3 new 3M films were announced at a webinar last Friday. 3M expects to introduce at least 10 new products over the next year. Two of the new products are value priced security films. One has a matte finish. It is priced for use on a large scale when prices need to be low. It carries a 1 year warranty. It is not as good as the Fasara film. The Fasara is whiter and is easier to cut. Also the Fasara leaves less residue when it is removed. The new film is able to compete with the lower priced films though Fasara is always the more recommended product. When pricing is an issue, this new film can meet a clients needs. The other security film is a black-out film and again is value priced. It is black on black and is glossy. It is used on the interior of the glass. (solutions.3m.com)
The third new 3M film is a mirrored film for a one-way mirror effect. No mirrored film that makes a one-way mirror is completely mirror on one-side and see through on the other. It is impossible to make this. The effect is achieved by a combination of light and film. The room on the mirror side must be brighter than in the room of the non-reflective side of the film. When I was teaching, we had a one-way mirrored glass from the teachers office to the classroom to be able to record student behavior. It was not film, but a special made glass for that purpose. It was not as effective as it could have been because of the lack of understanding of how the lighting affected the way it worked. When it was first installed, that might have been explained to the school staff but as time went on the information was not passed on to new staff.
These 3 new 3M films announced will be available March 1.