Privacy from Solar Shade Screen while
"keeping the view" and keeping the airflow

Textilene and PolyCB2 MX-90 solar shade screen mesh materials are superior to any other sun shade screen on the market. They allow good airflow with inside to outside visibility while providing all the essentials for maximum shade and privacy. This seemingly impossible combination of qualities result from advanced technology and exacting manufacturing standards.
Privacy is obtained by the combination of three conditions: (1) proper porosity (size of pores and pores per square inch); (2) the phenomenon of ambient lighting differential and; (3) reflective qualities of the screen fibers. For good privacy with one-way visibility from a shade screen, all three conditions must exist.      
(1) Proper Porosity and the "Key Hole" effect: The closer you are to the screen, the light rays coming through the pores of the screen occupy more of your field of vision. Consequently, the fibers lose priority and you see through the screen mesh as if it were not there. When far away, the opposite occurs and the screen mesh appears as a solid object.
A high number of small diameter fibers, allowing more pores per square inch, is optimum for privacy. However, if the pores become too small, they decrease your ability to see out because the fibers then become predominate in your view. And, if the pores are too large, the ability to see in from a distance increases. 
A compromise between fibers and pore size is essential for privacy and for you to still "keep the view."
(2) Ambient Lighting Differential: For privacy, it is required that the area not to be seen into (private area) must be darker than the outside area. Also, "back lighting" cannot exist. When the background (inside) is darker (even slightly)  than the foreground (outside), the screen mesh becomes the reflected light source to the outside viewer. The higher the reflective properties of the screen fibers, the more privacy. 
A covered patio or porch that is shaded from full sunlight is a good applicant for the use of privacy screen.
(3) Reflective Qualities: The greater the reflective properties of the mesh fibers, the more visual light is bounced back from the screen. This has the effect of shielding the background from being seen into. Lighter colors help provide greater reflection and often improve privacy when ambient lighting differential is slight or does not exist.
Textilene and PolyCB2 have an extruded protective coating over the core strands applied prior to weaving (other manufactures "dip coat*" their screen after weaving). Our extrusion coating process produces a highly polished surface on the fiber that is akin to thousands of tiny mirrors that reflect light rays.
*   Other manufactures' process of dip coating their raw screen creates a surface of craters caused by escaping gas and air bubbles during drying time. This "cost saving" process dulls the surface of the fibers resulting in very limited reflection.
Other Solar Screens that use dip coating and large fibers with micro fine pores do provide privacy. However, they also greatly reduce your outward view and substantially decrease airflow.
Textilene and PolyCB2 provide the greatest combination of porosity and reflective properties. The high strength core and extruded coating allow for the use of smaller diameter fibers to be woven into the mesh. 
The result is an extremely strong solar screen mesh that blocks ultra violet rays, reduces sun glare and reflects exterior vision without sacrificing outward view nor airflow.
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