It is not brightness. It is angularity.
A Type I and a Type XI look similar in a dark room with a torch. The difference appears when the driver is 15° off-axis at 120 km/h, or when the sign is 6 m overhead and the headlights hit it at a shallow angle. That is what the numbers below measure.
Microprismatic film returns light through a cube-corner array; glass-bead film refracts it through embedded spheres. Prismatic wins on brightness and angularity, bead wins on flexibility and cost. We make both, so we will tell you when bead is the right answer.
Pick the type, then the model.
Values below are the ASTM minimums your acceptance test will reference — not our internal averages, which run 8–12% higher.
| Grade | ASTM | RA white | RA yellow | Structure | Typical specification | Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering | Type I | 70 | 50 | Glass bead | Urban signs, car parks, temporary signage | NVR-1000 |
| Super Engineering | Type II | 140 | 100 | Glass bead | Guideposts, delineators, short-run signs | NVR-2000 |
| High Intensity Prismatic | Type IV | 360 | 270 | Microprismatic | Highway signs, work zone drums, truck marking | NVR-4200 |
| Wide-Angle Prismatic | Type VIII | 700 | 500 | Microprismatic | Overhead gantries, large-format, wet-night corridors | NVR-8000 |
| Diamond Grade | Type XI | 1000 | 750 | Microprismatic | Expressway gantries, tunnel portals, high-speed approaches | NVR-11000 |
| Digital print | III / IV | 250 | 175 | Microprismatic | Digitally printed signs, short runs, full-colour graphics | NVR-P3500 |
| License plate | ISO 7591 | 300 | — | Glass bead | Vehicle registration plates, embossed or flat | NVR-LP750 |
Minimum values per ASTM D4956-19 Table 2, measured at 0.2° observation and −4° entrance angle. EN 12899-1 classes map as: Type I ≈ RA1, Type IV ≈ RA2, Type VIII/XI ≈ RA3. Local acceptance may require a notified-body report — see the standards pages.
Same-day slit widths
Stock widths 610 / 914 / 1,220 / 1,524 mm. Custom slits from 50 mm with a 3-day setup, so a sign shop is not trimming rolls by hand.
Warranty you can pass on
5 to 12 years vertical outdoor, backed by a written warranty assignable to your customer — not a verbal promise at the trade show.
TDS before the PO
Each model has an HTML datasheet with adhesion, liner, temperature limits and application notes. No form gate, no 40-page catalogue.
Print on it without killing the optics.
NVR-P3500 keeps 82% of its RA value after a full-coverage UV print, because the prism layer sits under a print-receptive topcoat rather than being etched into it. Compatible with eco-solvent, latex and UV-curable inks.
Printable media and license plate film.
Two adjacent products that share the same coating line but answer a different purchase order.
NVR-LP750 — license plate film
Glass-bead film for embossed and flat plates. Meets ISO 7591 and the national plate specs of 14 markets, including the Indian I.3952/5 pattern and the Brazilian CONTRAN resolution.
Which standard do you ship to?
Plate film is the most locally regulated product we make. Tell us the destination and we will confirm the matching spec before you raise the PO.