During our daily visits to architects, interior designers and our customers homes,  we notice that screen fabrics are a really popular choice when selecting roller blind fabrics. Here, our blog will explain the pros and cons of using screen fabric for roller blinds in your office, school or homes.

Pros: With white being a fresh, neutral colour, white works in with any colour scheme that you may be working with which is one reason why it is commonly selected. Our screen fabrics also provide privacy whilst still allowing  in natural light but filtering out direct sunlight, but beware, at night time from outside, silhouettes or shadows can be visible if the interior lighting is on and in some cases, depending on the screen openness, can be completely transparent.

Cons: The main issue we advise upon with white screen fabrics is their performance at reducing glare which is poor. This is particularly an issue in a school or office environment and even in your own home where poor glare control affects productivity and sometimes does not effectively deal with the glare on computer screens or TV’s. Whilst screen fabric reduces heat by reflecting the solar energy, if white is selected in colour, the white yarns of a white standard screen fabric creates a huge amount glare from the fabric itself and of diffused light where can in some instances, it can increase rather than reduce glare.

A common myth that white fabrics give better vision through a fabric than a darker fabric is another reason why white can be sometimes requested. This is far from the truth because the human eye focuses on light not darkness. A charcoal or dark screen fabric at the window means we focus on the light resulting in us seeing beyond the fabric and allows us to focus and see more of the outside world. Another drawback of white is that it can get dirty and can show dirt and other marks quite easily. If a PVC coated fiberglass screen fabric is being selected, this may not apply as such marks can be wiped off with a damp cloth.