If your goal is to protect a school, bank, police station or other building from ballistic attacks, you may be considering ballistic film to cover vulnerable areas such as windows, doors, and teller counters.
Before you take this step, you should know about the shortcomings of ballistic film and how it may leave your premises with critical security vulnerabilities.
The ballistic glass experts at Insulgard can help you choose the bullet-resistant products you need to secure assets, protect people, and deter criminal activities in your most important spaces. On this page, we will explore some of the pros and cons of safety film, often referred to as “ballistic film,” so you can make informed decisions regarding your security.
4 Things You Should Know About Ballistic Film
Before entrusting the safety of your people and property to ballistic film, here are four things you should know about it:
- It must be professionally installed: The performance of ballistic film is highly reliant on the quality of installation. Simply placing film over the daylight opening of the window will accomplish nothing from a security standpoint. All edges must be mechanically captured.
- Its strength depends upon the window beneath it: The performance of the film also depends upon the existing glass it is being applied to. Film applied to weak or degraded glass will provide little to no protection.
- There is no testing or documentation backing it up: There are many claims about ballistic films being bullet resistant but there is no film tested and listed by Underwriters Laboratory (UL) as meeting any level of UL 752 bullet resistance.
- It may not last: There is very little information available as to how long these films will last. No trusted authority can say how these films will perform a year, five years or ten years after they have been installed and are starting to delaminate.
The term ballistic film may be somewhat of a misnomer as it suggests it has the power to stop bullets and other high-speed projectiles. Ultimately, ballistic film, or safety film, is simply a thin layer of film applied to the surface of a traditional window.
For tested, documented and lasting bullet resistance, the only proven material is bullet-resistant glass.
Ballistic Protection You Can Count On
Bullet-resistant glass (also known as ballistic glass or “bulletproof “glass) is manufactured with acrylic, laminated polycarbonate, glass-clad polycarbonate, or all-glass laminate, and designed with the express purpose of stopping bullets.
Insulgard’s BULLETBLOCK line of bullet-resistant products satisfies the rigorous standards set forth by the Underwriters Laboratory, a global safety science company. The UL 752 standard is the most widely known and respected standard of bullet resistance in the United States.
If you are trying to protect property from forced entry and theft, ballistic film may be a viable option.
If your goal is to protect people, however, there is a world of difference between the two products. The difference is between a bullet penetrating a film-coated window and entering a populated area versus the UL rated window stopping the bullet before it can cause any harm.
This is not to say bullet-resistant glass is “bulletproof.” No material can reliably protect against a persistent barrage of bullets. BULLETBLOCK glazing products are, however, designed to protect against a wide range of specific weapon types, ranging from 9mm handguns to high-powered rifles.
Ballistic Film Has Its Uses
While you can’t trust ballistic film to protect your buildings from armed attacks, it is not without its uses.
Ballistic film can slow down someone who is trying to break a window to steal something or gain access to a building. It also helps to hold glass together after it’s been shot, preventing the glass from just falling apart.
Ballistic film does not, however, stop bullets. Bullet-resistant glass does.
For those who find the cost of bullet-resistant glass prohibitive, one option is to secure the most vulnerable areas with UL 752 ballistic glass while covering less critical areas with ballistic/security film. While ballistic film may be adequate for a window that is not likely to be an entry point, we strongly recommend bullet resistant glass for all likely entry points.
A thorough assessment by a security expert can help you determine how to maximize your ballistic protection and install proven bullet-resistant materials where you need them the most.
Discuss Your Security Needs With Trusted Experts
The ballistic glass experts at Insulgard can help you understand the pros and cons of bullet-resistant glass, ballistic security film and other safety products. Contact us to learn more about our line of UL 752-rated Insulgard security products or request a quote today.
