Graphic Overlays & Overlay Panels
The printed front surface of your product, the part your customer actually touches, reads and judges you by.
Custom graphic overlays, built to last
We design and manufacture custom graphic overlays in Brisbane, printed on the second surface so the graphics never wear off, and finished to survive whatever environment your equipment lives in.
We screen or digitally reverse print (second surface) onto the material, protecting the ink from wear and scratching, making overlay panels long-lasting, user-friendly and functional. Finished products are die or laser cut to precise engineering tolerances of ±0.2mm.
Lexan, Mylar, overlay panel, or graphic overlay?
Graphic overlays, also known as overlay panels or Lexans (a common trade name for the polycarbonate material), generally begin as a clear piece of MacDermid Autotype Polyester or Polycarbonate material. By using a variety of textured materials, from gloss to matte polycarbonate, the finished graphic panel can vary dramatically in look and feel.
They're all the same thing, and customers call them all sorts of names: Lexans, Mylars, membranes, fascias, nameplates, front panels. The names come from the film brands (Lexan is a polycarbonate; Mylar is a polyester) rather than the product.
We don't mind what you call it. It's a printed, formed and cut panel that becomes the face of your product.
Originally sourcing overlays from Asia with inconsistent colour batches, this customer chose Reid for local supply, consistent colour matching and faster design change turnarounds. Manufactured using MacDermid Autotype Autotex XE Polyester film for chemical resistance against pool chemicals and UV exposure.
How a graphic overlay is made
An overlay starts as a clear sheet of film. We reverse print onto it, printing on the inside surface, then bond, form and cut it to your specification.
That reverse printing is the whole point. The ink sits behind the film, so the surface your user touches is bare, hard-coated polyester or polycarbonate. Fingernails, cleaning chemicals, UV, grit and abrasion hit the film, not the graphics. The print outlasts the product.
The clearest everyday example is a microwave control panel. Simple, functional, and the print is still legible after ten years of greasy fingers.
What you can do with an overlay
Unlimited graphic design
Photographic-quality digital or screen print, with no practical limit on colours or complexity.
Embossing
Raised buttons, rims and borders, thermally formed on our Projecon press without cracking at crease lines.
Windows and apertures
Transparent or filtered, for LCD and LED displays.
Coloured filters
Print a filter over the film and an LED behind it becomes a specific colour, the way a car dashboard warning light works.
Dead-front graphics
Icons and legends invisible until backlit.
Textures, finishes and inks
Gloss, matt, anti-glare, soft-touch, brushed steel, aluminium-look and rubbery finishes, gloss lacquers, carbon fibre, wood grain, brushed silver, metallic and mirror inks.
Die and laser cutting
Cut to precise engineering tolerances of ±0.2mm.
Variable data
Sequential numbering and barcodes, first or second surface, backed with the full 3M adhesive range.
Pulpmaster required graphic overlays utilising their intricate brand design whilst withstanding the rigorous demands of the commercial food industry. Using Reid’s digital print technologies and MacDermid Autotype Polyester film, panels were produced to the highest photographic image quality and backed with 3M high performance adhesive.
Choosing the right film
The film determines whether the panel survives. We work with all the leading brands and specify to the environment.
Not sure which? That's what we're for. Tell us where the product lives and we'll specify it.
Detailed film selection and environmental protection is covered on our Membrane Switches page.
Digital print or screen print?
We run both, and the right answer depends on the job.
Digital printing
No tooling, no screens, fast turnaround. Best for short runs, prototypes, photographic imagery, and anything with variable data. Our wide-format digital press produces photographic-quality results that hold up in industrial environments.
Screen printing
Better for large runs, specific spot colours, and specialist inks (metallics, mirror, optical brighteners). More consistent colour matching across long production runs.
We'll tell you which suits your job. Often the answer is both: a screen-printed base with digital detail.
Prototypes and short runs
Send us print-ready artwork and we'll have your panels back quickly, on your choice of material, with embellishments and industrial adhesives. No tooling costs. Variable numbering and barcodes are a specialty.
More on Rapid Prototyping →Assembly and integration
Send us your PCBs or enclosures and we'll bond the overlay in-house, supply metal snap domes and spacers, and ship back ready to install. We also print directly onto pre-fabricated face panels and chassis, supplied by you or your contractor.
An elegantly designed graphic overlay digitally printed with full colour graphics and embellished with embossed buttons. The customer required subtle tones to capture the end user experience for the health and lifestyle market. MacDermid Autotype EBA Polyester was chosen for its anti-glare appearance.
As the EV charging sector grows, so does the demand for durable, evenly lit operator panels that hold up to constant public use outdoors. Reid manufactures multi-faceted interface panels that combine machined acrylic with membrane switch technology in a single sealed assembly.
On panels of this type, the acrylic is machined with milled sections that are hand-finished to disperse backlighting evenly across the face, so illumination reads cleanly with no hot spots or dark patches. A membrane switch is fitted into the machined section, incorporating embossing for tactile key definition, metal domes for positive feedback, and transparent windows that let the backlighting through exactly where it is needed.
Where our overlays are used
Graphic Overlay Projects
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between a graphic overlay and a membrane switch?
A graphic overlay is the printed front layer. A membrane switch is a graphic overlay bonded to a printed circuit layer, so pressing the panel actually switches something. Every membrane switch has a graphic overlay; not every graphic overlay is a membrane switch. See Membrane Switches.
What is a Lexan panel?
Lexan is a brand of polycarbonate film. "Lexan panel" usually just means a graphic overlay printed on polycarbonate.
Why is the printing on the inside?
So it can't wear off. Reverse printing puts the ink behind the film, so the surface takes the abrasion, chemicals and UV, and the graphics stay untouched.
Can graphic overlays be embossed?
Yes. Thermally formed raised buttons, rims and borders, controlled to keep the panel sealed and the tactile feel consistent over years of use.
Can you match an existing panel?
Yes. Send us a worn-out panel and we'll reproduce it, no drawings required.
What's the minimum order quantity?
There isn't one. We run prototypes and short runs on a digital workflow with no tooling cost.
Do you manufacture in Australia?
Yes. Designed, printed and finished at our Clontarf facility in Brisbane.
Other Interface Solutions
Need an overlay panel designed
and made in Australia?
Send us drawings, artwork, or a worn-out panel you need matched.