Projector screen paint is a specialist type of paint designed to transform a regular wall or surface into a high-quality projection screen for use with a video projector. You can turn any indoor or outdoor wall into a projection screen using projector screen paint instead of buying a traditional projector screen.

From outdoor movie nights to high-quality video presentations in the office, a projector screen has a lot of use cases in a wide range of scenarios. In fact, Smarter Surfaces offers a variegated range of projector screen paints tailor-made for different situations and light conditions.

In this post, we will discuss different types of projector screen paints, their key characteristics, and the ideal conditions for using them. By the end of it, you should be able to pick the right product for your projection needs.

Key characteristics of a projector screen paint

Projector screen paint changes the characteristics of a wall or a smooth surface in a way that makes the surface suitable for projection. The ability of a surface to reflect projected images is measured based on a number of technical factors.

1. Gain value

Gain value is the ratio of light reflected by a projection screen and the light reflected by a standard white matt surface when measured from a certain angle. So, if at a 90-degree viewing angle, the gain value of a surface is 1.1, it means the said surface reflects 10% more light than the standard white matt surface.

A higher gain value ensures that the projection screen emits a brighter image and it is suitable for bright viewing conditions in the presence of high ambient light. For example, the gain value of the outdoor projector screen paint by Smarter Surfaces is 1.26. That means, it emits 25% more light than a standard white surface and hence it is suitable for use even in the daytime.

On the other hand, projector screen paints designed for darker rooms should have a lower gain value lest the image is too bright or lacks contrast. For instance, the smart black projector screen paint has a gain value of 0.2. It is specially designed for high-contrast projection in dark rooms.

2. Suitable light conditions

As we have already explained while talking about gain value, not every projector screen is suitable for every situation. A bright white projection screen may not be the best choice for a dark room as the image is likely to be whitewashed. Similarly, images projected on a dark grey screen will be hardly visible in a medium to high ambient light environment.

Ambient light refers to any source of light other than the light projected upon the screen. It can be classified into low, moderate, and high – the higher the amount of ambient light, the higher the required gain value and reflectivity for successful projection.

3. Gloss measurement

You can determine the reflective abilities of a surface by measuring its gloss value. Gloss represents the amount of light reflected by a surface. It is measured from different angles with the help of a gloss meter.

Gloss is measured in Gloss Units or GU on a scale of 0 GU to 100 GU. 0 GU represents a perfectly matt surface and 100 GU represents a perfectly reflective black glass standard surface.

A matt surface absorbs more light thus creating better contrast between the white light from the projector and darker colours. For instance, the Smart Ultra High Contrast Projector Screen Paint creates a 6 GU surface with a gain value of 0.32 for maximum contrast between the brighter and the darker parts of the projected image.

4. Sound absorption

Every surface has a sound absorption property that is represented by the sound absorption coefficient. Ideally, the paint should not change the sound absorption coefficient of a surface.

All projector screen paints by Smarter Surfaces are tested to have no effect on the sound absorption coefficient of a surface. It is an important quality because a lot of work goes into optimizing the acoustic performance of a room or a hall and you would not want it to be jeopardized by the paint.

5. Safety of projector screen paint

The presence of toxic chemicals in paints is quite common. Hence it is very important to pick paints that are environmentally friendly and certified as safe for use. Only a few brands like Smarter Surfaces are completely transparent about the contents of their paints and the certifications they have earned.