04 Oct Everything to Know About Perforated Vinyl Window Graphics
An eye-catching window graphic is a great way to attract more local customers to your business. And, with perforated vinyl, the graphics don’t have to block out natural light or obstruct your view. However, there are a few important factors you need to consider when designing perforated window graphics to ensure optimal results. We put together this guide to help you prepare your next project.
What Is Perforated Window Vinyl?
Perforated vinyl graphics are stickers made with lots of tiny, evenly spaced holes that let light pass through. These brightly colored graphics appear opaque on the frontside, but still allow you to easily see through the window from inside the store, car, bus, etc. Because the back side of the graphic is dark, your eyes focus only on the light coming through the holes, allowing you to clearly see what’s outside.
Perforated vinyl window graphics are very durable, and they can be designed in an endless variety of shapes and sizes. They’re both easy to install and easy to remove without damaging the window, so you can easily swap out designs whenever you change your window displays.
What to Consider When Designing a Perforated Vinyl Window Graphic
Although window graphics are very versatile, certain elements of your design and the location where you plan to install them can impact their effectiveness. Here are four factors to consider when creating a design for perforated vinyl.
1: Perforation Density
This term refers to the amount of vinyl that gets cut out of the design. The density of the graphic affects how well people can see its details as well as how well they can see through from the other side.
There are three common types of perforation density:
- 70/30 (70% vinyl, 30% holes) allows for more details to show in your design, but will be more difficult to see through from inside.
- 60/40 is slightly easier to see through while still retaining a decent amount of the vinyl material.
- 50/50 lets in more natural light and is much easier to see through from inside, but some of the finer details of your design will be lost.
2: Text and Colors
Any text and intricate details in your window graphic design should be sized at a 30-pt minimum. The holes that are cut in the vinyl to produce the see-through effect can make small text hard to read. If your design must include fine print or tiny details, consider a wall graphic instead.
When it comes to color, the graphic side of the vinyl must be brighter than the space behind the window graphic. Otherwise, you will be able to see through the graphic on the side that should look opaque. Although you can still use dark colors in some parts of your design, it’s important to avoid large areas of black or darker shades of blue, purple, and brown.
3: Lighting Behind the Graphic
Lighting is another crucial factor to consider, because it can sometimes make your design disappear. At night, perforated window vinyl becomes fully transparent, because the area behind the graphic becomes brighter than the outside. Think about a bus with an advertisement printed on the windows—during the day, all you see is the graphic, but at night you can see every single passenger inside.
Perforated window graphics are best for daytime use. If your business runs mostly at night, you don’t want to waste time on a design that won’t be seen—plan on using a solid window graphic or a wall graphic instead.
Premium Vinyl Graphics in Tempe, Arizona
If you’re interested in a perforated vinyl window graphic for your business, contact Mousegraphics in Tempe. We offer a variety of vinyl wrap services, including perforated window graphics, garage door wraps, wall wraps, and more. Call us at (480) 470-7438 today to discuss how we can fulfill your printing needs.
Images used under creative commons license – commercial use (10/4/2022). Photo by Guus Baggermans on Unsplash