Extruded or Metalized

July 16, 2004

the extrude films that are on the market today probably will have some sort of fading to them as time goes on. The question on everyone's mind is how long before the change. The companies which do offer the extruded films, if I am not mistaken, add an extra laminate to the polyester in order to increase its stability from the suns rays. Is 7-10 years a fair assumtion? How many licks does it take o get to the center of a tootsie pop?

My thinking is that the dyed films on the market (including some hybrids) fade in an excellerated time frame due to the fact that sometimes the dyes are only in the laminating adhiesive (in some less expensive films) or they are not throughout the polyester, but only on the surface of the products with some bleed-in.

Is it worth the extra money for the hybrid films knowing the possibility of fade? Although I believe that with the addition of metals the appearence will be better if it does fade.(Is this correct Metint?) :lol

hoosierwindowtek · July 16, 2004

When you speak in terms of extruded I will assume you are talking about the pigmented polyester that was introduced by a poly maker a few years back to everyone but their largest purchaser... extruded is how polyester is made, clear or tinted (with pigment).
Pigments are not affected by the sun as easily as many dyes would be.

It is difficult to add metal deposition to pig-poly. Not sure if any film maker using pig-poly has had any success to date. This is probably the reason others choose to stay with dyed poly.

Is it not true, that some use pig-poly laminated to a metalized clear, for that reason :lol

July 16, 2004

The theory is the film won't change color since the color is through the film. When it is dipped, the dye is on the exterior.
Personally I think a dye is a dye and will fade after time.

Deep-dye process patent owned by CP is one involving embedding the dye 'deep' into the substrate's structure, rather than placing it on the surface. You may be thinking of a process known as color-coating.

July 16, 2004

When you speak in terms of extruded I will assume you are talking about the pigmented polyester that was introduced by a poly maker a few years back to everyone but their largest purchaser... extruded is how polyester is made, clear or tinted (with pigment).
Pigments are not affected by the sun as easily as many dyes would be.

It is difficult to add metal deposition to pig-poly. Not sure if any film maker using pig-poly has had any success to date. This is probably the reason others choose to stay with dyed poly.?

Is it not true, that some use pig-poly laminated to a metalized clear, for that reason

I believe that's the only way it can be done. There are instances where a coating of some kind is needed on the color layer... this is where pig-poly does not work well... it would require an independent layer laminated to succeed.

Good point!

July 16, 2004

wow, this thread is getting deep :lol lots of good technical info though, ya gotta admit :rollin

Devil with bad attitude · July 16, 2004

wow, this thread is getting deep lots of good technical info though, ya gotta admit

Yeah best bit is the Pig-poly word. :rollin

Pig-in @#$% under another name. :lol

Devil :rollin

wndotint · July 16, 2004

I sure am glad the other big companies don't have people in here giving us their stories!!! God forbid we actually learn something about our bread and butter. Thanks to Metint and everyone else for the insight.

July 17, 2004

yep I agree wndotint!

lets see one, two three,, yep three!! :beer

thats all we want to know is when does it change color how many months or years we don't have the machines to do this so tell us what you know then we can make the decissions on what film we will use,

(this was for the manufactures not you specific metint!)

July 17, 2004

yep I agree wndotint!
lets see one, two three,, yep three!! :inot

thats all we want to know is when does it change color how many months or years we don't have the machines to do this so tell us what you know then we can make the decissions on what film we will use,

(this was for the manufactures not you specific metint!)

No worries, mate... :lol

I believe someone has already said that the machines cannot possibly match real weather exposure... to a degree this is a true statement.

Sometimes the film far outlasts the machine results and sometimes it'll fall short... tough to pin a specific number on it since global weather conditions are extremely diverse.

However, it does give indications as to what needs be improved upon. If there isn't anything technically available to do this, the decision must be made as to keep the product because it does meet today's standards in life expectancy or go back to the drawing board. The drawing board can take years to produce another hit and take as little as months to improve an existing product.