Sputtering or Dye Bath?? Which is Better??

[TomTint]

Fwiw, ... It really depends on who is doing each process.

[EWF]

Fwiw, ... It really depends on who is doing each process.

 

You are absolutely right Tom. 100% agree with that.

 

-Howard

[Tintguy1980]

 

Darn... I missed the party.

 

Sputtering pros:

 

• You can sputter materials like rare metals, certain alloys, ceramics, nano scale particles that you cannot vapor deposit
• Sputtering allows for precision stacking of very small particles in 1 atom thick layers. You can even vary the direction they are stacked and thus make a reflective metal look almost non-reflective (ie. Huper Drei, Sech, Vk 70, Hilite 70, etc)
• The optical quality when small particle material is sputtered on good PET is off the chart. Compare it to other methods, you will notice a difference and so will your customers.

Sputtering Cons:

 

• Expensive
• Slow to mfg... aka- expensive

 

Sputtering is a method of depositing material to a substrate. It is not magic, films no matter how they are made all filter the same 3 solar regions of the spectrum in varying levels. There are other methods as has been mentioned. Each has their pros and cons. I would always recommend that you:

 

• Compare specs
• Compare optical quality
• Compare durability
• Compare warranty
• Compare who you feel comfortable doing business with
• and then... choose your product.

 

Great explanation!  Ever take a tour of LLumar's plant in Martinsville VA area you might get a tidbit of trivia related to sputtering cost. Martinsville plant site sputtering machine(s) use more electricity than all other operations combined.

 

As to longevity, it's more about the polyester quality, adhesive quality and UV package used. That said, dyed film adhesives do have a tendency to degrade quicker due to their solar absorption rates, the more heat absorbed/retained the harder it is on the adhesive(s).

[Tintguy1980]

 

 

 

Please note that most "sputtered / metalized" films are "hybrids" in that they have one layer of metal and one layer of dye.  That dye layer can fade, but the sputter will not fade.  "HP" = High Performance which means that there is metal in the film.

 

Beg to differ. Seen it with me own eyes.

[Tintguy1980]

Btw... Sputtered TiN has not been not showing any signal issues. I've seen binder paper kill signal in a back window antenna...

Seen a TiN knock out AM on a Chrysler 300. In fact LLumar had a video years ago at SEMA that showed it happen. The upside though it was one car out of millions so can't judge a film based on that wide a spread in numbers.   

[EWF]

 

 

Please note that most "sputtered / metalized" films are "hybrids" in that they have one layer of metal and one layer of dye.  That dye layer can fade, but the sputter will not fade.  "HP" = High Performance which means that there is metal in the film.

Beg to differ. Seen it with me own eyes.

 

 

Good point..  I have seen sputtered copper turn green (like the Statue of Liberty).  That is more of a function of the actual metal (copper) than the deposition method.

 

-Howard

[Sisqouc]

Some films may block AM radio reception, but AM itself is unlikely to outlast the Global and Solar FX films I'm currently installing.

[EWF]

 

Btw... Sputtered TiN has not been not showing any signal issues. I've seen binder paper kill signal in a back window antenna...

Seen a TiN knock out AM on a Chrysler 300. In fact LLumar had a video years ago at SEMA that showed it happen. The upside though it was one car out of millions so can't judge a film based on that wide a spread in numbers.   

 

 

I have seen light density vapor aluminum cause this problem as well.  It's very rare and usually involves either a weak AM signal or a substantial distance from the transmission source.  Also - AM reception can be impacted by the atmosphere.

 

Theoretically..  TiN should be fine as far as I know.  I would have no problem with telling customers to sell a TiN film as "Signal Friendly".

 

-Howard