One of the trends in office suites is the addition of the “fish bowl” conference room. Most of these have glass on at least one side and many of them have glass on multiple sides. And although this style is very trendy and really does look very nice, it does present a few issues. The top two issues are privacy and confidentiality.
When we were contacted about installing etched glass on a conference room wall, we were excited about the project. Our customer, a financial services company, was having problems conducting financial reviews for their customers in the “fish bowl”. They also had a problem trying to discuss employment issues with the financial services reps as everything they talked about or put up on the whiteboard was being shared with everyone that walked by their suite.
We started by presenting the customer with a number of designs using etched glass. From their logo cut in relief, to a simple panel design, the customer was pretty certain that they knew exactly what they wanted. A simple panel design it was. Next we reviewed the different degrees of etched/frosted glass. Some have a very high degree of sparkle, others have much less and are referred to as ‘frosted’. Our customer decided on a no sparkle, frosted glass by Orafol. The 8810 Frosted Glass is an industry staple. The product is very consistent and applies very cleanly and is easy to cut. This product came in on a plastic backer which we had never used before. Almost all etched/frosted glass come with a paper backer. The paper backer requires the installers to use application tape to apply the product. But in this case the application tape served no function as the poly liner was made to cleanly release the product.
With etched/frosted glass, all manufacturers recommend a wet install. We wet both the surface that the etched vinyl will be applied to and the product. By very carefully squeegeing the water out from underneath the product, you get a very clean install devoid of wrinkles and bubbles. If you do it wrong, you get to replace the piece of vinyl. There is no middle ground. Normally, this product dries completely within a few days to a crystal clean appearance. We always recommend that the customer not clean the glass for at least 5 days to make sure that the vinyl is completely dry and attached to the glass. After that any type of window or glass cleaner work very well.
When working with etched glass you need an experienced company that understands the differences in manufacturers and types of product. That’s where Optimum Signs comes in. We have installed just about every type/kind of etched glass (including a product that will soon rock the market). So when you need a professional to create, cut and install etched/frosted glass, please call us at 262.289.9481 or email us at info@optimumsignswi.com.
