Polyester (PET) film is a versatile plastic widely used in many applications. PET materials exhibit good chemical resistance and are tough and durable when compared to other commodity resins with similar performances and price ranges. This material can also be die cut or laser cut to efficiently create products with consistent designs.
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The dimensional stability of polyester film allows it to be used in numerous applications, including face shields, laminates, membrane circuitry, electronic insulation, carrier films, and a variety of graphic arts applications.
Specific polyester films can be made to be FDA approved. This characteristic provides a tremendous benefit for applications such as face shields that are used in areas where sterilization and cleanliness is vital.
Most readily produced in gauges from 48 (1/2 mil) to .014, PET film is available as print treated on one or two sides for easy printability, slip treated for ease of handling, and in options such as super clear, clear, hazy and white depending on your particular needs.
Polyester or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a high-performance, crystal clear thermoplastic made from ethylene glycol and dimethyl terephthalate (DMT). In comparison with other common plastic films, PET film has higher tensile strength, excellent dimensional stability, low moisture absorption, and good retention of physical properties over a fairly wide temperature range. It also has superior UV resistance, excellent electrical properties, good optical clarity, high gloss, and good gas barrier but only moderate moisture barrier properties. It is the ideal film for quality printing and lamination and a good choice for a high performance plastic films and sheets. It has a relative high melting point, which makes it suitable for applications that require sterilization at high temperatures.
Because of its higher price relative to PVC, PE, and PP film, it is generally considered a specialty film.
PET can be metallized which results in improved gas barrier properties for demanding applications where long product shelf life is important. PET film is well suited for a broad range of industrial, electronic, and automotive applications. It is fully recyclable and can be easily reprocessed into many other products for many different applications. However, unlike paper and other cellulose products, PET does not readily decompose. However, biodegradable additives are available that enhance the biodegradation of this plastic without affecting the physical properties.
The most important polyester film is biaxially oriented PET or BOPET.1 In comparison to other common plastic films, it has better retention of physical properties over a fairly wide temperature range of about -70°C to 100°C.
Despite its higher price, BOPET has found many high volume applications that require this stronger and dimensionally stable film. A major drawback of BOPET is the higher manufacturing costs and higher capital investment in equipment.
PET film is often an excellent choice for more demanding applications in food and nonfood-film applications. Major uses include microwave, and medical packaging, plastic wrap, tape backing, printed films, plastic cards, protective coatings such as solar and safety window films, release films, transformer insulation films and flexible printed circuits. PET is also used as an aroma barrier film (e.g. coffee and tobacco packaging). This type of film is sometimes metallized by vapor deposition of metals, which further improves the barrier against oxygen, water vapor and aroma loss.
Due to the low odor, high chemical resistance and inertness, many PET grades are suitable for packaging applications under FDA regulations.
Polyester film is sold in various types, thicknesses, widths with properties tailored to meet specific requirements of particular end uses.
Firsta carries a variety of film products in varying grades, textures, and transparencies. Contact us today to discuss your polyester film needs and our dedicated film specialists will help you select the right solution for your application.
What plastic film material am I looking for?
Very often people use generic terms to describe specific types of plastic film. For example one of the most popular generic terms used to refer to film is &#;Acetate&#;. However, Acetate is specific type of cellulosic based polymer that is one of the oldest types of material used for making plastic film. This is why it is so commonly used to refer to plastic film. The meanings of these generic terms can vary from industry to industry. An example of this situation is use of the name &#;Mylar®&#;. Mylar® is the registered trademark owned by the E.I. Dupont Corporation for Bi-Axially Oriented Polyester Film. There are dozens of different types and grades of Mylar®, however, the term is generically used to describe a range of different films. For example people who work in the Architecture or Engineering business usually use the term Mylar® when discussing matte drafting film, which is a translucent base polyester film with a matte coating that can be drawn with a pen & ink. People who work on Graphic Arts, Printing, or Document Archiving areas tend to use the term Mylar® to refer to Clear Polyester Film. Emco Plastics stocks a wide variety of different kinds of plastic film products, in a variety of thicknesses and finishes.
In reference to thickness or gauge, is mils the same as millimeters or microns?
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Graphic Arts PET Film Supplier.
No, the gauge or thickness of plastic film is expressed in thousands of an inch, said as &#;mils&#;. For example, .005&#; is said &#;5 mils&#;. These are all different forms of measurement. One millimeter = .039&#; or &#;39 mils&#; thick.
About how thick is a mil?
For example, a piece of copier paper is about .004&#; (4 mils) thick.
Typically, what thickness of film does Emco Plastics stock?
Each item is different and should be checked. However, Emco Plastics usually does not stock film thinner than .001&#; (1 mil) or thicker than .060&#; (60 mil). See the Equivalency Chart below.
Mils (Thousands of an inch) Microns Millimeters .001&#; 24 . .002&#; 50 . .003&#; 72 . .004&#; 96 . .005&#; 120 .127 .007&#; 168 . .010&#; 40 .254 .015&#; 360 .381 .020&#; 480 .508What is slitting?
If material needs to be supplied in narrower rolls than we have available, then we put the roll on a machine called a slitter. This &#;cuts&#; the rolls to the width needed. This is called slitting. The narrowest that we can slit is 1&#; wide. We will not slit less than 100&#; of material. Our slitter has a +/- 1/16&#; tolerance. There is a converting fee for this custom manufacturing which becomes much more cost effective with larger quantities.
What is rewinding?
This is when you need a shorter length of material than normally available on the master roll. This allows us to supply the length you require for your application. There is converting fee for this service.
What is sheeting and square cutting?
Sheeted material is supplied from stock master rolls. We can also cut oversized non-square sheets from these master rolls. Then the sheets are subsequently square cut to the desired size. There is a +/- 1/16&#; tolerance for these cut sheets. We can only square cut sheets.
What is acetate film and acetate sheet?
Many people use the term &#;acetate film&#; to generically refer to plastic film. However, acetate film is really a specific type of plastic material called cellulose acetate. It is made of a polymer that is made from wood-pulp and or cotton fibers. Cellulose Acetate comes in two derivatives, Di-Acetate and Tri-Acetate. Emco Plastics is one of the largest stocking converters of Cellulose Di-Acetate in North America. We also stock Tri-Acetate but in a lesser variety or quantity than Di-Acetate. Acetate film is produced by two mechanical methods: solvent casting or forced extrusion. Because of its superior clarity and surface quality, solvent cast or cast acetate is the type of acetate we stock at Emco Plastics. Because Acetate is made from wood-pulp, it has certain attributes that are sometimes desirable and sometimes something you want to avoid &#; all depending on your application. See the table of attributes below:
Attributes of Emco&#;s Cellulose Acetate Film:
What is Mylar®?
Mylar® is often used to generically refer to plastic film, however, it is a registered trademark owned by Dupont Tejjin Films for specific types of plastic film products made from the resin Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET). The true generic term for this material is Polyester Film. Polyester Film is manufactured in a range of different styles, finishes and thicknesses.
What is Vinyl (PVC) Film?
Vinyl, otherwise known as polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, is a thermoplastic material that can be reprocessed using heat. Because of this trait, there are a broad range of formats in which it can be manufactured. However, with respect to what we do, we refer to vinyl as a thin film that ranges in thickness from .003&#; to 1/4&#;. Vinyl film is produced by two mechanical methods: calendaring or forced extrusion. Calendared PVC Film is the type of vinyl that Emco stocks, because of its superior clarity and surface. See the attributes below:
Attributes of Emco&#;s Rigid PVC Film:
Is rigid vinyl available in colors?
Yes, rigid vinyl is available in clear, white and several other standard colors.
Is rigid vinyl recommended for outdoor use?
Yes, the manufacturer recommends calendared UVI vinyl for extended outdoor use.
Can rigid vinyl be die cut?
Yes, both steel rule and Class A dies work very well for cutting rigid vinyl.
What is the best way to glue rigid vinyl?
Solvent cements and PVC cements work well with rigid vinyl, as do ultra high bond tapes which offer a non adhesive attachment option.
For more information, please visit Graphic Arts PET Film Wholesale.