Lexan And Polycarbonate Decals

Decals manufactured using various types of materials and each material has unique properties that make the material the right choice for a particular application.



Lexan a brand of hard, practically unbreakable polycarbonate resin, used for shatterproof windows and the like. Lexan is the brand name of this plastic resin, the generic term is polycarbonate. Polycarbonate used in many industries e.g. windows, but most notability the material is used as bullet resistant shields.



The Lexan material used by banks and convenience store establishments in high crime neighborhoods is the same material utilized by decal manufactures. The bullet resistant shield varieties of Lexan are up to three inches thick. The material properties that allow polycarbonate to stop bullets makes the 5, 10, 15 millimeters thick film a very tuff decal.



The polycarbonate film used by the printing manufacturers to produce decals usually does not come with adhesive. The adhesive applied to the film after the Lexan is printed. The most common polycarbonate known as suede or velvety texture, surface that causes the film not be optically clear. There is also an optically clear version, which is not used very often, in the printing industry, because polycarbonate scratches easily, therefore the suede surface hides any scratches.



Polycarbonate printing grade films are usually printed using the screen print type of printing. This product can also be printed using other printing methods, when the product is treated to receive the different types of inks that the other printing methods employ.

The screen printing company prints the desired logo, graphic, or other images on the Lexans side that does not have the rough texture. When the printing is completed, the manufacture then laminates an adhesive over the printed image thereby sandwiching the printing between the polycarbonate film and the adhesive.



The adhesive the manufacturer laminates onto the Lexan film known as transfer adhesive. Transfer adhesives come in many different varieties each variety produced with specific application conditions considered. The most widely used transfer adhesive products laminated to the Lexan by the printing manufacturers. These transfer adhesives known by the part numbers 468 and 467 and are manufactured by 3M.



When the polycarbonate decal is mounted to its intended surface the decals image is safely under the Lexan film out of reach of any abrasive forces. This decal once pressed into service will last for years if not decades. This construction allows these types of decals to be used in extreme conditions such as, hot and cold weather, or in abrasive conditions of heavy machinery and on the oily dirty conditions of a factory floor.