Self-adhesive plastic sheet

Self-adhesive plastic sheet, known in the United Kingdom as sticky-backed plastic, is wide plastic sheet or film with an adhesive layer on one side, used as a surface coating for decorative purposes. It is typically smooth and shiny, but can also come in textured varieties, in which case it can sometimes be used as a cheap alternative to veneer. The plastic is often PVC. The sheeting is typically sold with a removable paper release liner to prevent it from adhering prematurely.

Self-adhesive vinyl sheet was introduced to the UK market in the 1960s under the brand name Fablon.^[1]

It is extensively used in DIY at the time,^[2] and notably featured in children's DIY projects on the British TV show Blue Peter, but always under the generic name "sticky-backed plastic."^[3][4]

Smooth self-adhesive plastic sheet is typically used to cover the studio floor for shiny-floor shows, thus giving them their name.^[5]

Since the 1980s, the vinyle films are typically cut on a computer-controlled plotter (see vinyl cutter) or printed in a wide-format printer. These sheets and films are used to produce a wide variety of commercial signage products, vinyl wraps or racing stripes on vehicles for aesthetics or as wrap advertising, and general purpose stickers.^[6]

Adhesive lettering has largely overtaken painted lettering and developed into a sector that uses around 20,000 tonnes of PVC and glues per year^[7].

See also

• Contact paper
• Vinyl lettering
• Pressure-sensitive tape