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Tint Atlanta's Safety and Security Films comprise
a special class of window film products. What
distinguish them as a group are both their physical
properties and the uses to which they are put. Functionally, they provide
a stronger physical barrier that is more firmly
bonded to the glass surface (generally speaking)
than conventional solar control or decorative
films. While solar control & decorative elements
can be, and often are, added to safety and security
films, it is their physical properties (such as
their peel, tensile, puncture, and break strength)
that allow them serve a variety of safety and
other protective uses. These functions, discussed
below, can be grouped into seven major categories,
with corresponding unique market avenues.
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Spontaneous
Glass Breakage: |
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There is growing awareness
that tempered glass windows are often subject
to sudden, random, catastrophic failure,
for no readily apparent reason. We now understand
that surface contaminants (nickel sulfide
inclusions, for example) embedded in the
glass during manufacturing can cause this
explosive failure months or years later.
Such failure in homes and commercial buildings
can cause a sudden opening in the building,
exposing its contents to the elements, with
wind and rain causing far more damage than
the simple cost of replacing a window pane.
Certain films are an ideal remedy to maintain
the weather seal of the building and retain
the massive rain of glass pellets that instantly
falls from tempered glass breakage. |
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Personal Safety: |
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Most types of glass,
when broken from any cause, particularly
from human impact, produce sharp, ragged
shards that are extremely dangerous to people.
Even tempered glass in auto accidents can
produce showers of small glass pellets that
can cause serious injury to passengers.
To meet the requirements for personal safety
specified in various building codes, certain
films, in many jurisdictions, serve to upgrade
existing glazing to meet safety standards. |
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Earthquake
(Seismic): |
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In many parts of the
world, earthquake activity is an ever-present
fact of life. Ground motion during seismic
activity causes building movement, which
in turn causes glass breakage and glass
fall-out, endangering people below, and
again exposing a building’s contents
to weather damage and theft during looting
sprees. Safety and security films have proven
their worth in protecting people and property
during seismic activity. |
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Graffiti: |
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Many cities in the
world are experiencing the growing problem
of vandals “tagging” glass and
other surfaces in public places using mechanical
etching tools, acid, and paint. Specially
designed films, nearly invisible once installed,
provide a removable, sacrificial surface
that can cost-effectively reduce or eliminate
the need for glass replacement. Often, certain
non-glass surfaces can be protected in this
manner was well. See
this recent article on the subject. |
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Blast Hazard: |
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No one needs to be
reminded that explosions, whether motivated
by terrorist agendas or caused by industrial
accidents, generally cause lethal damage
to life and expensive damage to property
from the massive sprays of shattered glass,
and often at great distances from the blast
itself. Flying glass is often the single
greatest source of injury and death in such
explosions. But what everyone needs to know
is that selected safety and security films
perform astonishingly well to contain the
spray of shards, and with certain installation
techniques can hold the pane entirely within
its frame. |
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Windborne
Debris: |
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With urban density
increasing in storm-prone areas of the world,
damage to property from wind-borne debris
is a growing concern. Whether hurricanes
are increasing in frequency and severity
is matter for the Weather Service to decide,
but it is clear that safety and security
films have much to offer to mitigate the
damage from wind-borne debris. By helping
to prevent windows from shattering, they
can help maintain the weather seal of the
building that would otherwise open structures
to damaging water and high winds. Roofs
are less likely to be lifted away, and entire
buildings can be more frequently saved. |
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Forced Entry: |
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While little can be
done to thwart a determined and well-equipped
thief, much can be done reduce the likelihood
of successful forced-entry attempts in homes,
businesses, and cars. The most likely entry
point for illegal intrusion is the building
or car's weakest barrier: the windows. Various
security films, with simple perimeter attachment
systems or special installation methods,
are extremely effective at slowing down
the intruder to the point where he simply
decides to go elsewhere before the police
arrive. |
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