Installing tinted window film is not just for privacy

Tag : dye polyester
Installing tinted window film is not just for privacy
Andrea Tejokusumo , The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Far from being mere "window dressing", today's mostadvanced window film is equipped with technologies capable of doinganything from dodging harmful solar rays to saving energy andminimizing damage caused by bullets and bomb blasts.
A standard feature in any car, window film is friendly to thepassenger's unshielded eye and can cost anywhere from hundreds ofthousands to millions of rupiah per installation. So far, the 2008Indonesia International Motor Show (IIMS) has proven to be quite aneffective platform in showcasing the latest trends in window filmfor cars as well as properties.
"In the most basic sense, window film can deflect harmfulinfrared light, visible light and ultraviolet light," saidPekik Saduprastawa, a key account manager for automotive windowfilm at PT 3M Indonesia.
As an innovation company, 3M -- mostly known for its award-winningadhesive and abrasive brands such as Post-its -- has the luxury ofowning several patented technologies in areas like polyester carbonand nano multilayer optical films to come up with its ownstate-of-the-art window films.
Window film's heat-reflecting quality also helps keep down energythat would otherwise be used to attend to comfort matters such asair conditioning. Before the turn of the century, heat resistancehad been largely maximized through the incorporation of metalelements into the film's material composition. In recent years,however, the industry has been seen veering toward the morenon-metallic film type.
"Although metals remain an effective medium for blocking heat,they often lead to interference problems, particularly with GPS andsignal-based devices as well as mobile phones and portabletelevision," said Hper Optik manager Damar Muliyanto.
With technology becoming more inescapably digital, filmmanufacturers have since researched other materials that candeliver the same amount of heat resistance as metal (or evengreater); such as Hper Optik found with ceramics.
"Our company is the first and only in the world to implementnano-ceramic technology onto window film," said Damar, addingthat ceramics' high durability and record-breaking melting pointhas been acknowledged across industries such as sports (racing),timepieces, medical surgery (bone and muscle replacements) andaeronautics (heat shields).
And the technology need not stop there. Spurred by advances interrorism methods, manufacturers are going all-out in developing amost sophisticated adhesive technology that can prevent the dangersof glass breaking, in which case broken pieces would not shatter inall directions but instead stick to the film layer behind theglass.
"For years Hper has been actively researching a safe-blasttechnology to effectively minimize explosive damage, say such asthat caused by a bomb," said Damar. "Our ongoing testsmade sure that even in the most extreme case when a glass shattersinto powder, it will still hold together owing to the film's strongadhesive."
According to Edmond Y. Daud, regional sales manager for PT EurokarsTirta Utama, the quality of the glass in question is alsoimportant, though not extremely detrimental to safety.
"There have been many efforts to increase glass quality inrecent years, which have resulted in innovations such as temperedglass -- which breaks into kernel-sized pieces upon breaking -- andlaminated glass, which has a polyester layer imbedded inside it tostrengthen glass constitution."
But Edmond also noted the slight inconvenience of glass types: thatthey are heavy.
Pekik said: "In order to meet the specs of a bulletproofglass, for example, you'd need to have glass or double-glass manycentimeters thick, whereas by using two layers of film you canminimize thickness down to about 3 cm only."
Yet the truth is, as added by Pekik, there are no rules of thumbwhen it comes to dodging bullets. "Everything from the make ofgun, the caliber and range of fire all influence the final result.For instance, no matter how thick glass is, it would be extremelydifficult to prevent penetration by high-velocity weapons such assnipers' guns," he said.
George Saptawandra, director of Ace Security Laminates, sees theprospect of security film to be quite healthy in coming years. Hewas a telecommunications entrepreneur up until a couple of yearsago, when the prospect of switching businesses -- and his wife'stwo traumatic personal experiences when driving alone -- led him tobecome more familiar with the world of security laminates.
"With the crime rate and traffic points continuing toescalate, every individual will be forced to take responsibilityfor his or her own safety," said George.
The Ace brand excels in strong adhesive technology specialized inwithstanding large forces of impact. Ace's Secure PLUS filmvariants are said to be able to hold forces of up to 16.87kilograms per square inch, making it highly shielded fromdeliberate smashing from outside a car or a property.
"We're not claiming that our films can make a glassunbreakable. Glass will always break, but the question lies in howmuch of an impact is needed for it to break and whether theshattered pieces will be penetrated," said George.
One of the most common public misconceptions about window film, inthe words of both Damar and Edmond, is that "many people tendto associate darker-colored films with greater heatresistance".
This is not always the case, said Damar, because there are variousdyed films being sold on the market whose color will fade with use,and will present potential health problems should the dye particlesget inhaled.
Edmond added: "We also saw a boom in the 1990s of metallizedfilms, which are clear films that can offer a great deal of heatresistance. Once again, these films are still infused with metalelements that lead to GPS interruption."
Like many other players in the industry, Edmond acknowledged thefact that film manufacturers have not yet been able to come up witha technology advanced enough to allow heat to be reflected throughclear window film.
"But every new innovation that comes up seems to be headingtoward that direction, so let's keep our hopes high," he said.
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