Overlaminate This! Rock Your Wall, Floor and Window Graphics

Overlaminates can help your business thrive. Who would have thought they could? Yet, overlaminates offer the finishing touch to your sign while keeping your designs safe.

In the race to open your business or complete a renovation, have you ever considered how overlaminates can help to improve the aesthetics and durability of your wall, window, and floor graphics? 

The answer is “probably not.” So, next time you speak to your sign company about your illuminated signs, window, floor, and wall graphics, try to discuss overlaminates and how they can positively impact your signage project.

 If you need to know why take five minutes to read on.

“Overlaminates,” you said?

Is our graphic design going to get us that “wow” factor? Are the graphics going to be installed on time for the ribbon-cutting? How will people react to our choices? What kind of feedback are we going to get?

These are some of the questions that many business owners have in mind when discussing signage. In other words, it is in our human nature to focus on the immediacy of the reaction to offer a great brand experience. 

But, how will the graphics on walls, floors, and windows look like in a few months or years after the installation? Perhaps, business owners assume that they will not change.

For sure, as directly responsible for your marketing choices, you would hope that your investment will last at least a few months or even a few years. But, have you specified or discussed your options to protect your designs from environmental damages?

The answer is simple: Overlaminates.

What’s an Overlaminate?

They are your wall, window, and floor graphics best friends. And yet, you probably never noticed them or even suspected that they existed. 

Overlaminates are thin protective films that are laminated onto your printed vinyl to offer protection to UV degradation, water, pollution, and many other external factors.  

They come in a variety of clarity, finishes, and textures to protect your graphic designs. They can be:
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• Translucent and transparent to allow daylight to enhance your window graphics 
• Textured which will take advantage of the surface imperfections of the wall or offer a specific visual effect
• Anti-slip for floors
• Scratch, skid & scuff resistant with different levels of hard-coat.
• Anti-graffiti 

By adding the appropriate overlaminate, you can dramatically increase the functionality of your signage while increasing their life-time.  

From a purely visual perspective, overlaminates offer the ability to get different surface cosmetics:
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• With a medium gloss or high gloss, the overlaminate will help to really accentuate the vibrancy of your colors and enhance the overall design
• With a matte to ultra-matte finish, your overlaminate will reduce light reflection and allow your design to blend into the surroundings

In other words, overlaminates can help alter the appearance of a graphic by adding effects. But, when considering which overlaminate to apply onto your surface, one needs to consider the surface it will be applied to. In this case, the choice may differ depending on:

• The substrate - Is the substrate going to be stretched or not?
• The end application - floor? window? wall?
• The environment - Is the graphic going to be exposed to the direct sun? Rain? High or low temperatures?
• The conditions of use - Is the overlaminate exposed to cleaning agents or other chemicals?
• The durability specifications - What lifetime is expected?

There are a variety of overlaminates including: 
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• Polyesters
• Polyvinyl fluorides
• Polypropylene
• Polycarbonates
• Calendered and cast vinyl. 

Each face stock offers a variety of performances. Hence, understanding the application and performance requirements will help narrow down the choice. If you have a flat surface or a curved one where conformability is key, the technical selection of the overlaminate will not be the same.

Applied to end-applications like floor graphics, wall graphics or window graphics, the opportunities created by manufacturers like the 3M line of overlaminates help meet almost any client expectations, and sometimes for a fraction of the overall sign investment.

What’s Next? 

​Understanding the specifics of the application will help to select the right overlaminate that will enhance and protect your graphics.

​We at Insignia Signs and Wraps can help you expand the possibilities extend the life of your signage.