus more on those we have used in the course of meeting our customer’s needs. If you would like our help in finding or identifying a specialty vinyl for your unique application don’t hesitate to give us a call (510) 357-2000 and we can research the product for you. Feel free to visit our website to get a sense of our scope of work. And, don’t forget to read our blog posts and view recent project photos. We have been servicing the vinyl signage needs of Bay Area businesses for the past 10 years.