Graphic overlays are a visual display for an interface panel that ensures a product functions correctly. You may think that choosing a graphic overlay means you have to choose between appearance or functionality, that the more hard-wearing it is, the less eye-catching and visually appealing it becomes. But at GSM Graphic Arts, we can offer you the best of both worlds.
We can provide you with high-quality, durable graphic overlays that complement your product and meet its requirements. Our graphic overlays are created bespoke to your design needs. We can make them with a range of finishes, including hard-wearing materials that will handle some of the harshest environments. Here’s what you need to know about our hard-wearing graphic overlays.
What are Graphic Overlays Used For?
Graphic overlays are used to convey crucial operational information to users, as they are often used for control panels, while also looking great and offering a professional finish to a product. They provide a layer of protection to the device it sits on and their excellent durability means they can withstand everyday wear and tear.
Each touchpoint on a graphic overlay will complete a different function, so the symbols or icons used are of significant importance. Graphic overlays help convey the functionality of a product and are the primary touchpoint for user interface.
A graphic overlay is also the face of your company for the product user, so they should not only function well but also look great. When you design a graphic overlay, you can customise it with your branding and company logo to ensure an overall cohesive finish and promote brand awareness. Graphic overlays are found in a wide range of industries from marine, electronics, medical and security.
Materials Used for Graphic Overlays
Graphic overlays can be made from a range of materials and finishes like polycarbonate and polyester. Polycarbonate is ideal for graphic overlays due to its high impact resistance and is found everywhere in industries like engineering due to its rugged nature. Polyester is one of the most widely used plastics worldwide and is perfect for extreme environments due to it being resistant to chemical agents and biological contaminants. It makes an excellent choice for industries like medicine and pharmaceuticals.
At GSM Graphic Arts, we aim to ensure that your graphic overlays are durable and built to last, which is why we either silkscreen or digitally print them with your design. With this method, we can perfectly colour match to recognised colour specifications or match a sample you provide to us.
To ensure a durable, hard-wearing quality to your graphic overlay, we can finish it with a variety of different textures that will be ideally suited to the environment it will eventually be exposed to. Hard-wearing coatings and transparency and gloss levels can be supplied to suit your needs, and we can also easily incorporate your business brand into the final design.
Our graphic overlays provide the perfect durability to your product, thanks to their hard-wearing nature. As the top layer of your product, they can provide water resistance, UV resistance, chemical resistance, scratch resistance, heat resistance and much more.
Graphic Overlays from GSM Graphic Arts
At GSM Graphic Arts, we can provide you with an extensive range of graphic overlays, including our control panel overlays made from aluminium that can be either screen or digitally printed. We can also anodise the aluminium to create a durable, scratch-resistant finish that can then be used for a wide range of outdoor applications. We can also etch and fill stainless-steel control panels for use in extreme environments like the marine and oil and gas industries.
We also provide fascia panels using various materials and manufacturing methods, including under-surface printed plastic panels, etched and filled stainless-steel panels and fully anodised aluminium panels to ensure we can offer you a solution to suit your needs. Our fascia panels are printed using a digital printing system that can re-create full photography imagery, so there are no limits to your design choices, meaning you do not have to compromise on your product’s aesthetics.
Our metallic labels are produced using a metallised substrate with surface printing for text detail, which is then protected by a UV lacquer or over-laminate to provide a cost-effective finish. For an even more robust finish, chrome and metallic inks can be printed under the surface onto Lexan polycarbonate and Autotype polyester. The inks can be printed selectively onto suitable overlay materials to create embossed switch areas and clear windows for LED and LCD displays.
Our unique products can be manufactured with transparent components, and you have your choice of textured and lacquered finishes for maximum durability and complete customisation. If you would like to learn more about our range of hard-wearing graphic overlays, do not hesitate to contact us.