COMMUNITY COLOUR

Printed window film is the ideal solution for giving buildings a unique appearance, so when the team behind a new church and community centre in East Sussex decided they wanted to recreate a treasured image across a large bank of windows, they contacted The Window Film Company for advice and assistance.

The Gateway church and community centre project is nearing completion, with the final touches currently being added to what is a substantial new facility. Part of the vision for the new building was to include the recreation of a colourful piece of artwork on a large expanse of windows, measuring 4 metres across by 7 metres tall. Their first question; was this possible?

Staff from The Window film Company were happy to explain that printing and installing at this size certainly was possible, with one crucial caveat. The artwork would have to be of a suitable resolution. The design for the installation was to come from an original painting, so the first task was to digitise the piece. A team from the Gateway project set about achieving this aim, whilst The Window Film Company began work on delivering the best print solution.

It was suggested that when ready, the artwork should be printed on optically clear film. Printing on this type of media would mean that the colourful design would be visible on both sides of the glass - bright and vibrant on the internal side, whilst appearing in more subtle tones on the external side. This was the desired finish; providing maximum enjoyment for those inside the facility whilst delivering a hint of decoration for those passing by the outside.

Printed samples were provided to the project team, allowing them to see the film in situ, examining the appearance of the film internally and externally, during different times of day and in different lightning conditions. It was agreed that this film choice was appropriate and by this time, a solution for the artwork creation had been agreed, too.

The team at the Gateway hired a professional photographer to take a high resolution image of the painting, in effect creating an extremely high quality digital replica. This file was forwarded on to The Window Film Company’s in-house print team who ran tests to ensure it was suitable for printing at the required size. To everyone’s delight, it was. This meant that work could begin on making the artwork print ready, which involved splitting the image up into a number of panels, each differing in size. Using measurements obtained by a detailed survey, every panel was carefully created and checked, ensuring that when installed, the design would flow perfectly across the full expanse of glass.  

The film was then installed by one of The Window Film Company’s experienced fitting teams. The work was carried out on a date specifically agreed to ensure that the installation could take place in a clean, dust-free environment with no other trades working in the vicinity. 

The finished product delivered an eye-catching, welcoming and memorable feature. The nature of the film meant that in sunlight, the printed film had similar properties to stained glass, with light streaming through the glass in a host of vibrant colours. 

For more information on how The Window Film Company can help bring added vibrancy and style to your glass, contact a member of the team on 01494 794477 or email info@windowfilm.co.uk.