PETG is in between Acrylic (PMMA) and Polycarbonate (PC) in terms of technical properties and price. The crystal clear material has excellent vacuum forming properties and good impact resistance. Polyester can be printed without any problem with all known printing techniques, with the exception of offset printing.
This combination of properties offers designers and advertisers enormous design freedom.
Unique features
- Suitable for print
- Good burning properties
- Impact resistant
- Food-safe
- Crystal clear
- Excellent vacuum forming properties
Applications
- Food and drink storage
- Retail stands and displays
- Point of sale
- Sign making
- Packaging
- Glazing
- Protective screens
Machining options
- Drilling
- Sawing/milling
- Lettering
- Warm bending
- Gluing
- Thermoforming
- Screen printing
- Cutting/punching
- Lasering
- Digital printing
- Press offset
- Yes
- Not in all cases
- No
How to identify PETG
To identify PETG, first drop a small sample in some water; it should float. Then ignite the sample and it will burn quickly with a blue flame with yellow tip. There will be a paraffin smelling odour and the sample will melt and drip.
Info per sector
PETG Advertising Plastics
PETG combines superior vacuum forming properties with excellent mechanical properties. With PETG it is possible to design and produce very complex transparent displays, shop fittings and high quality machines. PETG is food grade and very impact resistant. Fire properties: Many PETG versions comply with fire class B1 and can therefore be used in many places where high fire requirements are required. Think of trade fairs, indoor shopping centres and airports.
Applications
- Displays
- Shop fittings
- Drink and vending machines
- Shop interiors
Example
PETG Engineering Plastics
PETG polyester sheet is in between Acrylic (PMMA) and Polycarbonate (PC) in terms of technical properties and price.
The crystal clear material has excellent vacuum forming properties and good impact resistance. It can be welded with high frequency and ultrasonics and is suitable for direct contact with food, but has a lower maximum working temperature than Acrylic and PC.
PET-G is qualified for fire class B1, self-extinguishing.
ApplIcations
- Protective covers for machines
- Transparent machine cover
- Cards
Example
What is the difference between PETG and Acrylic or Polycarbonate?
We often receive questions about the differences between the three most commonly used transparent plastics, PETG, Polycarbonate and Acrylate. To make the most important differences clear, we have created the table below. If you would like definitive advice on which material is suitable for your application, please contact us.
| Property | Acrylic | Polyester (PETG) | Polycarbonate |
| Transparency/clarity | Excellent | High | High |
| Weight | Low | Low | Low |
| Strength | 30x stronger than glass | 150x stronger than glass | 250x stronger than glass |
| Weather resistance | Excellent | Good | Good |
| Cold blend | Low | Average | Good |
| Hot bend | Good | Good | Good |
| Drilling, sawing, milling | Good | Good | Good |
| Printability | Good | Good | Good |
| Available thicknesses | 2 to 100mm | 0.5 to 12mm | 1 to 12mm |
| Fire class* | B2 | B1 | B1 |
*tested according to DIN 4102
If fire safety plays a role, we advise you to use a fire-retardant material. Both Polyester and Polycarbonate are fire retardant and have fire class B1. The German DIN 4102 has been drawn up by the Deutsches Institut für Normung. This institute deals with the most diverse standard topics. This classification is seen as the European standard when it comes to fire safety of products.
The following are the categories listed in order of degree of flammability:
Fire standard DIN 4102
| Class | Degree of flammability |
| A1 | 100% non-combustible |
| A2 | 98% non-combustible |
| B1 | Flame-resistant |
| B2 | Flammable |
| B3 | Highly flammable |
Technical information
| Characteristic | Test method | Unit | Value |
| Density | DIN EN ISO 1183-1 | g/cm3 | 1.27 |
| Tensile strength | DIN EN ISO 527-1/2 | MPa | >45 |
| Flexural modulus | EN ISO 178 | MPa | 2000 |
| Impact strength, unnotched | ISO 179 | kJ/m2 | No break |
| Surface hardness | ISO 868 | Shore D | 40 |
| Max. service temperature | °C | 65 | |
| Coefficient of linear expansion | DIN EN ISO 75-2 | mm/(m K) | 0.05 |
| Light transmission | DIN 5036 | % | >84 |
| Fire classification | EN 13 501-1 | Europe | B - s1 - d0 |
