See-through graphics offer a huge opportunity but the most commonly used materials have their drawbacks. As leading player Contra Vision points out with their technical knowledge, new developments mean it’s worth looking again.
Mention see-through graphics, or one-way vision graphics as the medium is also popularly known, and thoughts immediately turn to perforated self-adhesive materials that are printed and then subsequently applied to all manner of transparent surfaces from vehicle windows to office partitioning; architectural glazing to impressive expanses of buildings’ exteriors and retail windows. That however, far from encapsulates the medium. There are other ways of producing see-through graphics, and other materials to use. They work practically anywhere perforated media can be used, and in thousands of places, situations, and applications where they simply can’t.
The artifice at the heart of most see-through graphics is as simple as the results it produces are impressive. A design or colour visible on one side can be seen through from the other. The effect relies on the design side reflecting more light back to the observer, who is viewing the design, than penetrates the perforations from the environment on the other side. From the see-through side, the observer sees out through a perceived tint. It’s only upon closer examination that this is revealed to be the perforated construction of the material.
See-through graphics take designs and what appear to be solid colours into areas that would otherwise be out-of-bounds for applied graphics. Sweeping design elements such as stripes and flourishes that would be abruptly punctuated by a vehicle’s windows in, for example, a bus livery, can now continue unimpeded thanks to see-through graphics. Valuable advertising space can be capitalised on office and shop windows and the view out preserved. The applications really are, for once, limited only by imagination. But, see-through graphics don’t always get a favourable reception when attempts are made to sell them.
The popularly applied perforated medium is not without its limitations and, for some, those limitations are enough to rule out use of the medium. One objection that’s raised is that the materials’ functional perforations serve to accumulate water and so-called street dirt picked up by vehicles’ and windows’ exteriors. Accumulated water and dirt blurs the view out. Laminating the printed graphic doesn’t really redeem the situation, but Contra Vision TT evidently does.
Contra Vision TT is a material system for easily producing perforated see-through graphics that can be applied inside, or behind transparent surfaces, so protecting them from the conditions encountered outside from where they are seen. The system is said to be very simple to use requiring only basic digital printing hardware and a suitable hot-roll laminator.
The Contra Vision Performance clear perforated material supplied as part of the Contra Vision TT system is simply printed in a conventional four-colour operation with the image in reverse. Once dried, the printed media is then passed through a suitable laminator with the system’s second material component, a transfer foil carrying white and black layers which are simultaneously transferred to the printed media. The white and black layers are bound in a thermally activated resin which transfers in the mass and fractures cleanly around the perforations when the second component’s carrier film is removed, a fast and trouble free operation. The result is a potent perforated see-through graphic that can be applied inside transparent surfaces and be seen from the outside.
Taking perforated see-through graphics under cover can benefit the material’s application in difficult access conditions and eliminates the need to overlaminate. Overlamination is often used with conventional perforated graphics in an attempt to close the perforations so that dirt and water can’t accumulate in them. To that extent, laminating works. Overlaminating though, actually blocks the view out because the observer is forced to look through a layer of laminate and, crucially, a layer of adhesive that’s in contact with nothing but the void within the perforations and to that extent it doesn’t work well. The see-through effect is degraded. Further benefits of see-through graphics produced using Contra Vision TT is that the optical continuity with the product’s adhesive and the glass to which it adheres makes the graphic really ‘pop’ and the applied graphic may escape the scrutiny of rules and regulations related to printed materials applied to the exterior surfaces of windows.
Another innovation in the field of perforated media is Contra Vision’s Backlite, a Performance material that is perforated in its construction, much like other media supporting the printing of see-through graphics but, differs in that it does not use a black layer to obscure the graphic from the side intended to be seen through. Contra Vision Backlite cleverly utilises a white layer which has a calculated degree of translucency. This permits the passage of a component of ambient light to the face of the printed and applied graphic. Thanks to this patented innovation, the see-through graphics don’t ‘wash-out’ when exterior light levels fall - they actually appear to light up and so work around the clock, functioning just like illuminated signs.
Viewed from the inside, in daylight conditions, the observer will see a pale, reversed image of what’s printed on the design-side of the applied graphic. Despite this, a remarkable degree of through-vision is maintained. Contra Vision Backlite technology has been recently used for hundreds of high profile campaigns on telephone kiosks around the UK and its popularity as a medium is growing according to Contra Vision.
Perforated see-through graphics are very widely specified and utilised. Some applications such as vehicle liveries for small businesses may only be one-offs. Others though, such as a nationwide point-of-purchase campaign, may see the production of many thousands of pieces of printed, see-through graphics. Whether for one-offs or for longer production runs, print quality is often variable as perforated materials do present certain challenges not encountered when printing conventional media. For example, a white liner will cause a pale, washed-out appearance.
Perforated materials are very often over-inked during printing in an understandable attempt to restore apparent contrast levels that suffer as a consequence of the material’s liner being visible through the very perforations that support the see-though effect. This can result in excess ink usage, drying difficulties and produces a finished product that often looks muddy due to the sheer density of the dried ink. Contra Vision Performance with Grayliner is another of the company’s recent innovations in the field of perforated media and said to address many of the difficulties encountered in printing perforated material constructions and presenting the result for client approval.
Contra Vision Grayliner looks for all the world like a conventional perforated material. However, if results are compared directly with the conventional version of events, the difference is immediately obvious and startling. The Grayliner component of the material created a printed result that is perceived on the liner as it would be if applied in typical installation conditions. As a consequence, contrast levels are more realistic, colours pop and the result is much easier for both client and printer to evaluate - and of course for the client to accept.
Grayliner delivers its benefits using ink loadings typical of those used for quality polymeric imperforate films. This reduces the wastage that results both from the printed graphic being rejected by the client, and the waste arising from excess ink usage. Less energy is typically required to satisfactorily dry perforated see-through graphics using Grayliner which in turn saves money and reduces odours which follow under-dried graphics right to the installation site - or the client’s nose.
See-through graphics represent a potent commercial opportunity and the technology required to produce them to an incredibly high standard is readily accessible now to even the most modestly equipped printer, digital or otherwise. Contra Vision’s continuing innovation in the field of perforated media, and in the broader development of the see-through graphics markets generally, means easily workable options now exist and are readily available which overcome some of the most common objections raised against the medium’s use in a wide range of application arenas.
See-through graphics have the capacity to deliver advertising, branding and messages in areas that other media simply can’t reach and the see-through effect’s novelty and impact supports the broader application of conventionally printed material too. From a printer’s perspective, see-through graphics deliver a highly marketable printing capability beyond business-as-usual which can support premium pricing and better margins and should be required reading in any presentation portfolio. Once seen, and seen through, they’re sold.