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WINDOW TINT VS PERFORATED WINDOW FILM

Whether you are wrapping a commercial or personal vehicle, you may be looking at options to ensure privacy. Our team solely focuses on commercial vehicles, and we get a lot of questions about the difference between window tint and perforated window film. Because we are a vehicle branding company, we offer perforated window film to our clients, but do not offer window tint (as it is primarily used for personal vehicles).

We are here to explain the difference between the two vinyl materials, what will work best for your vehicle or brand, and how we can serve you. First things first, what is the difference between window tint and perforated window film?

Window Tint vs. Perforated Window Film

WINDOW TINT

A window tint is a transparent sheet of vinyl that is placed on the inside of a car’s windows. The thickness and type of window tint vary along with its transparency of it, but you must abide by the laws and restrictions from your state as to how transparent the tint can be. Window tint not only offers privacy, but is generally used for aesthetics, heat rejection, and UV ray protection.

Window tinting is geared towards custom jobs and not advertising mediums. That is why our team does not offer window tinting as a service. There is a lot of preference that comes along with window tinting and special installation experience.

PERFORATED WINDOW FILM

Perforated vinyl displays graphics on the outside of the vehicle without obstructing the view from the inside. This material (often called One Way) allows one to see outside through the window, but not into the vehicle from the outside.

Many companies today utilize perforated vinyl because they can maximize their advertising space on windows with their logo, brand colors, and other design elements all while still being able to view outside. Commercial vehicle wrap shops will often do perforated vinyl when the client wants to have a large logo or design element on the rear or side of the vehicle. Using regular vinyl for a graphic of that size will cause view obstruction for the driver, and One Way allows for branding on the rear while also ensuring the safety of those in the vehicle.

How can you see outside of the vehicle? There are tiny holes throughout the material that aren’t visible from far away. The hole-to-vinyl ratio varies, but there has to be a high enough ratio of holes to see outside of the vehicle. It’s important to note that these holes can cause the graphic to appear faded.

Another aspect to note is that because perforated vinyl has many holes, there is more opportunity for air to get underneath the vinyl and cause lifting. Naturally, vinyl won’t hold if air gets underneath. You can expect perforated vinyl to last about two years.

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