Feb 10
Love1
3M night vision window film on a sky rise

About 3M Night Vision Window Film

By window film No Comments

You’re in the office working late on an RFP. 

Over the past few hectic months, you’ve learned a lot about commercial window film – how it significantly reduces heating and cooling costs due to its unique heat rejection and thermal properties, how UV protection window film maintains the longevity of your furnishings and building decor by blocking UV rays, and how it can protect your building from stormy weather and break-ins because it strengthens your window glass. 

All of these commercial window tinting benefits are important to your company, and the RFP you’re working on requires project bidders to be experts in all these aspects of commercial grade window tint. 

As you lean back in your desk chair to stretch before finishing your RFP draft, you notice that the sun is slipping below the cityscape horizon that makes your office view spectacular. But as the distinctive skyline lights twinkle into view in the darkness, all you can see is your reflection in your office windows. 

“It’s a shame there isn’t a film that can save on energy costs and help maintain my office view 24/7,” you think to yourself. 

“Or is there?”

Discover 3M Night Vision Window Film 

3M Night Vision film offers all the benefits you’ve come to expect from world-class, high-tech window films, plus it has one critical additional benefit:

It allows you to enjoy spectacular nighttime views, with substantially reduced glare and reflection – when compared to other dual reflective films.

Night Vision film:

  • Rejects up to 66% of the sun’s heat*, which reduces your cooling costs 
  • Features low interior reflectivity around the clock, so your views stay crystal clear all day and all night
  • Blocks harmful UV rays from damaging your building’s interior
  • Delivers glare-free visibility that reduces eye strain, thereby enhancing office productivity
  • Enhances privacy with a reflective exterior surface that makes it hard for outsiders to see in, but easy for you to see out 

Enjoy the Proven Benefits of Night Vision Film 

Before finalizing that RFP, you may as well add in a section on Night Vision film, such as NV 15, by 3M.

Since commercial window film installation is a big project, and since you’ve spent so much time on this project already, you may as well get the perfect film for your building. 

After all, once the film is installed and you’ve stayed in the office late one evening to put together the report on your first year’s cost savings… won’t it be nice to lean back in your desk chair, stretch, and enjoy the gorgeous lights of the city spread out in front of you? 

Of course it will. And it’s the very least you deserve for all your hard work.

Work with America’s #1 Commercial Window Film Company for Your Night Vision Film Installation

As one of the nation’s leading experts in window film, with one of the best service models you’ve ever experienced, NGS can manage every aspect of your window film project. 

All you’ll have to do is look forward to the completion of a job well done. 

As you send out your RFP, consider including the NGS team – it’s so easy to get in touch with us, and even easier to work with us!

 

*performance based on ¼” single pane clear glass.

Feb 03
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Hallway looking is to offices with glass windows with smart window film

Comparison of Smart Window Film and Other Privacy Window Film Options

By safety & security Films, smart window film, window film No Comments

By this point, you already know that smart window film is eye-catching, exciting, high tech, and a cost-effective alternative to mechanical blinds or new glazing… but if you’re using it solely for privacy, it’s worth figuring out how smart window film compares to other privacy film options. 

That’s what we’ll be discussing today. 

Smart Window Film vs. One Way Privacy Window Film

One way privacy film, such as 3M One Way Mirror Film, enhances security and privacy in buildings, creating a private area within the building that looks like a mirror to outside observers, but provides an unobstructed view to people within the mirrored area. 

Because of these highly specific capabilities, one way privacy window film is a great fit for interior rooms in schools, as well as security areas in commercial spaces – but be aware that mirrored privacy films require a light differential, so you’ll want to consult with a window film expert before investing in one way film. 

The bottom line: Smart window film transforms from opaque to clear at the touch of a button, blocking or clearing views on both sides of your glass. One way privacy film maintains privacy on one side while allowing full visibility on the other side. 

Smart Window Film vs. Decorative Privacy Window Film

Decorative privacy window films provide a welcoming façade as well as flexible, attractive privacy on any of your glass doors, windows, or walls. Decorative privacy film is useful in any situation in which you don’t require a clear line of vision. Since it comes in a nearly unlimited variety of textures, colors, and patterns, you can use it to easily personalize and modernize your space. 

When most people think of decorative privacy window films, they think of solid-surface applications, such as covering a glass wall with frosted privacy window film or white opaque window film. However, decorative films can also be cut precisely into shapes, bands, and other designs (including your logo!), which can provide privacy without covering your glass entirely. 

The bottom line: Smart window film can be used on part or all of your glass windows, doors, or walls, but can switch from clear to opaque depending on your current needs. Decorative privacy window film obscures your view at all times, but it can also cover part or all of your glass doors, windows, or walls. 

Smart Window Film vs. Blackout Film

Sometimes you want flexible privacy – and sometimes you wish your location just didn’t have so many darn windows. When you need to block prying eyes from sensitive data at your POS terminals, or you simply want to block the view of your storage room, blackout film, such as 3M Blackout Film is probably the right choice to use. 

Blackout film is an opaque black that completely obscures the view of something you don’t want seen. However, if black isn’t your style, you have color options. 

In fact, that’s exactly, what Dollar Tree did at a few of their stores, hiring the window film manufacturing experts at NGS to create a custom opaque window film in Dollar Tree’s signature shade of green. 

The bottom line: Smart window film changes from clear to opaque, which isn’t necessary for situations in which you want to completely obscure the view, all the time. In those situations, blackout film is the right choice. 

Read the Dollar Tree Case Study

Smart Window Film vs. Glass Graphics

If you’re looking for privacy and eye-catching designs, consider using full-size glass graphics on your windows, doors, and interior glass accents. Glass graphics help increase your signage and is therefore extremely effective for retail applications. It can also help strengthen your brand message, call attention to a new location, and even share the news about limited-time deals and sales. 

Interested in glass graphics but aren’t sure how to get started? The team at NGS can help you with every stage of this process, including selection of the most appropriate glass graphics materials for your needs, high-quality design and manufacturing of your graphics – and even installation! 

From concept to completion, NGS has got you covered, no matter if you’d like glass graphics, blackout film, decorative privacy film, one way privacy film, or smart film. 

The bottom line: The high-tech, switchable nature of smart film does a great job of grabbing attention, especially in retail locations, but if you want to grab attention while building your brand or sharing new information with potential customers, glass graphics may be a better choice. 

Choose the Smart Window Film Experts – NGS! 

Hopefully, this article helped you determine whether or not smart film was the right choice for your windows in your office building, school, hospital, hotel, retail store, or government building. 

If you decided that, Yes, You Would Like More Info on Smart Film, you may as well get a detailed consultation that takes your specific needs into account. 

Smart film is extremely flexible and cost-effective, especially when compared with smart glass windows, which may require full glazing replacement if the smart electrical components wear out, but there are certain areas in which smart window film is a better choice – and certain areas where privacy window film is a better choice. 

Instead of wasting your time trying to do all the glass film research yourself, it’s a better idea to simply get the experts to walk through your location and help you determine your best options for longevity, aesthetics, and, of course, effective privacy. 

As the #1 Commercial Window Film Company in the U.S. and the team behind some of the largest smart film and privacy film installations in the nation, NGS has the experience and know-how to get you started off right with your smart window film and privacy film selections. 

Check out these creative applications for smart film, so you can start thinking about how you can transform your space with NGS.

Feb 03
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Office scene with desk and computer with a clean window backdrop with solar window film

Smart Window Film Facts

By smart window film, window film No Comments

If you’ve seen smart window film, you already know how totally cool it is – but smart film is even cooler than you think. 

In this article, we’ll discuss the facts on smart window film, including the science behind it and the right way to install it, so you can make sure the privacy window film installer you hire for your smart film project is a trustworthy expert. 

Ready to get started? Let’s dive right in. 

How the Heck Does Smart Window Film Work?

As you already know, smart film switches back and forth from being a white opaque window film to being completely clear, just with the tap of an app button – like so: 

Pure magic, right? 

Well, no. Pure technology. 

As science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,” and smart film definitely fits in that science fiction “magic” category. 

Here’s how it works: 

  • Smart film consists of thin sheets of PDLC (polymer dispersed liquid crystal). 
  • PDLC is made up of many thousands of liquid crystal droplets, which are dispersed across the film in a polymer. 
  • Without an electrical charge, the liquid crystal droplets randomly orient themselves across the polymer. 
  • In a random orientation, the droplets act a lot like the surface of a lake on a windy day. 
  • Think about it: When the wind hits the surface of the lake, the droplets of the lake randomly orient themselves in response to the wind…
  • … and this random orientation ruffles the surface of the water and makes the surface of the lake opaque, so you can’t see through it to the lake floor.
  • Similarly, when the liquid crystal droplets of the PDLC smart film are randomly oriented without an electrical charge, they turn the surface of the film opaque white, so you can’t see through it. 

But… 

  • Each of the liquid crystal droplets can (and do) move around when exposed to electricity. 
  • Specifically, when exposed to electricity, the droplets rearrange themselves into regimented patterns along parallel axes…
  • …and in those regimented patterns, the rearranged droplets allow light to pass through them. 
  • In this pattern, the droplets are rearranged and stilled, much like how the surface of a calm lake becomes crystal clear, so you can see through it to the lake floor. 

Pretty cool, right? 

PDLC Smart Film vs. Electrochromic Smart Glass

Of course, PDLC smart film is only one method of transforming glass back and forth between a clear state and an opaque state. The other popular method of doing this is by using electrochromic smart glass – but electrochromic glass has a lot of drawbacks when used for commercial or decorative purposes. 

First, let’s talk about how electrochromic glass works, and then it’ll be easier to understand why many business leaders choose smart film over smart glass for their commercial window tinting solution. 

  • Electrochromic smart glass consists of a microscopically thin electrochromic material that is sandwiched between two layers of glass. 
  • When electricity is applied to the electrochromic material, the material changes from transparent to opaque (or vice versa). 
  • Electrochromic glass transformation starts on the edges of the material and moves inward, ranging from a few seconds to a few minutes long for full transformation (depending on window size). 
  • In its opaque state, electrochromic smart glass can be blue, black, white, or other colors, but on large panes of glass, the color you choose may go through a few tint changes as it darkens from the edges to the center of the glass. 
  • This tint change is called the “iris effect.” 

With that explanation, you can see why many business leaders choose PDLC smart film over electrochromic smart glass: 

  • PDLC smart window film becomes a uniform, frosted white when opaque, which is more desirable than variable tinting from the edges to the center of your glass. 
  • PDLC smart film switches from clear to opaque in an instant, whereas electrochromic film can take minutes to switch. 
  • PDLC smart film can be applied to existing glass, but electrochromic glass requires full glass replacement.
  • If an electrical component fails in PDLC smart film, all you have to do is replace the film and get back to work. If an electrical component fails in electrochromic glass, you have to replace the entire glass window, door, or accent wall. 

One benefit that electrochromic glass offers over PDLC smart film is that it only requires electricity for its transformation process. Once electrochromic glass is either clear or opaque, it can maintain that state indefinitely, without additional power. 

In contrast, PDLC smart film is only clear while the electricity is on. If the power is turned off, smart film immediately becomes frosted privacy window film.

How to Install Smart Film So It Works Right and Looks Great

Now that you know how smart film changes from frosted privacy window film to crystal-clear visibility, and you understand why PDLC smart film is often a better choice for businesses than electrochromic glass, you need to know how to hire for a professional smart film installation job. 

Here’s how to make sure your commercial window tinting smart film installer is an expert: 

  • They know how to “trim out” the smart film to hide wires.
    Smart window film requires electricity, and electricity requires wiring. No one wants to see ugly wires around their glass windows, doors, or accent walls, so you need to make sure your installer has a plan to hide those wires. Experts will hide wires by customizing the colors of the wiremolds so they precisely match the adjacent window frames, and the installers will also use specific materials to hide the backside of the exposed wires, delivering an attractive, finished look to your smart film windows.
  • They know how to install the wiring.
    Window film experts typically aren’t electricians – yet it takes some electrical skill to properly install strong, long-lasting wiring, on a dedicated electrical circuit, so you can keep your PDLC smart film working for years. Make sure your installer has extensive smart film experience in a variety of settings because you don’t want them guessing on how to complete your installation.
  • They know how to protect your investment
    Edge sealing is a common practice among leading smart film installation experts, because edge sealing prevents water and other contaminants from getting between your film and your glass. Unsealed or exposed smart film edges can stress and wear out your smart film’s electrical components, and those unsealed edges can also cause film to buckle or become baggy. Ensure your installer has sealed the edges of your film, so you can maintain your investment.

Check out the video below to see how an expert smart window film installer keeps your smart film attractive and long lasting.

Get Your Smart Film Installed Properly with NGS

Make sure your smart film project is a success when you work with NGS. 

As nationally recognized smart film experts, as well as the #1 Commercial Window Film Company in the U.S., NGS has the wide-ranging experience to ensure that your smart window film exceeds your expectations for beauty and high performance. 

 

Not sure how to use smart film in your building or business? Check out these creative ideas! 

Jan 17
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Man on phone standing in front of smart film, frosted windows and a staircase

How Smart Film Can Transform Your Space

By safety & security Films, Solutions, window film No Comments

Window film technology is highly advanced these days, using microprisms, chromatic manipulation, and smart films that can be controlled with a switch, an app, or even an Alexa / Siri voice command. 

As you can see, smart film brings a definite “cool factor” to your modern space – and it’s a great cost saver when compared to smart glass windows because the film is a retrofit that covers your existing glazing and is easy to replace. 

If you’re wondering how you can apply smart film technologies to enhance and beautify your retail, medical, education, government, hotel, or commercial space, this article will help. 

Spark your creativity with this list of 5 great benefits and uses for smart film. 

A luxurious, comfortable atmosphere

Modern stadiums and performance venues must provide comfortable seating and an atmosphere of luxury to keep ticket holders satisfied. 

Smart films help you provide the ultimate in comfort and luxury by giving your guests the feeling of privacy in every seat or section – check out how the window film experts at NGS helped the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta leverage smart film to do exactly that! 

Secured sensitive business data

In today’s regulatory environment, it’s important to keep sensitive business data private from prying eyes. A variety of privacy films, including one way privacy window film and smart window film, can help you achieve that goal. 

Check out how NGS protected sensitive data in an operations center with full-glass smart film privacy protection:

And then check out how NGS used a different kind of privacy film, known as Casper Cloaking Film, to block only sensitive data on an LCD TV presentation, while leaving the conference room visible: 

Open office privacy

Open offices are a great use of space and they effectively foster collaboration, but sometimes privacy is required to incubate great, new ideas. 

Unfortunately, some decorative privacy window film can “close off” open office space – whereas the switchable technology of smart window film makes it possible for you to maintain both open space and closed space, depending on your changing needs. 

Provide your staff with both an open office setup as well as flexible privacy, with smart window film, just like this innovative company did: 

Glare-free lighting in skylights, atriums, and glass-filled accents 

Studies show that natural lighting increases workplace productivity – but sometimes too much light can hamper, rather than help, productivity. 

Since the sun moves throughout the year, your natural lighting might be perfect in some seasons, but in other seasons you have two choices: either fight with impractical blinds that are so large they’re prone to breakage… or use smart film that blocks out glare at the tap of a button. 

Here’s one example of a smart film application with a frosted privacy window film trim that blocked sunlight and glare in a luxury condo: 

Eye-catching projection displays

Smart films aren’t only for privacy. Since they become a frosted white opaque window film when activated, they’re also great for displaying eye-catching videos on any glass surface in your space. 

Check out how smart film turns regular glass into an LCD screen in this example: 

Let Your Imagination Run Wild

The previous 5 examples were only a starting point to spark your creativity, but we’re sure you can come up with the perfect idea to enhance and beautify your space. 

Want more suggestions? There are many more applications in which smart window film or privacy film are the best option, including: 

Once you’ve got an idea in mind — of if you’d like help brainstorming — get in contact with the smart film and privacy film installation experts at NGS. We’re always happy to help you develop the right idea for innovations that stick. 

Ensure Your Smart Window Film Project Is a Success – Work with the Experts!

Ready to get smart film in your space? Make sure you work with film installation experts, so you can ensure an attractive, unobtrusive installation. 

Because NGS is the nation’s #1 Commercial Window Film Company with smart film expertise, NGS is the team to trust to ensure your smart film project is a success. 

NGS knows that since smart film is an electrical film, it comes with wires – and no one wants to see ugly wires near their beautiful glass. The NGS team has the tools and expertise to cleverly disguise wires by trimming out your glass with matching framing and color-matched wire moldings that keep your smart film fully invisible when you don’t want it to be seen – and fully opaque when you don’t want to be seen. 

 

Learn more about smart window film options from NGS when you check out the creative privacy and smart window film applications from our online gallery. 

Jan 16
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Broken window with hole

Ballistic Film

By Damage reduction window film, safety & security Films, window film No Comments

We know what you’re thinking: Is ballistic film bulletproof? 

Quick answer: NO. There is no easy or cheap way to bulletproof your existing glass windows reliably. 

However, you can use ballistic film to delay or deter active shooters – and that’s what this blog is about. 

If you’re looking for a glazing replacement that stops bullets, that also exists (just not as a window film). Contact the building security glass experts at NGS to learn more about how you can create a bullet shield for your building. 

What Can Ballistic Film Do?

If ballistic film can’t stop bullets, what can it do? Well, quite a bit, actually. 

It can:

  • Keep your building occupants safe
    Because ballistic film is a shatter resistant security film, it reduces spall hazards to your building occupants or guests. (“Spall” is the dangerous, small glass shards that bullets produce when they hit glass.)
  • Keep your inventory and equipment safe
    Most commercial doors and windows are made with tempered glass, which breaks into a trillion little cubes on impact. While those little cubes are great for reducing window shard injury for people, their crumbly nature doesn’t do much to protect your premises when thieves or intruders shoot your windows. 
  • Ballistic window film transforms all windows into shatterproof windows, which keeps your premises and occupants safer in the event of an attack or shooting.
  • Slow down intruders to buy time for escape
    This is probably the most important feature that ballistic film offers. Because practical, bullet-resistant glass doesn’t actually exist, security solutions such as 3M shatter resistant films are used to strengthen existing glass windows and doors and keep active shooters out of your building.

How this works:

In the video below, compare the first window attack with the second window attack. As you’ll see, the tempered glass shatters into thousands of tiny cubes in the first window attack, and the gunman is able to breach the glass with little to no effort. Compare that to the second window, which uses ballistic window film, and you’ll see how the film maintains the structural integrity of the glass cubes, keeping them safely stuck together and delaying the gunman. 

Buy Critical, Lifesaving Time with Ballistic Film

As the video shows, the shooter took nearly 10x as long to get even partially through the glass treated with 3M security film:

It took only 20 seconds for the shooter to breach the untreated glass, as compared to 2 minutes for the treated glass. 

Consider how many more people could escape or get to safety zones in an armed gunman situation if they had 2 minutes to react, rather than 20 seconds. 

Then consider how many more people would survive the attack if you could increase that time to nearly 6 minutes, as shown on the third window attack in the video, which includes the triple-thick security of ballistic film, plus a TRI-SHIELD anti-intrusion system. 

In an emergency active shooter situation, those extra minutes can save extra lives. 

Learn More About Ballistic Glass Solutions from the Experts at NGS

A building properly hardened with 3M security film can do a lot more to save lives than untreated glass, but for next-level protection, you may want to consider a virtually bulletproof glass solution. Riot Glass is one such solution, but it’s just one of many options. 

If you’re ready to improve your building’s protection capabilities, so you can save more lives in an active shooter situation, your best bet is to discuss your options with the experts. 

 

Contact NGS to learn more about your ballistic film and window options. 

Dec 26
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M. Fredric LAS

How to Ensure Seamless Business Signage Installation for Commercial Properties

By Signs No Comments

Signage is a key initiative for hotels, banks, hospitals, schools, office buildings, and other large commercial properties – and the larger the building, the larger the project. Here’s how to ensure seamless signage success on your project, no matter how large your building.

For the purposes of this article, we’re assuming you’ve already been working with your architects and designers for your signage design… but now it’s time to move out of the concept stage and take action.

Learn how the nationwide signage team at NGS can help you execute your signage plans, so you can count on a seamless install.

NGS – We Ensure Your Signage Project Success

After your architects and designers have developed your signage, it’s time to take the next step. Unfortunately, that next “step” has a lot of little steps included – such as city permit approvals, sign manufacturing, logistics, and coordinating with general contractors and other trades on site to put your signs on full display, right where you want them.

On your end, all of these little steps can add up to one big hassle for you – or you can leave all the details, hard work, and heavy lifting to NGS. We’ll manage your full project for you, making sure all your teams work together cohesively to get your signage completed right on time and right on budget.

Many other business signage companies will handle a part of your exterior signage or interior signage project, but NGS is known for our comprehensive service, including:

  • Project cohesiveness

    We’ll get all your teams working together, so you can focus on more pressing business needs, knowing that your indoor signage or façade signage will be taken care of for you.
  • Large-scale project coordination

    Bigger, multi-part projects require you to keep careful track of a lot more details. NGS handles all the details for you, including shipping times, manufacture times, various install methodologies, and needed indoor and outdoor installation equipment, such as lifts and scaffolds.
  • Design review and permits 

    Not only will the experienced signage experts at NGS serve as the second pair of eyes you can count on to ensure your signage design team hasn’t overlooked anything, our expert team is also well-versed in city codes across the nation. That means we’re one of the only external signage companies you can count on to take care of all those frustrating permit details and approvals for you, hassle-free.

  • Materials considerations

    The high-tech world of sign materials is always in flux, which can make it tough to ensure you’re working with the right types of signage materials for your project. As a leading national consultant, manufacturer, and installer for large-scale business signage, you can trust the NGS team to help guide you in your search for the most durable, well-crafted solutions for your exact signage needs – and then manufacture and install your perfect signs for you.

Work with NGS, the Signage Experts

Coordinating signage projects is a complex process – but when you work with the signage experts at NGS, you can leave all the complicated tasks to us.

NGS is the trusted, nationwide team that helps you take care of every detail of your signage, from concept to completion. In addition to acting as a second set of eyes on your design, we also provide turnkey manufacturing, installation, and project management services that get you the high-quality signs you want, exactly when you want them, 100% hassle-free.

 

Learn more about your interior and exterior signage options with NGS.

Dec 20
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Event signage that reads "this must be the place"

Event Signage for Function and a Better Customer Experience

By Signs No Comments

Planning an event such as a store opening or a conference? The signage experts at NGS have got you covered with all your event signage needs.

But, wait… what exactly is it that you need for your event? Not sure? This guide is here to get you started off right with your event signage planning.

Let’s be honest here. Planning an event requires you to focus on bigger concerns than your event signs. Handoff the work to one of the nation’s leading event signage companies, NGS, so you can trust that all the signage details will be taken care of for you, hassle-free. Get in touch with NGS on our contact page.

What Types of Event Signage Are There?

Whether you’re calling attention to an event area, you’re encouraging your attendees to share your event with the world, or you simply want to ensure that your event’s attendees have a great time, great signage for your event can help you accomplish your goals.

Here are a few of the top types of event signage categories you may want to consider as you’re planning:

Wayfinding signage

Good directional signage for events is critical to your success. You want your guests to feel comfortable parking, navigating through your venue to find your event, and effortlessly making their way between various event areas throughout the course of your event – whether it be for an evening gala or a week-long summit.

The signage and graphics experts at NGS can help you set up high-quality wayfinding signage that sticks to absolutely any surface — floors, walls, windows, or ceilings! — which will deliver directions and branding all at the same time. Best of all, you can also rely on reusable wall decals that will help you easily peel your signage off of your walls at the end of your event for a fast cleanup – and then reuse the same graphics whenever you need them again.

Barricade graphics

Planning a store opening, or need temporary walls to section off key areas for your event? Barricade graphics provide the colorful, custom look that’ll keep your event and company branding front-and-center for attendees and future customers.

The experienced NGS team takes care of every aspect of barricade graphics for you, including graphic design, barricade set up, and full installation, which means you’ll have time to work on other, more pressing aspects of your event planning – such as catering!

Floor graphics

Floor graphics are great for drawing attention to specific event areas, communicating safety information, marking off booth setup areas, and more… but choosing the right floor graphics solution is harder than you may think. You need a resilient, colorfast option, which can safely and smoothly adhere to any surface without causing damage to your venue’s floors.

Yet again, the NGS signage team has got you covered with a wide range of floor graphic solutions that meet your needs, including 3M Controltac and 3M Envison, which hold up to heavy foot traffic and securely adhere to any surface — sidewalks, carpets, asphalt, linoleum, tile, and more — yet can be removed easily.

Advertising & promotion graphics

Which would you rather: have your event attendees simply stand in lines or walk through central hubs, or have attendees stop and help you advertise your event online while in line or passing between event areas? Certain event areas, such as waiting areas or central hubs, naturally lend themselves to advertising and event promotion, but unless you have graphic design signage in place that encourages attendees to snap pics and share them using your hashtag… well, you’ll be missing out on a key branding opportunity.

Work with the NGS team, or simply hand over the reins, and we’ll ensure you have ample opportunity to encourage your guests to interact with their surroundings and share their event excitement with the world. NGS has spent years helping clients improve their visibility – we’re happy to help you too.

Sponsorship callouts

If you’re hosting a gala or a conference, you’ll want an elegant way to call attention to the sponsors who helped make your event possible. Creative event signage can help here too because it’ll give you the flexibility to thank your sponsors in multiple areas throughout your venue, so you can truly express the extent of your gratitude for their generosity.

Looking for innovative ideas to highlight those sponsors’ names? NGS can help you strategize on what types and styles of signage or graphics make sense for each sponsorship tier and where to place your signage for maximum attention. Of course, we’ll be there to install your signage too – which means we’ll be there with you every step of the way.

Decorative graphics

A successful event is all about setting the scene, and high-quality decorative graphics are the best way to transform your one-size-fits-all venue into a one-of-a-kind, unique event that matches your particular brand and theme. Cover your walls, floors, ceilings, fixtures, glass, doors, temporary partitions — even your entire building envelope! — with unified decorative graphics that will make your event stand out, both in person and in attendees’ memories for years to come.

Functional event signage, such as wayfinding, sponsorship, branding, and promotional graphics can be straightforward to plan because they have a clear purpose – but decorative graphics can be harder to plan and design. Rely on the NGS team for every part of your event signage, including decorative graphics, with our full-service project management that takes care of everything from concept to completion.

Make Your Event a Success – Everywhere Across the Nation!

Planning an annual event, such as a conference or summit? Your event will naturally become more complex every year because attendees will expect you to constantly top last year’s offerings – but, luckily, there’s a way you can at least ensure that your signage planning stays simple year after year after year.

How? By working with the signage experts at NGS, of course!

Wherever you choose to hold your event, NGS has an outpost in that U.S. state, guaranteed, and we’ll be ready to work with you every year, in every state, to ease your signage setup and help make every one of your events the success it deserves to be.

 

Got an event that you’re planning? Don’t waste time managing your own event signage. Instead, contact NGS to learn more about how we can help, now and in the years to come.

 

Dec 20
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Retail signage promoting a special deal

The Function of Signage in Retail and How It Helps Your Customers

By retail, Signs No Comments

As a leader in the retail industry, you can say with confidence that you really know signage.

You know how to design a great, eye-catching sign. You’ve spent days of your life arguing with city permit departments and landlords about the feasibility of various outdoor building signage choices. When you’re stuck in government buildings and airports, you cringe at how they (mis)use their signage.

We gotta hand it to you: you are officially a signage expert.

However… your extreme fluency in the world of signage may mean that you’re overlooking something – namely, how signage affects people who don’t understand any of the finer details about signs. Yup, we’re talking about your customers.

Let’s take a moment to go back to the basics about signage, so you can make sure you’re taking advantage of all the benefits that signage provides your retail company.

The Functions of Signage in Retail

Of course corporate signage can be used for branding, which is why your company’s logo and colors matter, as well as your choice of signage material. But, as all the good corporate signage companies can tell you, effective signage can also be used for a lot more!

Signage can help in at least 3 surprising ways:

  1. Entice customers into exploring hidden areas of your stores
  2. Encourage last-minute impulse buying at the cash wrap
  3. Deliver in-store social cues that can expand your marketing reach

Let’s dig into these a bit more.

1. Use Signage to Entice Customers into Exploring Hidden Areas of Your Stores

Well-placed signage in surprising locations, such as on floors, ceilings, or glass signage around corners, can draw your customers into areas of your retail store that they may not have otherwise visited.

Maximize your space by calling attention to displays in various store areas using directional signage designs like footprints or arrows on the floor, walls, or ceilings with resilient 3M Controltac signage – or visually expand your space with innovative stick-on embellishments. Options include stick-on mirror films, metallic architectural films, or personalized graphics with texture, such as the realistic wood accents Tillys added to their stores.

Read More About How Tillys Appealed to Customers

2. Use Signage to Encourage Last-Minute Impulse Buying at the Cash Wrap

As a retail expert, you already know how to drive impulse purchases through strategic product placement and sales staff training, but creative interior signage on and around your cash wrap can also help you increase those last-minute sales.

High-quality, all-surface, custom signage can do double duty as an interpretive signage solution that helps inform customers about your current sales events, limited-time deals, and bonus offers in an eye-catching, low-cost way that keeps your cash wrap looking fresh and new year-round – no old, scuffed, or out-of-date signs here!

3. Use Signage to Deliver In-Store Social Cues That Can Expand Your Marketing Reach

Whether your customers are getting ready to travel around the world or they’re planning to stay at home and decorate their own nest, full-size wall graphics can provide social cues that will help them find their perfect item and share those finds with their friends.

Replaceable, eco-friendly wall graphics and interior architectural signage can direct your customers toward the areas in your store that they’re looking for (for example, a wall mural graphic of luggage can draw their attention to luggage options in your store). By including custom-printed social media hashtags or photo-booth areas on your wall murals, you can get your customers to snap pics and develop some UGC that helps spread the word about your store.

Get Your Customers Excited About Shopping Brick-and-Mortar

These days, leading retail professionals have a lot of competition and, if the most recent Black Friday is any indication, you’ll have to work hard to keep customers shopping at your brick-and-mortar locations in the future.

And what is it that your brick-and-mortar stores offer over your online outposts? A unique brand experience that can bring the fun back into shopping.

If you’re looking for innovative interior and exterior retail signage for your nationwide locations, whether for a new store rollout, an image boost, or a new product release, the retail signage experts at NGS have got you covered.

NGS can help you develop and design signs for your locations; select the right, high-quality materials for all your signage and graphics projects; and manage all the permitting and installation for you – all on your timeline and your budget, completely hassle-free.

 

Find out more about the quality, craftsmanship, and customer service you can only get from NGS when you read the True Religion case study, available now.

Nov 26
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Picture of skyscrapers with interior and exterior window film

The Truth About Tint – Is It Better to Apply Exterior or Interior Window Film?

By window film No Comments

Have you been lying awake each night worrying about whether you should apply your building’s commercial window tinting on the exterior or the interior of your windows? If you’re like most commercial building managers, the answer to this is a resounding “yes!”… or maybe that’s simply what we window film experts worry about at night. (You worry about this too, right? Please tell us it’s not just us!)

Either way, this most recent article from the commercial building window tinting experts at NGS will help you figure out the truth about your best tinting scenario, so you can finally decide whether you should apply your film on the exterior or the interior of your building’s windows.

Let’s get straight to it.

1. Exterior Applications Offer More Heat Rejection Than Interior Applications

Okay, quick physics lesson here. There are two main types of window film: reflective and tinted. Reflective reflects sunlight and heat; tinted absorbs and redistributes sunlight and heat.

Reflective films are great at blocking heat and light at the lowest cost, but they often contain metal (not great in our WiFi- and cellular signal-filled world), and their nighttime reflectiveness can disrupt your views from inside your building. Tinted films used to be dark so they could absorb more light, but new technological advancements mean that you can now get non-metallized, 5G-friendly “tinted” films that are crystal clear with gorgeous views in the day- or night time.

Now that you understand how the absorption factor works with commercial building window “tinting,” it should be easy to understand why exterior films often outperform interior films.

Think about it: since your interior-applied film has to draw light and heat through your building’s glass before redistributing most of it back outside (because the film is on the inside of the glass), that means your film is allowing light and heat into your window glass for at least a little bit of time.

However, if your exterior window film absorbs the light and heat and redistributes it out before the light and heat have penetrated your glass… well, clearly, that makes for better heat rejection.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so let’s use a graphic to sum up our physics lesson today:

Graphic showing details of interior versus exterior window film

Perfectly clear now, right? However, it’s smart to remember that there are a lot of benefits to interior-applied films too.

2. Exterior Applications Are More Flexible and Less Disruptive Than Interior Applications

You know what’s time-consuming and disruptive? A laborious glass film installation process. If you have strange interior surfaces like atriums, skylights, or conservatory roofs, it’ll take longer to perform an interior commercial window tinting installation than if you decided to install that film on the exterior instead.

Plus, an exterior application of window tinting in office buildings can be less disruptive for tenants, and exterior applications can also be handy if various areas of your building require security clearance or third-party privacy certifications (e.g. HIPAA) for contractors to gain access to.

3. Exterior Applications Can Help You Keep Your Windows Cleaner Than Interior Applications

No one ever sees this one coming, but it’s true! Exterior film applications often contain a hydrophobic coating that helps protect them from the elements, and that hydrophobic coating can help repel dirty, streaky water marks from your windows.

For exterior applications of crystal-clear commercial building window tinting solutions like the 3M Prestige Series, this means you’ll be able enjoy your building’s jaw-dropping views more clearly, 24/7, in every season.

Which Application Is Best for You?

Of course, simply knowing how exterior-applied commercial office window tinting can outperform interior applications won’t answer all your questions. You may still find yourself lying awake at night wondering which application is best for me?! (Please, don’t tell us it’s just us with these nighttime worries!)

If deciding on a window film application method were a no-brainer for your business, you wouldn’t still be reading this blog – you’d already have made the choice to hire the national window tint experts at NGS long ago, which means you’d already have your perfect film by now.

So, what’s the right answer? Well… that depends.

To help you, we’ve put together a short answer and a long answer. (Or, rather, we have two short answers, but one has a slightly longer follow-up process.)

The short answer is that exterior film is probably a better choice for you if you have tricky interior installation areas, super busy or government tenants (or round-the-clock mission critical operations), and/or you have an interest in reducing your heat gain more than an interior film can.

The longer answer (or follow up) is that both exterior and interior film applications may suit your needs for different areas of your building, because both application methods have their own benefits. To get a more complete answer on this, you may want to set up a consultation with NGS, the undisputed experts and #1 Commercial Window Film Company in the U.S.

 

Ready to learn more about the various types of window films? NGS has got you covered.