What Is a Window Decal?

Have you come across imagery or lettering on a window of a business and wondered how it’s possible? That is the magic of window decals.

Join us as we help you answer what is a window decal and what’s the appeal surrounding it.

Before we can dive into window decals, let’s break down the nitty-gritty of decals in general.

What This Article Covers:

What Is a Decal?
Window Decals

What Is a Decal?

A decal is described as an intricate design that is transferred from one surface to another, with the former surface referring to transfer tape.

The decal itself is typically made from PVC vinyl and is formed using a vinyl cutter.

Decals can be used in a variety of situations.

So, if you’re wondering what wall decals are, they’re these vinyl designs that can be transferred onto a wall.

Decals aren’t limited to being placed on walls. You can place a decal on your doors, windows, and cars.

These decals can be big or small, but all sizes make use of the sticky transfer tape adhesive. This is not to be confused with the sticky surface of a sticker.

The reason we can’t simply use the same sticky surface used in stickers is because of the design of the decals. Their detailed designs mean it’ll wrinkle much easier than a sticker.

So, what is the difference between decals and vinyl stickers?

Decal vs Vinyl Sticker

It isn’t difficult to mix up decals and stickers. The easiest way to separate them is in how they’re applied. Stickers are stuck, while decals are transferred.

A sticker has a less intricate design, only having two layers.

The first is a decorative layer containing a sticky adhesive on the backside and a pattern or design on the front, and a see-through film that’s peeled off before sticking it to a wall.

A decal has one extra layer when compared to the vinyl sticker.

The layers of a decal include the transfer paper found on the back, the vinyl decal itself, and lastly a mounting film that makes it easier to place onto a wall or surface.

If you want to know how vinyl decals are made, the process is a simple one. The decal itself is designed on a computer using graphic design software and is then sent to a vinyl cutter.

The cutter is loaded up with a sheet of vinyl and a sharp precision blade proceeds to trace the design onto the material.

There will be some extra trimmings that aren’t needed once the tracing is finished that need to be removed.

Transfer tape is then placed on the backside of the sheet and voila, your vinyl decal is ready for transfer.

Stickers, on the other hand, don’t require much to be manufactured, only consisting of plastic and a transparent or colorful background.

Window Decals

Now we can answer the burning question. What are window decals?

Window decals combine patterns and letters onto a piece of vinyl to create a stylish way to spice up your environment or business.

In most cases, you’ll find perforated vinyl decals being used for wall decals. What is perforated vinyl you ask?

This is a type of decal design that works best for windows due to them consisting of tiny holes with an adhesive PVC backside.

This means that you’re using a gentle approach on a fragile surface like a window. For other surfaces, having a decal that doesn’t make use of perforated vinyl is fine.

The adhesive itself can withstand most conditions and changes in temperature, and it’s also easy to remove.

This means that you’re given the benefits of both a temporary and permanent solution.

Window decals are also affordable, meaning that companies wanting to advertise or simply spice up their working environment have a budget-friendly way of doing so.

To this day these decals can be seen in almost every business, and if you’re wondering when decals were invented, they’ve been around since the early 90s.

However, window decals only became a phenomenon during the 2000s.

Benefits of Window Decals

As a business, you want to be visible. Having custom vinyl window decals help increase your visibility, allowing you to place helpful details, the logo, or any other branding in the customer’s line of sight.

They also help your business stand out from the crowd. The more decals, the more visible your company is.

Having vinyl window decals on vehicles allows for advertisement on the go since those vehicles are passing civilians every day.

Types of Window Decals

Window decals are tailored to the consumer’s needs. This means that everything from the size to the overall transparency can be personalized and designed.

Window Wraps

If we’re talking about sizes, the first contender is the bigger window wraps.

These window decals cover the entire surface area of a window.

They can be transparent, allowing you to see through the windows using a clear vinyl, or they can be opaque, using an opaque wrap to block out the sun and create a more private working environment.

Lastly, as mentioned earlier, perforated window wraps allow you to see out and not have anyone looking in.

Die-Cut Window Decal

Have you ever seen those company logos on a store’s window that create a square design? That’s a die-cut decal.

This type of window decal is commonly seen in logos or solid graphics with larger and more detailed imagery.

The vinyl takes on the shape of the decal itself without having any extra material or space. When vinyl is shaped like a decal, it makes for a design that has clean lines.

That’s not to say that you can’t have a border of some sort. If you want to include a small border then you have to investigate the halo cut, a subcategory for the die-cut window decal.

Lettering Window Decal

These decals are the most cost-effective out of all the wall decals and are a good way to convey information on a windowpane.

If you want nothing but words or letters to be in your window decal, this is the option for your business.

This means information like the name of your business, the opening and closing hours, and the website should be in the form of vinyl lettering.

Lettering window decals allow you to print text individually to maximize and customize the final spacing.

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