A great- and sometimes stressful- part of the sign business is not knowing what’s going to walk in the door next! Will it be the standard banner or will it be something that stretches your shop’s imagination and capabilities? Well that’s what we like to specialize in; backing you up to make sure you can always say yes to your client! But what if it’s a project you’re not very familiar with? While a little scary, look at it as a reason to broaden your horizons! Learn something new and know that you have a great resource…your GA Pco CSR! So today I sat down with one of our reps, Charlette, to take a look at a common project that has a lot of material options and challenges: window graphics…

Me: Let’s say I want to do a window graphic job and I’m not sure what my client is looking for, or really what my options are. Where do we start?

Charlette: Well the biggest thing people don’t realize is static cling isn’t the “go to” material. It isn’t for big jobs and it also has problems when it’s used in an environment with a lot of weather changes. When the temperature fluctuates a lot, the material actually expands and contracts along with the temperature!

Me: What is the max size you’d recommend?

Charlette: Probably wouldn’t go much over a square foot.

Me: When it comes to perforated window films, what is something that can be a real “product differentiator”?

Charlette: Window perfs are the only pieces that will allow you to see out but not in. And something to consider is that, even though it’s expensive, the optically clear laminate will mean you can see out even in rainy conditions- definitely something to remember.

Me: What kind of lifespan should we expect?

Charlette: It’s important to remember that even “removable” products aren’t that easy to remove if they stay put for a long time. But other than that, if we use the UV laminate and the right material, it’ll stay put and those inks will stay looking good for 2 years.

Me: Is there anything important or “outside of the box” that should be mentioned?

Charlette: It’s always important to think outside of the box! An impressive fact about our shop is that our double sided window clings are pretty much the best in the business and took over a year in research and development to figure out. Our white ink capabilities are great since they let us print 2^nd surface on clear. And really I’d say a GREAT thing to bring up with people is that we can contour cut window graphics! They look awesome and are so perfect for things like holiday decorations. The key is just trying to think about the things other people don’t think about!

Points of interest when trying to think of things other people haven’t thought of:

-Reverse print window perf (printed color, white, black) to be applied on the inside and visible from the out side.

-Double sided window adhesive providing prints with no ghosting.

As always, don’t say no ‘til you call Georgia Printco!