If you're building retail displays, machine covers, protective guards or vacuum-formed parts, you'll eventually stand in front of three clear sheets and wonder which to buy: PETG, acrylic or polycarbonate. All three are transparent thermoplastics. All three can be cut, bent and formed. But they behave very differently once heat and tooling get involved.
Here's how we explain the trade-offs to customers who walk into our shop.
The short version
- PETG (such as VIVAK® copolyester sheet) is the easiest to form and fabricate, tough enough for most displays, and forgiving in the shop.
- Acrylic (such as OPTIX®) is the clearest, stiffest and most scratch-resistant of the three, but it's brittle under impact and during cold fabrication.
- Polycarbonate (such as TUFFAK®) is by far the toughest and handles the most heat, but it's the fussiest to form and the most expensive.
Forming temperature and pre-drying
This is the biggest practical difference.
PETG forms at the lowest temperatures of the three, roughly 250–300°F at the sheet surface, depending on thickness and draw depth. Most PETG doesn't need pre-drying for typical forming, which saves hours of oven time. It has a wide forming window, picks up detail well and lets you use cooler, cheaper tooling.
Acrylic forms at roughly 300–350°F. It's straightforward to line bend and drape form, but it's less tolerant of deep draws and tight radii. It can whiten or thin if overstretched.
Polycarbonate needs the most heat, about 350–400°F. It also absorbs moisture from the air. Heat it without drying and that moisture turns to steam, leaving bubbles throughout the part. Most polycarbonate must be oven-dried at around 250°F for several hours (longer for thicker sheet) right before forming. Skip this step and you'll scrap the part.
Cold fabrication: shearing, punching and die-cutting
PETG shines here. It can be die-cut, punched, sheared, cold-bent and even routed with minimal chipping. That's why it dominates point-of-purchase displays, card holders and short-run packaging.
Polycarbonate also takes punching and cold bending well, thanks to its toughness, though thicker gauges need more force.
Acrylic is the problem child. It cracks when sheared or punched cold and needs heat or a saw for most fabrication. If your process involves a steel-rule die or a brake, acrylic is usually off the table.
Toughness and impact
Polycarbonate is in a different league. It's the material behind machine guards, riot shields and security glazing, and it can take repeated hammer blows without breaking.
PETG sits in the middle. It's much tougher than acrylic and won't shatter in normal handling, which makes it a safe choice for displays in busy retail spaces.
Acrylic is many times stronger than glass, but it can crack under a sharp impact. For a display that might get bumped by a cart, PETG or polycarbonate is the better bet.
Clarity, stiffness and scratch resistance
Acrylic wins on optics. It's the clearest and stays clear outdoors for years. It's also the stiffest, so a panel of a given thickness flexes less than the other two, and it's the most scratch-resistant uncoated.
PETG and polycarbonate both scratch more easily. Polycarbonate can be ordered with an abrasion-resistant hard coat, which closes the gap considerably but adds cost and makes forming harder, as the coating can crack if stretched.
Heat in service
Once formed, how hot can the part get?
- Polycarbonate has the highest heat deflection temperature, around 270°F, so it suits light fixtures, equipment housings and parts near warm machinery.
- Acrylic sits around 190–200°F.
- PETG is lowest, around 160°F. Keep PETG away from hot lights, sunny car dashboards and heat lamps.
Outdoors and UV
Acrylic is naturally UV-stable and is the long-term outdoor winner for clarity. Standard polycarbonate yellows outdoors unless it has a UV-protected surface; many grades do. Standard PETG is generally meant for indoor use. Check the data sheet before you put it in direct sun.
Chemical resistance and food contact
PETG holds up well to many cleaners and is available in grades made from food-contact compliant resins, making it common in food service displays and sneeze guards. Acrylic and polycarbonate both dislike certain solvents; polycarbonate in particular can stress-crack when exposed to some cleaners and threadlockers. Always confirm the specific grade for food contact, and use cleaners the manufacturer approves.
Side-by-side summary
| Factor | PETG | Acrylic | Polycarbonate |
| Die-cut / punch | Usually not | Usually not | Required |
| Impact strength | High | Low–moderate | Very high |
| Clarity / UV stability | Good / indoor | Best / excellent | Very good / needs UV grade |
| Scratch resistance | Fair | Best uncoated | Fair (coated grades available) |
| Max service temp | ~160°F | ~190°F | ~270°F |
| Forming temperature | ~250–300°F | ~300–350°F | ~350–400°F |
| Relative cost | Low–mid | Low–mid | High |
Values are typical; always check the manufacturer's data sheet for the exact grade.
Choosing for common projects
- Retail and POP displays: PETG. It's easy to form, tough and cost-effective.
- Signs and outdoor glazing: Acrylic, for clarity and weathering.
- Machine guards and safety shields: Polycarbonate, for impact resistance.
- Vacuum-formed covers and trays: PETG for most jobs; polycarbonate when the part sees heat or abuse.
- Light diffusers and fixture lenses: Acrylic or polycarbonate, depending on heat and impact.
We stock all three and fabricate with all three
Colorado Plastic Products carries PETG, acrylic and polycarbonate sheet in multiple thicknesses and sizes. We cut to size in-house, and our fabrication shop handles heat bending, forming, routing and bonding. Browse sheet products in our online store and add them to a quote. Or describe your part, and we'll recommend the material that will form, last and price out best.
