Here’s your guide to choosing vinyl film – all the basics, including types of vinyl film and how to decide which one’s right for your particular application.

What’s vinyl film made of?
The raw material for vinyl film is PVC – which stands for polyvinylchloride. This is a fairly rigid material, so to confer flexibility, other ingredients need to be added, in particular, plasticizer. Pigments are also added to achieve the required colour and sometimes UV absorbers are included to lessen the fading effects of sunlight. Other ingredients might include heat stabilizers and processing aids.

By combining different amounts of these ingredients and processing them in a variety of ways, manufacturers are able to provide a wide range of different vinyls, each suited to varied applications and budgets.

What are the main types of vinyl film?
There are two main types of vinyl film, one made by calendering and one by casting – resulting in vinyls with quite different properties. Vinyl film produced by casting is generally higher quality, and the grade of the film can also be affected by the quality of the plasticiser used. The choice is usually between polymeric or monomeric, with polymeric plasticisers resulting in films with greater durability.

Calendered vinyls – key features
• Best for short-term or economy vinyls
• The rolling out process results in films that are thicker than cast films
• Production is high-speed, high-volume
• Relatively inexpensive
• The thicker film is stiffer and easier to handle
• The thickness makes the film less vulnerable to abrasion
• Ideal for uses that don’t require the vinyl to stretch or wrap around contours – for example, floor graphics, wall murals and POP displays

Cast vinyls – key features
• Premium and high-performance films
• Cast vinyls are produced by pouring a mixture of ingredients onto a casting sheet and then drying it in a series of ovens to evaporate the solvents
• The texture of cast vinyls can be varied by using different casting sheets
• Cast vinyls offer good dimensional stability, which means they are unlikely to suffer shrinkage
• Cast vinyls can be much thinner than calendered vinyls, making them suitable for wrapping onto contoured surfaces such as vehicles
• They’re extremely durable and can last for up to eight years
• Cast vinyls retain their colour longer than calendered vinyl
• They are ideal for small batches where colour matching is an important factor

Adding laminates
Vinyls with polymeric laminates will stretch in all directions, while those with monomeric laminates will only stretch one way, making edge-creep, curling and de-lamination more likely. For durability, always check that the vinyl is polymeric.

Adding the adhesive
To make vinyls self-adhesive, a solvent-based acrylic adhesive is applied on one side. Using solvent adhesive allows for stronger bonds than using water-based adhesives, so the finished vinyl will be resistant to tunnelling, de-lamination, shrinkage and curling. For short-term use, water-based adhesives are fine, but for durability on graphics that might need to be rolled up and un-rolled repeatedly, solvent acrylic adhesives are critical.

SEDO stocks an extensive range of standard, specialist and coloured self-adhesive vinyls, including brands such as Metamark, Boss and others. We can provide you with advice about which particular vinyl and laminate combination will best suit your requirements, so don’t hesitate to get in touch to discuss your needs.