ASTM D4956 Type 3 High Intensity Grade Glass Bead Reflective Sheeting is three times as bright as standard engineer grade films. Type 3 is made with highly refractive index glass beads that are uniform in size, with a high percentage of perfect roundness. Each bead is coated on half of its sphere with 100% pure aluminum. Each aluminum coated bead is then half embedded in synthetic resin and positioned in a cell. These cells give the tape a honeycomb appearance. Type 3 is an enclosed lens film, meaning the beads are held in individual cells. The design makes the tape much brighter and broadens the reflectivity. In other words, it has a wide observation angle.
Type 3 is available in all standard traffic sign colors as well as striped barricade tapes in white/red and white/orange. This material is not as easy to CAD cut with a plotter. There are two variations of Type 3 High Intensity – A STANDARD and a FLEXIBLE version. The flexible version is conformable, stretchable, and moldable. Of the two, the flexible version is more CAD cuttable and has more application options due to its conformability.
Type 3 is produced by different manufacturers. The spec sheet on this page is from Nikkalite. Others will have similar photo-metrics.
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Steven Cole (Economics, MBA – University of West Florida , Business & Innovation – Stanford University) 25 years of experience in the reflective safety business. Specializing in vehicle accident and rear end collision reduction through increased visibility.