It’s important to understand the key differences between the two but how well do you know your vinyl?

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If you’re puzzled about which one to use here’s our quick guide to the benefits and limitations of the types and grades of vinyl.

Firstly, for the record, all pvc vinyl is made one of two ways: cast or calendered. And we have both types.

Calendered.

Calendered vinyl is the most commonly used type by signmakers and large format printers. They start life as a solid resin that is melted together with a plasticiser to make it soft and flexible as well as a pigment to add colour. This is then compounded and as it cools, it is extruded, being drawn through a series of temperature controlled rollers which stretches and flattens the film to a uniform thickness; typically between 70µ - 100µ. This is then wound into jumbo rolls ready to be coated with an adhesive and a liner added. Calendered films come in two main categories; monomeric and polymeric.

• Monomeric grade PVC is the most economical and least durable, best suited to interior and short-term exterior applications (5 years for black & white, 4 years for colours in the case of the Event Range) on to flat 1D and slightly curved 2D surfaces. The monomeric plasticisers used in their production to make the film softer and more flexible have a low molecular weight which after time, slowly migrates to the surface of the film causing it to shrink and become brittle. These films are therefore not suitable for demanding exterior applications such as vehicle graphics or fascia signage as it will almost certainly start to shrink back from the edges to reveal the adhesive beneath. Once this starts, any dirt in the atmosphere will quickly create a dirty grey outline around the graphics and eventually, the vinyl will begin to flake off like peeling paint.
• Polymeric grade vinyl uses polymeric plasticisers that have a more complex molecular chain meaning that this binds well together and they shrink back at a slower rate. This makes them more durable and with better UV and temperature resistance, suitable for longer term use outdoors on 1D and 2D surfaces (10 years for black & white, 8 years for colours in the case of the Platinum Range). If used on more complex curves, it is still recommended to cut and overlap seams as opposed to heating and stretching like you can a cast film.

Cast.

Cast films are made differently to calendered films, starting off as a liquid which is then poured onto a casting sheet before moving slowly through a set of temperature-controlled ovens where the liquid evaporates leaving behind an extremely thin layer. This then gets rolled; typically to 50µ or even as thin as 30µ. Cast films have little internal tension and are dimensionally stable, so shrinkage is barely perceptible. Cast films are thinner and softer, they are highly flexible and easier to apply over 3D curved surfaces using heat. With a durability in excess of 12 years (in the case of Ri-Jet C50 Ultimate, cast vinyl offers the ultimate in terms of durability.

If you have a project that you are working on and need a little help selecting the right materials, just contact us or drop us an email. We're always happy to help.

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