MYLAR STENCIL MATERIAL

WHAT IS MYLAR?

Mylar is a brand of plastic film manufactured by DuPont in the 1950’s. The actual name for this plastic base is Polyester (or polyethylene terephthalate). Since mylar is the best known brand of Polyester in the world, many people use the term ‘mylar’ as a generic term for any brand of this type of plastic.

Polyester is used in thousands of products because of its durability and other advantages over different types of plastic. Mylar and other polyester fibers are used to manufacture thread and yard for fabrics, and thicker polyester strands are woven into rope.

For our purposes, we will focus on polyester film, which starts as a large, continuous sheet rolled onto a core, before it is processed into whatever it will become.

Thin films of Mylar are often associated with Mylar balloons or waterproof (tear proof) labels. Although the stencil materials we use are much, much thicker than a Mylar balloon, it can give you an idea of just how durable it is for weight.

Some applications for polyester film requires it to be coated. A film coating, undetectable by the naked eye, allows this plastic to be printed, static resistant, adhesive resistant and other properties desirable for use in manufacturing.

Polyester film is found everywhere through the world in products such as food-safe bags, food and beverage containers, packaging and printing, and electronic insulation. A slim fraction of the polyester sheets produced are used for stencils, or any other graphic arts application.

Polyester is available in a wide range of thicknesses, but it is also varies in color from crystal clear to opaque off white. We have found the best Mylar to work with for stencils is a 7.5 mil to 14 mil thickness with a light haze and a proprietary coating. The thickness determines the durability, and the coating and haze helps produce very clean, sharp laser edge with limited burning.

WHY DO WE RECOMMEND MYLAR?

As mentioned before, the best way to achieve a perfectly painted stencil with a very nice paint edge is to use a stencil material that is as thin as possible for your project. At the same time, you also want a material that won’t absorb paint or any liquid because this will cause the stencil to deteriorate. A stencil made from paper, cardstock or paperboard will become saturated with paint or ink rather quickly, and this causes a crusty, uneven edge that can never be removed.

Another option for stencils, and one that quickly comes to mind when we discuss durability, is metal stencils. While these thick, unbendable stencils do have their place for some industrial applications where paint overspray and running doesn’t quite matter as much, they can be very expensive and heavy to ship.

There are some other plastics that are used for stencil manufacturing, but these are typically cut with a die cutter so there is a limited amount of detail that can be achieved. And because this older, traditional process takes so much work and expense to set up for each stencil design, the minimum are often in the 1,000’s.

*** STENCIL LIFE AND RE-USABILITY.

Our estimate for how many times you can reuse a Mylar stencil is based on our experience as well as feedback from our customers over the past two decades. This is not a guarantee. Factors that came increase the life of your stencil are keeping the stencil clean from paint buildup after a few uses, and making sure the stencil does not tear at any week spots.

**Mylar rolls & Mylar sheets are non-returnable**

We do offer a free sample pack for customer evaluation. If you would like to receive samples of our Mylar stencil material, just contact us, and include your full mailing address.