Glass door markings and shopfront film
Dots, bands and frosted strips that make glass doors and partitions easy to see, and anti-graffiti film that takes the scratches instead of your shopfront glass.
For shops, offices and practices in Chatswood and the Hornsby town centre, and the village shops at Lane Cove, Mosman, Lindfield and Gordon. Heat, glare or a street that sees in? That is office window tinting.
Two jobs on the same glass
Markings and anti-graffiti film are often asked for together, but they go on opposite faces of the glass and do different things. The quote lists them separately.
Glass door markings
| Goes on | The inside face, out of the weather and out of reach from the footpath. |
|---|---|
| For | Making a glass door, sidelight or partition obvious to someone walking toward it. |
| Looks like | A row of dots, a frosted band, or your name cut into a strip. |
| Comes off | When you move out or rebrand, and the glass underneath is unchanged. |
Anti-graffiti film
| Goes on | The outside face, where keys, stones and etching fluid reach the glass. |
|---|---|
| For | Taking the damage in a layer that can be peeled off and replaced, so the glass itself stays clear. |
| Looks like | Clear. The display reads as it did; up close you can see the trimmed edge. |
| Comes off | Panel by panel when it is marked or worn, and a new sheet goes on. |
Marking styles for glass doors and partitions
A marking has one job: someone walking in from the street, or across an open-plan floor, sees the glass before they reach it. Within that, the style is yours to choose, and it can carry the business name.
We cut markings from 3M film to the widths of your panes, so a row of dots on the door lines up with the row on the sidelight beside it.
For partitions around meeting rooms, where privacy matters as much as seeing the glass, frosted bands and full frost do both.
| A row of dots | The usual choice for a glass entry door. It reads clearly and keeps most of the view through. |
|---|---|
| A frosted band | A continuous strip of frost across the glass. Easier to see from across a room than dots. |
| Your name in the band | Lettering cut out of a frosted strip, so the marking works as a door sign too. Bring the artwork to the measure. |
| A repeated logo | A simple mark cut many times along the strip. Fine detail may not cut cleanly at a small size, and we say so on the measure. |
| Two rows | Where your spec asks for markings at two heights, or the people coming in stand at very different eye heights. |
Who decides where the markings go
Whether a piece of glass must be marked, and where, is a building-code question. For shops and offices, the National Construction Code points glazing to Australian Standard AS 1288, and that standard has a section on making glass visible. Houses have their own marking clause in the NCC Housing Provisions.
We do not tell you what your building needs. On a new fitout, the certifier or the designer usually writes the marking into the spec, and we fit to it. In a tower, the building manager may have a spec of their own for the common areas.
With no spec to hand, ask your certifier. If someone has already walked into a door, that door is worth marking now.
Glass we mark most
- Frameless glass entry doors
- Full-height sidelights beside a door
- Glass between reception and a corridor
- Partitions on an open-plan floor
- Glass walls onto an arcade or mall walkway
Bring to the measure
- The spec, if the fitout has one, with any heights it names.
- Artwork for a name or logo, as a vector file if you have it.
- The lease. Shopfront glass often belongs to the landlord, and lettering on it can count as a sign. Check with the landlord, and with council for anything on the street front.
- The building's rules for contractors, if you are in a tower or a centre.
Anti-graffiti film on a shopfront
Scratched and etched shop windows are hard to fix: paint and marker can often be cleaned off, but a scratch is in the glass. Anti-graffiti film puts a clear layer over the outside face, so the next scratch lands in the film. On a busy strip, such as Chatswood's retail streets, the Hornsby town centre by the station, or a village row of shops, the lower part of the display window and the door around its handle take most of it, so that is where we look first.
What it takes
Scratches, keyed marks and etching go into the film. Paint and marker sit on the film instead of the glass, and if they will not clean off, the film comes off with them.
What it does not do
It will not stop a pane breaking; that is a different film. It cannot hide scratches or etching already in the glass, which a glazier should look at first.
How it wears
It sits outside in the sun, the rain and the window cleaner's squeegee. It wears in time and gets replaced, sooner on a street that is often hit. We will not put a number of years on it.
A shopfront on the schedule
Each pane gets its own line, with the face of the glass the film goes on. Markings and anti-graffiti film are priced by the pane from these lines, cut artwork is its own line, and anything the landlord or the building needs is written down beside them.
A single glass door is a job on its own, with its own line on the schedule.
Example schedule
- W1Shopfront, entry door: Markings, two rows of dots
Inside face. Cut around the pull handle and the floor lock.
- W2Shopfront, sidelight: Markings, two rows of dots
Rows lined up with the door.
- W3Shopfront, display window: Anti-graffiti film
Outside face. Scratches already in this pane: glazier to look first.
- W4Reception, glass wall to the corridor: Frosted band with name
Artwork from the client, proof checked before cutting.
- BLandlord: consent for the shopfront glass
Install time agreed with you once the landlord has said yes.
Measure, cut, fit for a shopfront
The door is out of use for part of the install, and film on the outside face needs dry weather. We talk through the timing with you so it suits your trading day.
Measure
Every door, sidelight and window, the face each film goes on, the handles and locks to cut around, and any scratches already in the glass.
Cut
Dots, bands and lettering cut to each pane from your artwork, with a proof to check before anything goes on the glass.
Fit
Markings on the inside, lined up across the door and sidelight. Anti-graffiti film on the outside, trimmed to the frame at every edge.
Markings that miss, film on the wrong face
Markings above eye level
A strip set high to look tidy from the street, which a person walking in never sees.
Rows that do not line up
Dots on the door sit higher than the dots on the sidelight. It is the first thing anyone notices at the entry.
Film on the wrong face
Anti-graffiti film fitted inside does nothing: the scratches happen on the footpath side.
A logo too fine to cut
Thin lines and small type lift at the edges. We say on the measure what will cut cleanly at your size.
Questions about door markings and shopfront film
Does our glass door have to be marked?
That is a question for your certifier or building manager, because it depends on the building and the glass. If they give you a spec, we mark to it. We will not tell you a door is compliant.
Can the markings be our logo?
Yes, cut out of a frosted band or repeated along the strip. The marking still has to be easy to see, so a very fine or pale design may need thickening. Lettering on shopfront glass can also count as a sign, so check with your landlord and council.
Will anti-graffiti film change how the window display looks?
Very little. The film is clear, and from the footpath the display reads as before. Close up, you can see where the film is trimmed at the frame.
Our window is already scratched. Can film hide it?
Not properly: deep scratches and etching still show through clear film. Ask a glazier whether the pane can be restored or should be replaced, then film it so the next marks land in the film.
Can you fit around our trading hours?
We agree the time with you before anything is booked. Markings go on the inside and the shop can often stay open while the door is done. Outside film needs dry weather, so that part is weather-dependent.
We lease the shop. Who owns the glass?
Often the landlord or the building, especially on the street front. Check your lease before booking. If it says the glass goes back to clear when you leave, removing the film can go on the same quote.
Shops and offices we measure
- Chatswood
- Wahroonga and Hornsby
- St Leonards and North Sydney
- Lane Cove
- Mosman
- Lindfield, Killara and Gordon
More office work: office window tinting for glare and heat and meeting room frosting.
References
- NCC 2022 Volume One, Part B1 Structural provisions, from the Australian Building Codes Board. Points glazing in shops, offices and other buildings that are not houses to AS 1288, the Australian Standard for glass in buildings.
- NCC 2022 Housing Provisions, Part 8.4 Glazing human impact. Includes the marking clause for glass doors and panels in houses.