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Adam Paget, Head of UK, Ireland & Middle East Sales at Contra Vision®, shares his thoughts and expertise on perforated window films, explaining what they are and what's instore for the future. 

When and where did the story of Contra Vision® begin?

Our story began over 30 years ago when our Chairman, Roland Hill, was a keen squash player. Roland wanted to make squash more accessible to a larger viewing audience, his invention of one-way vision window graphics making that possible, leading to the world’s first squash court with four one-way vision walls.

Spectators could watch the game from outside the court but the players had limited see-through in the opposite direction. From there we’ve developed over 30 inventions which have been used in practically every city around the world.

What is meant by one-way vision graphics and Contra Vision®?

One-way vision graphics are created by printing graphics onto perforated window film, which is white on one side and black on the other. When applied to windows the graphics are visible from the outside but from the inside the window is see-through with a black tint.

How does it work? Please could you quickly summarise?

The one-way vision effect is a trick of the eye. The printed graphics are highly visible when bright sunlight is reflected off them, which dominates the view through the perforations. On the inside the light coming through the perforations is more noticeable than the black colour which reflects minimal light.

What innovative technology goes into making the product?

There’s a lot of innovations, one example being our own formulation of adhesive, which is clear and removable, and results in a range of products which are easier to install and remove and don’t leave residue on the glass.

Another is the uniformity of our tooling and how often we sharpen the tools, which gives the best quality of perforation which means no blocked holes and the best possible view through.

What are the benefits of using Contra Vision® over competitive products?

Firstly, there’s the range - we have various transparencies and product options to suit different applications, being able to choose the right one for your project is really important.

Then there’s the ease of use, particularly installation and removal, which can result in up to a 25% saving per project when using our materials.

Our products are used worldwide, and so the same formulation is sold into Scandinavia as Saudi Arabia, because we formulate the product to be so robust in extreme temperatures you can be assured of best in class on window adhesion.

Please could you describe the different transparency levels of the products?

We produce a range of transparencies which give different levels of image density and view-through. A 20%, otherwise known as an 80/20, is 80% solid and 20% perforated and results in really bold colours and a product which looks almost solid, this gives the best solar protection but the least view-through.

We also have 30% (70/30), 40% (60/40) and 50%, which gives the best view-through but with the least image strength. And finally there is HD, which is a more refined version of our 40%, this gives the best in class image clarity and view-through.

What is the one piece of advice you would offer to applicators?

Splice join! We often see Contra Vision® which has been overlapped. This is generally due to the fitters having used competitor materials which they expect to shrink fairly quickly. Our products won’t do that and so a splice join looks better from the image side and offers an uninterrupted view-through.

Contra Vision® HD™ is the latest product released, what is innovative and amazing about it?

HD Performance is a world exclusive; no-one produces anything that’s anywhere near as good in terms of image clarity or view-through. In order to achieve this, we’ve spent a long-time perfecting holes which are 60% smaller than traditional one-way vision products. Everyone who has seen it has loved it and I’d urge anyone who’s not to order a sample!

How did you become involved with the signs and graphics industry?

I always worked within businesses involved in retail marketing. I’d seen Contra Vision® before and admired it and when the chance came to join, I didn’t hesitate because I loved the products so much. Before that I had very little knowledge of print – some would say not much has changed!

What interests / hobbies do you have outside of the workplace?

I’m a big football fan, I still play (badly) and I’m a keen Liverpool fan. I’ve always been into music and have been playing in my band for years. Other than that, lots of walking, and drinking the occasional cocktail!

Where do you see yourself in 10 years’ time?

Hopefully still at Contra Vision®, helping to drive sales of our most exciting and innovative solutions.