PETG - Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol

Transparent and opal sheet

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. 

PETG in our webshop

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

Vivak PET-G Schiphol

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

PET-G Machinekap

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