Product Frequently Asked Questions
Select a product on the left to view a list of the most commonly asked questions.
ACRYLITE® Premium (FF)
ACRYLITE® Premium (FF)
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What is the best product for indoor signs?
You need to consider three qualities in choosing the right material for interior signs: safety, performance, and cost.
Glass offers performance because it stands up to public environments, but it’s heavy, difficult to fabricate and handle, and time-consuming to replace. Glass can also shatter and compromise safety, making it a risky choice for public areas, especially with children. Tempered glass will improve safety, however, it’s more expensive, cannot be cut to size, and has the same drawbacks associated with glass.Another choice is standard acrylic, which is half the weight of glass, easy to fabricate, and impact resistant. Signs made with acrylic will last far longer and retain their superior optical clarity. If you require additional chemical and scratch resistance, ACRYLITE® Optical mar-resistant sheet is the perfect choice. We manufacturer a one-sided abrasion resistant sheet, that is ideal for silk-screening on the non-coated side. Because of its chemical resistance, it can be cleaned with a number of standard household glass cleaners while maintaining its superior optical clarity. Additional sheet options include ultraviolet light filtering and a glare reducing surface texture.
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What is the importance of acrylic having low stress levels?
Low stress levels at room temperature allow for better mechanical strength and durability which makes acrylic more resistant to deformation. But at high temperatures, the low stress allows the sheet to be more manipulatable, which is essential for thermoforming. The reduced stress levels also improve the machinability of the sheet, it reduces its brittleness and makes it more resistant to cracking during the cutting/drilling process. It also enhances the sheet's resistance to chemical agents.
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What is the squareness tolerance on ACRYLITE® Premium FF acrylic sheet?
The squareness tolerance of ACRYLITE® Premuim FF sheet is stated such that the two diagonals of rectangular trimmed sheet shall not differ by more than 3/16" (5 mm) at 77ºF (25ºC).
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Can I print on regular acrylic sheet with my UV-curable flatbed printer?
Yes you can. For example, if the printed result is not subjected to post-printing operations (such as cutting or routing) and is protected from harm, then printing on standard acrylic might satisfy your needs. However, we have seen issues where a piece of standard acrylic was printed and “appeared” to work fine, but post-printing steps such as routing caused catastrophic delamination of the ink.
Many people like to use these printers with an acrylic substrate but find that those inks typically don’t adhere well to standard acrylic sheet. The ink does not get absorbed into the acrylic and needs a different way to stay adhered without flaking off. In this case, you would likely need to use a primer to get the ink to adhere to the standard acrylic. Note that priming can be a messy and time-consuming step, and there are also safety and environmental considerations. This can be completely avoided by using ACRYLITE® digital print sheet. With ACRYLITE® digital print acrylic sheet, these inks adhere very well.