Our Top Window Graphics Tips

Window graphics have come a long way from the corner gas station. And while those bottling and promotional graphics are still in high demand, using window space to apply signage and brand messaging or even create a sense of privacy have inspired a new batch of window graphic materials for ease in installation and replacement. Here are a few of our top window graphic tips:

To Perf or Not to Perf?

Perforated window graphic film, such as LexJet Simple Perforated Window Vinyl (70/30), allows you to print on 70 percent of the surface, while 30 percent of it is tiny perforations, or holes. This allows for excellent image reproduction and shading coming into the window from outside, while people inside the building can still see out the window, through the perforations. Since this product is mounted outside, we suggest LexJet’s Optically Clear Cast Laminate for extra protection. Window perf is also available in 60/40 vinyl.

Pro Advice: 3 Top Tips for Installing Long-Lasting Window Graphics

Windows present an opportunity for high-impact advertising space. They also make the first impression for customers entering a place of business. Battling the elements, like rain and dirt, can really take a toll on how printed graphics look on a window, especially when using a perforated media.

In the video above, we tapped long-time printer and installer Keith Bernard of Road Signs in Sarasota, Fla., to share some tips and tricks he’s learned over the years while printing and installing window graphics. For example, the need to use a laminate with a perforated vinyl.

“If you ever look at the holes during a rainstorm on a non-laminated window perf, and they fill up with water, you can’t see out because of the water that’s built up in there,” says.

In the video, he offers his top tips on how to print and finish perforated window graphics, and other options for clean, long-lasting, vibrant window displays.

These three products are featured in this educational video:

LexJet brandUP: Cat Depot Redux

Welcome to the first installment of LexJet brandUP! This is a series created by our intrepid interns who journeyed out into LexJet’s hometown community, in and around Sarasota, Fla., and found several businesses and non-profit organizations that could use a little branding makeover with the help of wide-format graphics.

First up, they headed to Cat Depot, an organization devoted to rescuing homeless cats, offering low-cost veterinary services, finding new homes for cats and providing education. The non-profit is well-known in the community, but like many others, had relied on make-shift ways to present its messaging, such as posters adhered to windows with scotch tape. It didn’t take long to discover many ways our technology could jazz the center up.

Windows Made Simple with Simple Perforated Window Vinyl (70/30)

LexJet has just introduced Simple Perforated Window Vinyl (70/30) to complement its Simple Perforated Window Vinyl (60/40) offering. The 70/30 offers more print area for that extra punch at retail; 60/40 is best for applications – like vehicle windows – that require more visibility looking out the window.

Using window graphics for advertisingSimple Perforated Window Vinyl (70/30) is a 6-mil perforated vinyl designed to stop people in their tracks outside a store and lure them inside. Once inside, shoppers can see outside, and see quite well since the vinyl also cuts down on sunshine glare.

The two-layer perforated liner allows trouble-free printing for shops with UV-curable printers. “We printed some large panels and with UV-curable printing we have to make sure that your ink stays on the liner and doesn’t come off and fill the hole. It’s an issue we’ve had with other similar products, but we haven’t seen it at all on this product,” says Ricky Shannon, operations manager for Keith Fabry Inc., Richmond, Va.

Designed to be exterior-mounted to windows, Simple Perforated Window Vinyl (70/30), is easy to handle and easy to print, install and remove. “It’s fairly low-tack when you apply it, but it becomes fairly aggressive so that it stays on the window. Then, when we peeled it back to remove it there was no residue so it works very well from installation to removal,” adds Shannon.

Use LexJet’s Optically Clear Cast Laminate or LexJet Gloss Polyester Laminate (2 Mil) for additional protection, if needed. A nice bonus is that the laminates not only protect, but will not interfere with the clarity of the image or the inside-outside view.

Simple Perforated Window Vinyl (70/30) is compatible with solvent, low-solvent, UV-curable and latex printers, and is available in 60″ x 100′ and 60″ x 20′ rolls. To find out more, and to find the right material for the application, contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538.