Vinyl & films
Sign films, and how each one fails
Cast or calendered is the most expensive decision a sign shop makes casually. These pages cover what each film is, where it belongs, and the failure that shows up eighteen months later, when the customer is standing in your shop rather than on the phone.
Written by a shop, not a supplier. If we have something wrong, tell us and we will fix it.
Cast Vinyl
3M IJ180, Avery MPI 1105, wrap film, 2 mil cast
The film that goes around a mirror and stays there. Thin, dimensionally stable, and the only correct answer for compound curves.
Specs and failure modes →Calendered Vinyl
3M IJ35, intermediate vinyl, economy film
The flat panel workhorse. Thicker, cheaper, and it wants to go back to the shape it was rolled in.
Specs and failure modes →Perforated Window Film
One way vision, 60/40 perf, see through graphics
Printed graphic outside, view out from inside. The effect is real and it disappears the moment the lights come on indoors.
Specs and failure modes →Reflective Sheeting
Engineer grade, high intensity prismatic, diamond grade, retroreflective
Sends light back at the driver who sent it. Graded by how much comes back, and on public roads the grade is not your choice.
Specs and failure modes →Translucent Vinyl
Lightbox film, backlit vinyl, 3630 series
Made to be looked through rather than at. The colour you approve on the bench is not the colour the customer sees lit.
Specs and failure modes →Overlaminate
Laminate, clear film, UV laminate, overlam
The clear film that decides whether your print lasts one year or five. The cheapest insurance in the shop, and the easiest step to rush.
Specs and failure modes →Ballpark trade cost per square foot as of August 2026, before laminate, labour or markup. Films are bought by the roll and the per foot price moves a lot with roll width and volume, so treat these as a sanity check rather than a quote.
The other half of the job
Film goes on something. The rigid substrate guide covers Coroplast, ACM, PVC, aluminium, acrylic, MDO and foam board with the same treatment, and the free tools handle pricing, wrap coverage and print file checks.