Plastic glass is a great alternative to traditional glass
Many picture framers prefer acrylic plastic glass to traditional glass because of its clarity, shatter-resistance and light weight. Plastic glass is easy to cut to size by scoring and snapping. To score by hand we recommend using the a heavy duty scoring tool using the acrylic jaw head on nipping pliers to cleanly snap. Alternatively, score heavily using a knife, scoring tool, or wall cutter. Place it with the scored line up, just over the edge of the workbench and apply pressure to cleanly snap. The Fletcher wall cutter has a unique breaker feature – snap acrylic without taking it to a bench and get a clean break on glass every time.
Why should I use styrene/acrylic instead of glass?
Styrene sheets don't shatter during transit and is much lighter than glass. It's easy to work with, simply score and snap. Stryene is shatter-resistant with protective cover sheets on both sides, making it perfect for transit. Sheets of stryene are available in packs or as part of our Mixed Sheet Despatch service.
Does plastic glass protect artwork?
Our UV resistant acrylic plastic glass absorbs 99% of UV radiation to protect artwork from fading and deterioration. This is particularly important when framing valuable or irreplaceable items such as original artwork, limited edition prints, and memorabilia. Due to the complete absorption of UV-A rays, the fading of colours in paintings and images can be prevented. Our UV resistant acrylic plastic glass is made of marine grade cast acrylic, which has a harder surface toughness and better scratch resistance than standard extruded acrylic - it exceeds the requirements for use in framing.
Is plastic glass anti-reflective?
Our diffused acrylic plastic glass reduces glare on artwork hung in strong natural or artificial light. Using this type of plastic glass is ideal for public displays, galleries and exhibitions where strong lighting can cause glare which detracts from the artwork. The heat embossed fine matte surface on one side scatters light reflections you get with standard acrylic and glass. The diffused surface distorts artwork when held from a distance, so don't use this with a spacer.
What are the benefits of plastic glass ?
There are a number of benefits to using plastic glazing instead of traditional glass . Acrylic plastic glass offers excellent optical clarity, with a high level light transmission. It is tint free and visually colourless, it's also shatter resistant, easy to cut and safe to handle and transport. Plastic glass is lightweight when compared to float glass, it has a consistently flat surface than it hard and tough. Plastic glass is ideal for artwork in high traffic areas. Acrylic glass is commonly referred to as: Perspex, Plexiglass and Plastic Glazing.