In this blog, we tackle the age old question: should perforated window vinyl be laminated, or left as is? This is a timely column for Front Range Vital Signs. We have done, or are in the process of doing several window graphics. Overall, our, and our customer's tendency has been not to laminate. Lets take a look at the pros and cons of each. Our first example comes from the windows on the front of our location. We did not use any laminate. We have 4 widows that are 50 to 75% covered with the graphic. our location is South facing, so it does not get too much sun (the trees help reduce the sunlight as well). There is also an overhang that extends about 4 feet out from the windows, so they generally will not see too much direct contact with the elements. The vehicles we are working on are another issue. One customer already has a graphic on his back window, and it is laminated. He has had it for approximately one and half years, and you can barely see out of the window due to the laminate seeming to have blistered and cracked. The replacement that we are doing for him will not have laminate (a configuration that he has used in the past). Why would you want to use laminate? Well laminate protects the graphic from the elements. It has UV filters that prevent the sun from fading the graphic. It prevents water and dirt from getting in all of the perforations and making it impossible to see out of. It can also extend the life of the graphic. So, were we wrong not to laminate the perf that we put on our business windows? Was our customer wrong to go with non-laminated perf for his car? The first question you need to answer is what are your expectations? The opinion of Front Range Vital Signs is that window graphics are a more short term method of advertising. Laminate can reduce the normal visibility through your windows, even with optically clear laminate. It is adding another layer that you need to be able to see through. In our opinion, it is best to have good visibility the majority of the time (when it is nice out), and give up some visibility when it is raining, which shouldn't be too much of the time. Here again, being in Colorado where the sun is out over 300 days/year may be a big reason for our thought process. If we were in a wetter climate it might make sense to laminate, as having rain might be the norm. There is also an increased cost of the graphic to be laminated. This plays into our "short term marketing" comment above. If you're going to change this out in a year or less, is it worth the extra expense to laminate? Well, now you've heard our opinion, let's hear yours?