Clear films have a variety of applications for artistic purposes, from cutting stencils to direct printing or painting. Acetate and Mylar are produced in different ways and each have unique benefits:

Acetate film is really a specific type of plastic material called cellulose acetate. Because Acetate is made from wood-pulp, it has certain attributes that are sometimes desirable and sometimes something you want to avoid.... depending on your application.

Attributes of Acetate Film:

    * Glass-like clarity
    * Good dimensional stability
    * Easily die-cut
    * Printable with conventional screen and offset printing methods
    * Available in Clear and Matte
    * Available in wide range of thicknesses .001" - .020"

Mylar is often used to generically refer to polyester film or plastic sheet. However, it is a registered trademark owned by Dupont Tejjin Films for a specific family of plastic sheet products made from the resin Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET). The true generic term for this material is Polyester Film or Plastic Sheet.

Attributes of Mylar/Plastic Sheets:

    * Archival quality
    * Dimensional stability
    * Consistent color
    * Clarity
    * Non-yellowing
    * Non-tearing

Artistic Applications for Acetate & Mylar:

    * Layouts
    * Color Separations
    * Laser Copies
    * Screen Printing
    * Overhead Transparencies
    * Protective Covering

See how we used clear plastic film to try out a variety of watercolor backgrounds.