PETG – The Fabricator’s Material of Choice

Published on: 03/09/2025

When it comes to choosing the right plastic for fabrication projects, few materials strike the balance of strength, clarity, and workability quite like PETG (Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol-modified). PETG is made by adding glycol to standard PET plastic, which makes it tougher, more durable, and easier to work with. This has made it the material of choice for fabricators, engineers, and manufacturers across a wide range of industries.

PETG Signage

Fabrication Advantages of PETG

One of the main reasons PETG has grown in popularity is its excellent fabrication characteristics. It can be cut, drilled, routed, and bonded with ease, while avoiding many of the common problems seen in other plastics.

Thermoforming: Generally, PETG becomes soft between 80°C to 120°C to be bent without whitening, cracking or losing strength, unlike acrylic, which is more prone to stress fractures
Cold bending: This is possible up to 2mm thickness without cracking or whitening
Requires little finishing: It responds well to CNC routing and laser cutting, producing smooth edges that require little finishing.
Bonding: PETG can be solvent-welded or mechanically fastened, producing strong joints.
Perfect for printing: As a filament, PETG filament is known to be used for 3D printing. PETG sheets have a high-gloss surface and excellent ink adhesion, making it suitable for both screen printing and direct-to-substrate UV digital printing.

This versatility makes PETG suitable for applications ranging from protective screens, security glazing, and machine guards to display units and signage.

Mechanical Strength and Flexibility

PETG is valued for its combination of strength and flexibility. With a tensile strength at yield of 51.5 MPa and elongation at break greater than 100 MPa, PETG can withstand significant stress without breaking or becoming permanently deformed. It also has excellent impact resistance, outperforming acrylic and approaching the toughness of polycarbonate, while remaining easier to work with.

These characteristics make PETG particularly well-suited to projects that require durability without the risk of brittleness. It can be drilled, cut, or bent without splitting, reducing the likelihood of failures during fabrication or use.

Clarity and Aesthetics

PETG offers optical clarity comparable to glass, with light transmission levels of around 90 percent and minimal haze. This makes it a popular choice for display applications, glazing, and protective screens where clear visibility is essential.

PETG Safety Screen

Hygiene and Resistance

In addition to strength and clarity, PETG has qualities that make it particularly suitable for environments where hygiene and safety are essential. It is food-safe, meeting EU and FDA requirements, and is widely used for packaging, containers, and food display units.

Its smooth, non-porous surface resists chemical attack and can be easily cleaned with common cleaning agents and disinfectants. These properties have led to PETG being widely used in medical applications, including pharmaceutical packaging and protective equipment. PETG is often used for food display cases as well as food containers and bottles.

PETG Food Display

PETG Compared to Other Plastics

Each plastic has advantages, but PETG is often chosen where a balance of performance and workability is required.

Compared to Acrylic: PETG is stronger, less brittle, and easier to machine. Acrylic is a much more available material with clear variants available up to 100mm in thickness, and commonly available in a wide variety of colours whereas PETG tends to be limited to Clear and Opal. Acrylic is also naturally far more UV resistant to PETG.
Compared to Polycarbonate: PETG is more straightforward to fabricate, lower in cost, and less prone to stress cracking. Polycarbonate is a much stronger, impact-resistant material that is considered virtually unbreakable. Most sheet Polycarbonate is manufactured with UV-absorbing additives or a UV coating, which makes it more UV-resistant than PETG.

	PETG (Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol-modified)	Perspex Acrylic (PMMA)	Polycarbonate (PC)
Clarity	Excellent – glass-like transparency (90% light transmission)	Excellent – very clear, highest optical quality	Good – slightly less clear, may have a faint tint
Impact Resistance	High – tougher than acrylic, comparable to PC for many uses	Medium – far better than glass but less than both PETG and PC	Very High – virtually unbreakable
Ease of Fabrication	Excellent – easy to cut, bend, drill, and bond without stress cracking	Good – easy to machine but prone to cracking when bending	Moderate – strong but harder to cut and drill
Thermoforming	Excellent – bends smoothly without whitening or cracking	Good – thermoforms well but can crack if overheated	Moderate – requires higher heat and skill
Flexibility	Moderate – bends easily, holds shape without breaking	Low – rigid and must be heated to bend or shape	High – very flexible, can bend significantly without breaking
Chemical Resistance	Good – resists cleaners, alcohol, and mild acids	Poor – easily damaged by many chemicals and solvents	Excellent – highly resistant to most chemicals
UV Resistance	Moderate as standard – UV options are available for outdoor use, but generally, PETG is best suited to indoor applications	Excellent – naturally UV stable, ideal for outdoor use	Good – but may yellow over time without stabilizers
Cost	££ – mid-range and cost-effective alternative to PC	£ – lowest cost of the three	£££ – most expensive option
Weight	Lightweight	Lightweight	Lightweight
Food & Medical Safe	Yes – FDA/EU approved	Limited – some grades are food safe	Commonly used in Medical applications however only specific BPA-Free variants are considered Food safe
Typical Applications	Protective screens, retail displays, food contact parts, guards	Signage, display cases, point-of-sale stands, glazing	Safety glazing, machine guards, helmet visors, riot shields

PETG: drawbacks for outdoor use

PETG is great for indoor fabrication—easy to form, tough, and crystal clear - but it’s not built for the sun. Most standard PETG grades lack UV stabilisers, so prolonged exposure to sunlight quickly leads to:

Yellowing and haze that spoil clarity and appearance
Embrittlement with a noticeable drop in impact strength
Surface crazing/cracking and loss of gloss
Warping and dimensional change are accelerated by heat–cool cycles and moisture

These effects compound over time, making PETG unsuitable for long-term outdoor applications such as signage, glazing, or weather-exposed guards. While UV-modified PETG exists, it must be specifically requested and even then typically carries more limited outdoor warranties than purpose-designed alternatives.

Better choices outdoors: use acrylic (PMMA) for excellent UV stability and optical clarity, or UV-protected polycarbonate for high impact and longevity. PETG is best kept for indoor or short-term external use where its forming ease really shines.

For a more detailed explanation on the UV-resistance of Perspex® Acrylic Sheets, see our blog post: The Truth About Perspex® UV Resistance – and Why It’s Important.

Clear PETG Cut-to-size

At Simply Plastics, we supply clear PETG sheets cut to size, whether you need a single piece, a bulk order, or complex shapes with drilled holes and rounded corners.

If you would like further help or have any questions, please call our friendly team on 01206 638056 or email [email protected].