This blinds install in Coco del Mar, a beautiful coastal neighborhood in Panama City highlights one particular effect of screen material, and as such the roller shade product:

Without Rollers @ 10:30 AM: notice the shadows and sunlight reflected on the floor

After installing the roller shades, look to see if you notice the reduction in direct sunlight into the room. Note the same floor area that was shown before, see if you notice what is missing.

With Roller Shades @ 12 PM: Note the lack of any shadows, bright sun reflection on the floor, yet how much visibility there is to the outside

The fabric used in this install was the Standard Collection Dark Bronze, which is a mid-high efficiency sun control fabric with excellent visibility. In fact, many people who look at the second photo might not even realize they have shades.

But most important of all is something that many people who look at sun control screen fabric falsely assume- that screening fabric is not adequate enough in reducing light and heat. It does, and it does it amazingly well, while maintaing a large part of the visibility to the exterior.

I liked this picture!

Having already introduced the Screen View (20%), it is only natural to set the tone by introducing the mother of all solar screens, the 5% Standard Collection. The 5% meaning that of the entire surface area only 5% is opening, while 95% is closed. Many people confuse the 95%/5% by interpreting that this fabric blocks 95% of incoming light and heat, in where they fail to account for other factors such as color, composition and whether it is hung inside or outside the window.

Standard Collection - Pearl Linen

Why is it called the Standard Collection? Simply because it is a multi-use fabric. In fact, many fabricators work ONLY with a 5% weave simply because it can be used in any application. A light colored Standard Collection fabric will work in high heat areas, while a darker weave allow for less heat sensitive areas to enjoy a view. The only reason you’d need any other type of fabric is for specific situations, such as having a 20% Screen View if you required a lighter color that could allow for a better view, or in the case of the more efficient 3% 650- because you have a rare, heat sensitive location.

There you have it, if you have trouble deciding where to start quoting or what to ask for- go by the standard and work from there. Always selecting light colors if you have a hot area, dark colors if are in a cooler area and want a view, or somewhere in between if you want to compromise. If you feel you have a ridiculously hot balcony, you might want to select a 3% 650 fabric to be on the safe side, and if you absolutely need both a light color and a view go for our Screen View collection.

… or if you’re not sure and want someone to come and measure all of this in a technical manner, give us a ring!

Tres. BLACKOUT SCREEN

Made of Vinyl, blackout screen provides between 99% and 100% blackout depending on who you ask. But nonetheless it is a complete closed, impenetrable fabric which is as durable as Solar Screens and just easy to clean. Some manufacturers attempt to make their screens more decorative taking decorative fabrics such as suedes or linens and backing them with Vinyl and calling them blackout. But while these versions are certainly more decorative, the price of fashion is lessened durability and in many cases a real headache in order to remove stains.

Cuatro. WOVEN WOODS

Bamboo, Yute, and other natural materials are woven in a way to give it the elasticity and thickness to operate on a roller or roman mechanism. Woven Woods are classic and highly decorative, particularly in warm, rooms with primal tones- but it is important to note that they suffer from the same drawbacks as privacy screens as they are harder to maintain. Be warned that depending on the weave and composition, woven woods can be less durable than most privacy screens as natural materials fade faster than their synthetic alternatives.

While nothing really compares to a Woven Wood in splendor, many manufacturers have found a way to make faux woven woods in a passable manner. As with most things in life accepting these as a sturdier alternative requires compromise.

Cinco. INSECT MESH

Loose weave Fiberglass, Wire Mesh or Polyester Coated Vinyl provides minimal sun control and privacy but protect from insects. While all of the above screens, thanks to the tightness of their weave, provide equal if not superior insect protection to Insect Mesh- Insect Mesh is usually much more economical than any other screen type.

Note that you you must buy screening based on the insects that inhabit your area. If you have tiny mosquitoes or ‘NoSeeUms’, you should look at tigher weaved screening.

Uno. SUN CONTROL SCREEN

Sun Control Screens are considered the most industrial product of the screen family. of all of the selections, as they are made with energy efficiency and durability in mind. While manufacturers have found ways to make these blinds in a variety of designer colors, they are a function first item in that they are the most efficient in cutting glare, reflecting the sun and keeping UV rays and heat out while still letting some degree of light to filter through.

Main Features of Sun Control Screen:
a. Durable: most durable of all screens. easy to clean.
b. Energy efficiency: made with temperature control in mind.
c. Filtration: Weave designs are focused on allowing controlled light filtration for optimal working and living spaces.
d. Due to the inherent fire retardancy of the vinyl coating, a solar screen will never help a fire spread.
e. Most solar screen offers privacy during the day.
f. Solar screens also act as insect mesh.

There are three common compositions of Sun Control Screens:

A1. Polyester Coated with PVC:
An inner polyester cord provides color to the weave, while a vinyl coat acts as a reflective property and protects the inner coloring, allowing you to clean any stains easily with a mild soapy solution without the worry of having the color fade or the weave crumple. The marriage between PVC and Polyester is the reason the sun control screen is the most durable of all screening material. Note that some manufacturers may add materials to increase efficiency and function, check with your local blinds provider.

A2. Fiberglass coated with PVC:
Take what I said about Polyester coated with PVC and apply it to Fiberglass. Some folk tend to shy away from Fiberglass due to its toxic nature, but note that since the weave is coated with PVC, the material would only become toxic if burnt.

A3. Any of the above, with an aluminum backing:
An efficiency step forward that is seen from several solar screen manufacturers is aluminum backing. While this relatively new technology is quite expensive, it squeezes out a bit more efficiency out of your blind as the aluminum backing repels more of the sun’s rays.

Dos. PRIVACY SCREENS

Privacy Screens provide can provide near equal solar protection to solar screens, except for one big difference: durability. Privacy Screens can be made of a variety of natural and synthetic materials: Fiberglass, Polyester, Cotton, Linen and many other materials. They are more apt for home use for some simple concern, they are not easy to maintain and their composition can affect their useful life. As such manufacturers to offer Privacy Screens in decorative and designer colors, which often gives them a softer look than sun control screens. Privacy Screens, depending on the material, can be very tough to clean once given a nasty stain.

Check out my new squidoo lenses.

In spanish: Persianas Enrollables and in english: Roller Shade Blinds

Squidoo Lenses are a general information source and can offer good information about most topics. I tried to put some basic consumer-specific information there that hasn’t been communicated in this blog. Feel free to hop on over.

In many places around the world, and perhaps nowhere more than Panama, architecture has moved away from rooms with traditional picture windows to rooms with a large amounts of glass. A move meant to maximize our views and to remove the artificial barriers, to connect us more to our world. What was once a room with two or three 72″ x 60″ picture windows is now glass with expansive windows spanning the entire, or most of, the room width and height.

What does this mean to blind manufacturers? Consumers are going to be asking for larger blinds, not content with having size limitations imposed on them, and with their only option being a multitude of tiny blinds with their unseemly cords hanging across their beautiful view- they will go elsewhere to traditional drapes and curtainry.. or to blind manufacturers who will give them what they need.

Manufacturers must adapt, and some already have, the traditional 78″ fabric roll widths made to accomodate picture windows are slowly being phased out in favor of a new 98″ standard. And more adjustments are being made by the industry with clutch and control mechanism giants like RollEase manufacturing their Skyline and Galaxy systems with patented pull force reduction technologies that make larger blinds easier to handle. Rods and support mechanisms are being made thicker and sturdier to take on the added weight of a large blind, and the weaves themselves are being made with a higher dimensional stability in order to hang straight.

In the case of Persianamania, we’ve also done our part in providing our customer with the option for larger curtains as we have a unique-in-country thermal welding machine which allows us to heat seal two fabrics together to make huge roller shades, roman shades and panel systems. Our maximum recommended roller size for manual operation is 120″x 150″, but if something bigger is needed please contact us for an appointment and we can work with your project on an individual basis.

Next time somebody tells you “there is no such thing as a 100 inch wide curtain”, they aren’t lying, they simply cannot produce it or might not know it is possible. But plus sized shades certainly are, feel free to consult us for your large persiana needs!

Persianamania would like to formally introduce one of our more unique, but less understood products, the Screen View 20% Screen. The 20% refers to the percentage of openness on the fabric- which is a pretty sizeable amount of the surface. As such, my experience tells me that most people assume this to be a pretty energy inefficient fabric. In a standard Reflection/Absorption/Transmission test, all of our screens perform equal or better to some 5% and 10% rollers. What’s the secret? Our screen view product only comes in lighter colors, and lighter colors reflect more solar energy, and absorb less of the same, making the solar heat gain less than a darker color of a tighter fabric even though transmission due to openness is higher.

We can put it like this:

Privacy: Low
Efficiency: Good
View: Excellent

A darker colored 5% blind such as the 5% Ebony Bronze would share the same privacy, efficiency and view as a 20% blind, but would differ in a very drastic way: Color.

A 20% blind takes a lighter color’s weakness, high privacy,

Screen View (20%) Linen

thus reduced view, and turns it into a strength by opening up the weave. Thus if you want to maximize your view and simply cannot fit black, bronze, gray into your decor, a Screen View Blind is the choice for you.

It is also the least expensive persiana or blind to boot.

Other Notes:

• Screen View can be thermal welded, thus be made into larger blinds.
• Products it can be made into: Roller Shades, Panel Track & Roman Shades
• At this moment we produce it in Linen, White Gray and White.