Bird protection glass

Hegla Boraident has developed laser printing technology as a method for preventing bird strikes.

Up to 100 million birds reportedly die in Europe each year because they cannot detect glass facades, bus stops, balcony glazing, greenhouses and windows.

Glass that has a patterned finish, however, can be detected much more easily by birds.

Hegla Boraident’s technology can cater for applications that require a more subtle finish, with tiny dots or even geometric shapes applied to the surface. The resulting pattern is said to be ‘almost imperceptible’ to humans.

If a more obvious pattern is desired or the bird protection finish is to be integrated into a facade design, then highly visible logos, complex designs and symbols can be printed.

 “The key to bird protection finishes is arranging the individual elements so that a bird cannot pass through them with its wingspan,” explained Dr Thomas Rainer, head of development at Hegla Boraident. “Black bird stickers used to be a popular, but they are not the scientific solution,” he continued. “Birds would keep their distance from the stickers at the beginning but would quickly try to fly past them.”

The effectiveness of the Hegla Boraident laser printing technology has gained approval by the American Bird Conservancy following trials.

Germany is said to be in the initial stage of considering the enforcement of bird protection glass for future buildings, based on the Nature Conservation Act. “Until a few years ago, panes like these were still a niche market,” commented Dr Rainer. “As glass facades have become bigger and the awareness of nature conservation has grown, demand from government buildings and publicly available construction projects has significantly increased.”

The elements, dots or designs are applied by a laser in conjunction with nanoparticle tape. Hegla Boraident says that it is not necessary to post-process or heat the glass and that the generated print cannot be felt and is ‘wafer-thin, colourfast, lightproof, smudge-proof, and scratch-resistant’.

The treatment is applied on the outside to negatively impact the mirroring of trees and plants in such a way that birds do not attempt to fly through them.

The laser print can be made with the Laserbird, Laserbird smart and even on a horizontal processing table.