Safety films for glazing
Versatile protection for offices, retail and public buildings. Glazing stays in place on impact, shards are held together, occupants are protected.
The first level of protection: holding shards together
What a standard safety film does
Safety film is a transparent polyester film 100 to 200 microns thick, bonded to the inner face of the glazing. On shock, impact or thermal stress, glass may crack but fragments stay bonded to the film. No flying shards, no injury, no gaping hole in the façade.
This is baseline protection for the most common risks: a ball hitting a window, a glass door slamming too hard, an object falling against a partition, thermal shock on sun-exposed glazing. Everyday accidents that rarely make headlines but can cause serious injury when glass shatters freely.
EN 12600: what it means
EN 12600 classifies the resistance of glazing and films to soft-body impact. The test simulates a person falling against the glazing with a 50 kg pendulum. Depending on drop height, filmed glazing receives a classification indicating its resistance level.
Our standard safety films are classified to this standard so specifiers, inspection bodies and insurers can validate the protection level chosen for each project. The classification appears on every technical datasheet.
Which glazing and which buildings?
Offices are the primary application. Glass partitions, meeting room doors, glazed spandrels and circulation glazing are at risk if glass breaks. Safety film protects occupants and helps buildings meet public building safety requirements.
Retail uses safety film on shop windows, internal partitions and glass doors. A ground-floor shopfront faces both accidental impacts and opportunistic break-in attempts. The film delays access by keeping the glazing in one piece even after impact.
Schools, hospitals, government buildings, gyms and other public buildings must secure glazing in certain configurations. Safety film is the fastest and most cost-effective way to bring an existing building into compliance without replacing glazing.
Installation and thickness
Standard safety films range from 100 to 200 microns. Thickness choice depends on required protection level and glazing type. 100 microns for shard retention on interior glazing and partitions. 150 to 200 microns for façade glazing and higher-risk areas.
Installation is wet application on the inner face. The film is thicker and stiffer than decorative film, requiring firm squeegee technique and the right tool. Full curing takes 4 to 6 weeks depending on temperature and humidity. The film works immediately after installation; final adhesion develops progressively.