Tekra Fundamentals - When was Mylar® Invented?

Do you know how many years ago Mylar® was invented? It was invented nearly 70 years ago! Mylar® polyester film has been a staple film across a wide range of applications and industries.

Growth of Mylar® 

Since 1952, Mylar® has grown immensely and continued its improvements to never fall behind in the industry. Some of those important growths are outlined below:

  • 1952 - The first introduction of Mylar, an extraordinarily strong polyester film

  • 1965 - First production of Mylar® overseas

  • 1969 - Spacesuits worn by the Apollo Astronauts as they walk on the moon contain five layers of aluminized Mylar®

  • 1980 - Mylar® OL is launched as the first heat-sealable film that is used for ovenable lidding in frozen meals

  • 1982 - The thinnest Mylar® film to date is created for the ever-growing electronics industry

  • 1987 - Commercial Mylar® film is created for video cassettes at DuPont Teijin Films (now known as Mylar® Specialty Films) Luxembourg plant

  • 2009 - DuPont Teijin Films (now known as Mylar® Specialty Films) launches anti-fog/anti-glare coated film for medical face shields 

These are just some of few advancements and first of Mylar® that have been documented over the 70 years it has been around.

How is Mylar® Made?

As Mylar® has been such a huge asset to the film industry, Mylar® film is made in a unique way to ensure top of the line quality.

  1. Molten polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is extruded onto a chill roll drum to form film.
  2. The film is then biaxially oriented by being stretched first in the machine direction (MD) and then in the transverse direction. This orientation is accomplished by passing the film over rollers that run at increasingly faster speeds (MD orientation), and then feeding it into a stenter frame where it is pulled at right angles (TD orientation). This stretching rearranges the PET molecules into an orderly structure, which substantially improves the film’s mechanical properties
  3. Finally, the film is heat set to stabilize it. This ensures the film will not shrink again until exposed to its original heat set temperature.

Mylar® is most commonly used as an electrical and thermal insulator, reflective material, and decoration. Though these are the common uses of this film, there are many other capabilities that it provides.

For any questions regarding Mylar® film and how it can benefit you or for help selecting the right polyester film for your specific application, please contact us online or call (800) 448-3572.

Image of Plastic Film Used in Insulation of Wires

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