I’ve mentioned this before, but I find myself blogging again that vinyl is my absolute favorite medium.  Its a joy to cut, and with the right tools it is a joy to install.  I make a lot of window and vehicle decals for businesses, but only perform the installation on about half of them.  A client recently asked me to help him solve a problem.  He and his team were occupying a new interior office built within an existing facility.  There was a clear plexi-glass window between the office and the hallway where people were constantly coming and going and sometimes people would even stop and stare in the window.  This activity was interfering with work getting done and he needed to fix it quickly.  In addition, he wanted to put a label somewhere outside the office to identify the department.  Originally, he suggested the department name be split on two different axis.  I mocked up a few layouts, and gave him some options for glass etch designs to provide privacy.

Department Title:

Glass Etch full and partial coverage (no effort on the department title here):

Now, here I was really getting creative.  I considered this as a way to provide some privacy, represent the technical nature of his department, and still allow some ability to see in and out of the window through the cut-out design.

In the end, this is what he selected (very refined looking, I think):

The Faux Glass Etch vinyl allows one to see if someone or something is on the other side of the window, but does not provide enough detail to know what they are doing.  A person a few feet away from the window is nearly invisible.

For the interior side of the window, I used Faux Glass Etch vinyl cut to specification on my KNK Maxx.  For the exterior side of the window, I used quality outdoor vinyl as the window would probably need to be cleaned frequently.  It was a very easy project to install with the options he selected, so I agreed to perform the installation. Using transfer tape for the department title, I adhered it to the window with masking tape to get the correct positioning.  Then I pulled off the backing paper from the word Service, applied the vinyl to the window, removed the backing from ADVISOR and then applied that word to the window.  For the etch vinyl, I peeled off the backing paper and lightly covered the adhesive side of the vinyl with vinyl application spray.  I was able to reposition the vinyl with ease to ensure perfect alignment within the window casing.  To finish up, I used a squeegee to remove all of the application spray and bubbles.

Application spray is simply a spray bottle of water (bottled water, not my well water) with 2-3 drops of baby shampoo in it.  I recommend using the name brand shampoo, as it seems to give better results.  I also recommend using a quality nozzle so that the spray is distributed evenly in a fine mist.  Finally, make sure your hands are very clean with no oil or lotion residue.