Coloured self-adhesive films are the material from which the written characters appearing in advertising are cut out and these are then glued to the sides of busses, streetcars and taxis. A further important use of these films is in the production of interior and exterior signs and light boxes. There are transparent, translucent or opaque films with different levels of durability available for the various areas of use.

X-film self-adhesive films display long term resistance to the normal middle European climate and can even withstand temperatures up to 80°C in the short term. The values for the weather resistance for the various films (as per FINAT/FTM 1) – subject to the age or general condition of the film and storage conditions – are given separately at each respective film.

X-film self-adhesive films are made out of monomer or polymer plasticized PVC. Polymer plasticized films are much more weather resistant than the monomer plasticized version. Both types are equipped with a solvent-free acrylate glue. When doing glue work, it is NOT recommended that you mix the polymer and monomer plasticized films together.

Once the films have been glued they can be cleaned with warm water and detergent or denatured alcohol. Please note that the glossy films are easier to clean than the matte films. Auto wax can be applied as a means of preserving of the material. X-film coloured films are not resistant to organic solvents. If you have any questions regarding the chemical resistance of these materials we will be glad to send you a resistance chart upon request.

Whole rolls should not be stored any longer than 2 years. When storing self-adhesive films, care should be taken that the area is cool and dry, that the rolls are upright and that they are protected from UV light.

Treatment: All the coloured films can be screen printed as long as they still have their original backing in place. When choosing an ink for printing, the supplier should be made aware of the demands inherent in your design and the quality of the film material you are using in order to be certain that the ink chosen will not corrode the film. Basically, only inks that have the least possible amount of solvent in them should be used. When working with the films, the acute and complete evaporation of the solvent in the ink should be a matter of concern.

The films we have in stock do not have a margin with holes. If the film has a paper backing that is at least 120 g/m², a cutter plotter can be used for cutting work.

The films can best be worked with in temperatures between +5 °C and +30°C. With very few exceptions, self-adhesive films can be bonded wet. Wet bonding is especially recommended in the case of large areas because the initially weak adhesion to the wet surface allows the film to be adjusted or repositioned. Any remaining moisture diffuses with time towards the outer borders and evaporates. Full adhesive strength is not reached until at least a few days, the exact time being dependant on the ambient temperature.

Removal: even though the films strongly adhere to their carrier surface, they can be fairly easily removed by applying heat. The film should be warmed with a blow-dryer, one corner should then be carefully loosened and from that starting point, while continuing to heat with the blower, the rest of the film should be pulled free very slowly so as to protect the substrate (e.g. car paint). Any gluing material that is left over can, depending on the substrate, be removed with a mild cleaning agent or solvent (e.g. a 3M LIME-BASED INDUSTRIAL CLEANER).

Bonding: The water-resistant carrier material (e.g. a window glass) must be completely clean, that is, grease and dust free, after which it should be evenly moistened with a SPRAY BOTTLE. The backing paper of the film should initially only be pulled away at one corner and positioned on the corresponding spot of the carrier material. The rest of the backing paper should then be pulled away little by little at an acute angle whereby the film will eventually be glued, bubble-free, from one corner to the other of the carrier surface. Pressing and rubbing the transfer film into place is best done with a SQUEEGEE-TYPE APPLICATOR whereby the water is pushed away out to the sides. Any bubbles that still remain when finished can be pricked with a pin and smoothed and flattened out.

When being applied to larger areas, the self-adhesive films should not be pulled from the roll with too much tension. If the tension is too high, the elastic film will stretch and then, after being glued, relax again thereby causing the carrier material to camber or deform.

In the case of smaller motifs, TRANSFER FILM should be implemented. This can be accomplished with either a wet or dry process. The motif should be cut with a cutter plotter or an artist knife from, for example, X-film COLOURED ADHESIVE FILM in such a way that only the foil is sliced but not the backing paper. Afterwards it is “de-meshed” (removal of the pieces of film not to be used as, e.g. the hole in the letter P) and then completely covered with transfer film. Because of the greater adherence of the transfer film to the surface of the coloured film, it is able to lift the written characters away from the backing paper and mount them on the carrier surface.

That surface, which must be absolutely flat, should already have guide lines drawn on it which will serve to align the motif. Then the surface of the water-resistant carrier material should be uniformly moistened. Then you take the transfer film with the motif stuck to it and, just like described above, place one corner of it on the carrier surface and, little by little and as bubble-free as possible, spread it on until you reach the other side. Use of a SQUEEGEE-TYPE APPLICATOR will make all of this work a lot easier.

After about half an hour the bond is dry enough so that you can carefully remove the transfer film by pulling it free at an acute angle in relation to the mounted motif. For the glue to be completely dry and its full adhesive strength to be reached, at least a few days are required.

On nonpolar materials like, for example, PE or PP sheets, the self-adhesive films do not adhere as well as they do on materials with high polarity. This fact should be especially taken into account when making signs for use outdoors. For outdoor signs, PVC foam sheets (e.g. FOREX) are the best choice - not only because of their high polarity but because of their resistance to UV as well.