Window frosting is a self-adhesive film applied to glass that scatters light, so you get daylight through the window without a clear view through it. It’s the etched-glass look, at a fraction of the cost of etched glass, and it comes off again when you want it to.
Window graphics are the printed or cut vinyl that goes on the same glass: your logo, opening hours, a service list, a full shop window display.
Most jobs we do are both. Frosting for privacy, with the logo cut out of it so your branding reads clearly against the clear glass.
Britannia Design & Print measures, prints and installs window film across Birmingham from our Bordesley Green workshop.
Yes, during daylight, in the direction you’d expect. Frosted film blurs shapes and blocks any usable view while still letting light through. Someone outside a frosted meeting room can tell there are people in it and nothing more.
The one thing to understand before you buy: standard frosted film works the same in both directions and it’s affected by light levels. After dark, when the room inside is lit and the outside is not, silhouettes become more visible from outside than people expect. For ground floor rooms used in the evening, that matters.
If you need privacy after dark, or privacy in one direction only, ask us about one-way and mirrored films instead, which behave differently. We’ll tell you honestly which one your situation needs rather than selling you frosting for a job it doesn’t do.
If you’ve got large areas of glazing in a commercial building, particularly full-height glass doors and partitions, the glass generally needs to be marked so people can see it’s there.
The relevant UK guidance is Building Regulations Approved Document K, which deals with protection from collision with open windows and glazing. In practice manifestation is usually applied at two levels so it’s visible both to someone standing and to someone in a wheelchair or a child, commonly around 850mm to 1000mm and again around 1400mm to 1600mm above floor level.
A frosted band, a repeated logo or a row of dots all satisfy this and all look better than the yellow tape people resort to.
We’ll apply to these heights as standard on commercial glazing. For a new build or a full fit-out, check the spec with your architect or building control, since they’ll have a view.
Etched glass is the glass itself, treated with acid or sandblasting. It’s permanent, it can’t be changed, and if the design is wrong you replace the pane.
Frosted film is vinyl applied to the surface of ordinary glass. It looks close enough that most people can’t tell the difference standing in the room, it costs a fraction as much, it goes on existing glazing without replacing anything, and it comes off when your branding changes or your lease ends.
For a leased office, film is the obvious choice. Etched glass makes sense when you own the building and you’re certain the design will never change.
It’s removable, and that’s one of the main reasons to choose it.
Frosted film is designed to stay put for years and come off in one piece when you want it gone. Removal is straightforward for a professional. Most residue lifts with the right solvent and a plastic scraper, and the glass is left clear underneath.
A warning worth taking seriously: don’t let anyone attack it with a metal blade. Scratched glass costs considerably more to put right than the film cost in the first place. If you want old film removed, we’ll do it.
It reduces glare rather than blocking light. Frosted film diffuses daylight, so the room stays bright but direct sun is softened and the harsh patches on desks and screens go away.
It’s not a solar control product. If your problem is heat or serious glare rather than privacy, you want solar or tinted film, which is a different material with a different job.
A self-adhesive film applied to glass that diffuses light, giving the appearance of etched glass. It provides privacy while still letting daylight through.
Yes, in daylight. It blocks any usable view while letting light through. Be aware that at night, with a lit room and darkness outside, silhouettes become more visible, so ask about one-way or mirrored film if evening privacy matters.
It’s priced per square metre, from [£X] for plain frosted film supplied and fitted. Branded frosting with a cut logo starts from [£X].
Yes. It’s designed to come off cleanly, and the glass underneath is left clear. Never use a metal blade to remove it, as scratched glass is expensive to replace.
No. It lasts for years but is fully removable, which is why it suits leased premises far better than etched glass.
Etched glass is the pane itself, permanently treated by acid or sandblasting. Frosting is a removable film applied to ordinary glass that achieves a similar look at a fraction of the cost.
Yes, either cut out of the frosting so the logo reads as clear glass, printed onto the film in full colour, or applied over the top as a separate vinyl.
It diffuses light and reduces glare rather than blocking it. For heat and serious glare you need solar control film, which is a different product.
Clinics and dental practices, offices, salons, solicitors and accountants, gyms, shops, care homes, schools and nurseries.
Interior film lasts [X] years or more. Exterior-facing printed graphics typically last three to five years in UK conditions before they need replacing.
Send us the sizes and a photo. Measure the glass pane by pane, width and height, and send a photo of the room or shopfront. Window film has no tolerance for guesswork, so if you’re unsure, send the photo and we’ll talk you through measuring it properly.
We quote. Based on the total glazed area, the type of film and the location.
Design and visual. You see the logo or pattern shown on a photo of your actual window, revised until you’re happy.
Manufacture. Typically 2 to 5 working days.
Installation. Most single rooms or shopfronts are done in a few hours. We can fit out of hours where a business can’t close.
Yes, and it’s the most common version of this job.
There are three ways to do it:
Cut out of the frosting, so your logo appears as clear glass against a frosted background. Clean, subtle, and it works from both sides.
Printed onto frosted film, so you get full colour in the logo with the frosting around it. Better for detailed or multi-colour logos that don’t work as a cut shape.
Applied over the frosting as a separate cut or printed vinyl, which lets you change the logo later without redoing the frosting.
Send us a vector version of your logo, an .ai, .eps, .svg or .pdf. If you only have a JPG or a version pulled off your website, we can redraw it, and that’s a job worth doing once properly since you’ll use the vector file for everything else.
