Essential Guide to Acrylic Transmittance: Ultra-Clear to Opaque

Author: JAFFA Acrylic Engineering Team | Updated: May 2026 | Reviewed by: Senior Architectural Material Engineer (Certification No.: AME-20240612) & Acrylic Product R&D Specialist (Certification No.: ARD-20240708)

Acrylic (PMMA), one of the most popular polymer materials in modern design and architecture, is widely used in commercial spaces, home decor, industrial manufacturing and many other fields due to its excellent light transmittance, weather resistance and plasticity. Many people only know that acrylic is "transparent", but they are unaware that acrylic with different transmittance levels differ drastically in performance, visual effects and applicable scenarios.

As a leading manufacturer with 15 years of experience in acrylic production and application, the JAFFA technical team has systematically disassembled the core differences and optimal application scenarios of acrylic with different transmittance levels based on thousands of actual project cases. This guide will help you select materials accurately for your projects and avoid effect deviations and cost waste caused by improper material selection.

Acrylic transmittance is not a single indicator, but is jointly determined by raw material purity, production process, additive composition and surface treatment method. The theoretical light transmittance of pure polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) raw material can reach 93%, which is the highest among all plastic materials currently available, even superior to ordinary glass.

In actual production, by precisely controlling the addition ratio of color masterbatch, adopting different extrusion or casting processes, and performing surface treatments such as frosting, sandblasting and texture pressing, we can produce a full range of transmittance products from completely transparent to completely opaque to meet different design requirements.

Core Features: Colorless and transparent, no obvious light loss during penetration, visually almost identical to ultra-clear glass; high surface finish, no crystal points or bubbles; excellent yellowing resistance, no obvious discoloration after 5-8 years of outdoor use.

Technical Parameters:

• Light transmittance: 90%-93%
• Haze: ≤0.5%
• Thickness range: 1mm-100mm
• Compliance standard: GB/T 7134-2021

Optimal Application Scenarios:

• Commercial display: Jewelry display cases, luxury retail counters, museum artifact displays. Ultra-clear acrylic can restore the true colors and details of exhibits to the maximum extent, while being safer and lighter than glass.
• Optical applications: Light guide plates, lenses, instrument panels. Its uniform light transmittance and low haze are the core requirements for optical-grade applications.
• Architectural daylighting: Skylights, partition walls, sunrooms. Compared with glass, acrylic weighs only half as much but has 16 times the impact strength, offering higher safety.
• Home decor: Transparent coffee tables, art ornaments, lamp shades. It can create a light and transparent spatial feeling.

Typical Case: The ultra-clear acrylic clothing display racks we supplied to UR stores nationwide perfectly present the colors and textures of garments, while the lightweight material facilitates flexible display layout adjustments by store staff.

Core Features: Light can penetrate but produces diffuse reflection, which can not only ensure the lighting needs of the space but also effectively block the line of sight and protect privacy; rich in colors, various translucent tones can be customized.

Technical Parameters:

• Light transmittance: 30%-80% (can be precisely customized)
• Haze: 10%-70%
• Thickness range: 2mm-50mm

Optimal Application Scenarios:

• Office spaces: Partition walls, conference room doors, workstation baffles. Translucent acrylic maintains the overall brightness of the office while creating relatively independent working spaces to avoid mutual interference.
• Commercial spaces: Storefront signs, background walls, light box panels. When used with lighting, translucent acrylic produces a soft and uniform luminous effect, enhancing brand image.
• Bathroom spaces: Shower partitions, vanity countertops. Waterproof and easy to clean, while protecting privacy.
• Home decor: Wardrobe doors, cabinet doors, decorative painting backboards. It can increase the layering and modern sense of the space.

Typical Case: A high-end office building in Shanghai adopted our 50% transmittance milky white translucent acrylic for office partitions. It not only kept the entire office area bright and transparent but also provided employees with a private working environment, receiving high praise from the client.

Core Features: The surface presents a delicate frosted texture, and light forms a very soft diffuse reflection after penetration, completely blocking the line of sight; comfortable to the touch, not easy to leave fingerprints and scratches.

Technical Parameters:

• Light transmittance: 5%-30%
• Haze: 85%-99%
• Surface treatment: Single-sided frosted, double-sided frosted, fine sand, coarse sand

Optimal Application Scenarios:

• Lighting fixtures: Ceiling lamp shades, chandelier shades, wall lamp panels. Frosted acrylic can convert harsh point light sources into soft surface light sources, avoiding glare and protecting eyes.
• Privacy partitions: Bathroom doors, shower partitions, changing room baffles. Completely block the line of sight while ensuring basic lighting needs.
• Decorative panels: TV background walls, sofa background walls, cabinet door panels. The delicate frosted texture can enhance the high-end feel of the space.
• Industrial applications: Equipment protective covers, instrument panels. It can protect internal equipment while facilitating observation of operating status.

Typical Case: The frosted acrylic bar counter we designed for Crush Bar, combined with RGB lighting at the bottom, creates a dreamy and hazy cyberpunk atmosphere, becoming the iconic check-in point of the bar.

Core Features: Completely opaque, high color saturation, smooth and flat surface; has excellent hiding power, which can cover the structures and pipelines behind.

Technical Parameters:

• Light transmittance: 0%-5%
• Colors: Any Pantone color can be customized
• Thickness range: 1mm-50mm

Optimal Application Scenarios:

• Advertising signage: Three-dimensional characters, logo walls, directional signs. Bright and eye-catching colors with strong visual impact.
• Furniture manufacturing: Cabinet door panels, tabletops, chairs. Lightweight and easy to process, capable of making various uniquely shaped furniture.
• Architectural decoration: Exterior wall cladding, suspended ceilings, baseboards. Good weather resistance, not easy to fade, and easy to maintain.
• Industrial applications: Equipment shells, chassis panels. Has good insulation and corrosion resistance.

Typical Case: The opaque acrylic storefront signs we provided to multiple chain catering brands have bright and long-lasting colors and are easy to install, greatly reducing the decoration and maintenance costs for clients.

To choose the appropriate transmittance of acrylic, you need to comprehensively consider the following factors:

1. Lighting requirements: If you need to ensure the brightness of the space, prioritize ultra-clear or translucent acrylic; if lighting requirements are low or complete light blocking is needed, choose frosted or opaque acrylic.
2. Privacy needs: The higher the privacy requirement, the lower the transmittance should be. For places such as bathrooms and changing rooms, frosted or low-transmittance translucent acrylic is recommended.
3. Visual effect: To create a light and transparent feeling, choose ultra-clear acrylic; to create a soft and hazy atmosphere, choose frosted or translucent acrylic; to create a striking and strong visual effect, choose opaque acrylic.
4. Usage environment: For outdoor use, it is recommended to choose acrylic sheets with high weather resistance to avoid yellowing and cracking caused by long-term sun and rain exposure.
5. Budget considerations: Generally speaking, the price of ultra-clear acrylic is higher than that of translucent and opaque acrylic, and specially customized transmittance and colors will be more expensive.

As a professional provider of acrylic product solutions, JAFFA DESIGN PLASTIC has advanced production equipment and a professional technical team, capable of providing clients with one-stop services from sheet production to finished product processing. We can precisely customize acrylic sheets of any transmittance, any color and any thickness according to the specific needs of clients, and provide a full set of processing services including cutting, engraving, bending, bonding and polishing.

Whether you are a commercial space designer, architectural designer or furniture manufacturer, we can provide you with the most suitable acrylic material solutions. If you have any questions about acrylic transmittance or need to customize acrylic products with special specifications, please contact our technical team, and we will serve you wholeheartedly.

This article is written by the R&D Department of JAFFA DESIGN PLASTIC, based on 15 years of experience in acrylic production and application and thousands of actual project cases. Please indicate the source when reprinting.