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Courage Film Fest 2012

It is time again for the only show of its kind in Canada, the Courage Film Fest seminars.

It is time again for the only show of its kind in Canada, the Courage Film Fest seminars. These events have become an annual tradition for many as a way to prepare for the upcoming year with new products and show specials. Starting in 1994 with a modest crowd of window film installers, Todd and Trent Courage have watched their Film Fest grow into the largest window film and paint protection film expo in the country.

Courage Distributing is a Canadian-owned and -operated company that has been distributing window films and related accessories across the country since 1992.

In February and March of 2011 the Vancouver and Toronto shows welcomed a record number of companies as over 400 attendees spent an informative Sunday with the Courage staff and manufacturer reps from Sun-Gard Window Films, 3M, Venture Tape Paint Protection, Wrap Films, Remlor Decorative Films and Roland Canada.

This year all eyes are sure to be on the automotive installation demo station as installers take their turn heat shrinking the new Black Pearl automotive tint from Sun-Gard. Feedback from the SEMA show in Las Vegas in November was very positive. With a great colour, lifetime warranty and incredible heat shrink ability, this film is impressive. Other automotive films from Sun-Gard include the classic metal/dyed hybrid PerformX Slate as well as the always popular fully dyed and lifetime warranted Shadow film.

Don’t forget to check out the extensive line-up of commercial and residential window films available from Sun-Gard. The Century series is made with sputtered metals for improved colour and performance and the Decorator series offers great heat resistance and durability. The Solar Silver series continues to be a go-to film for commercial applications where heat and light reduction is key while the dual reflective films take it to the next level by reducing interior nighttime reflection.

Glass-Gard safety and security films are designed to be virtually invisible and will help hold glass together in the case of accidental or intentional breakage. The safety lineup includes clear and tinted films from 2 to 7 thousandths and the security films are available in clear and tinted varieties from 8 to 14 thousandths. Courage also offers a UL rated 14-thousandths film in the RemVu series.

Courage Film Fest has many of the features of a trade show, including education sessions, automotive and flat glass tinting competitions, show specials, prizes and giveaways. Visit www.courage.ca .

There will be a lot of buzz around the 3M booth as attendees try out the increasingly popular Scotchprint 1080 series Body Wrap Film. Similar to the popular architectural DiNoc film, this product is made thinner for the automotive wrap market and is available in cutting-edge designs including carbon fibre, matte black and brushed silver to name a few. A newly released series of glossy colours will also be on hand to make their Film Fest debut.

The paint protection film area has grown considerably over the years and continues to be one of the most popular stations at the Courage Film Fest. Here you will see 3M showcasing its Clear Coat and Top Coat products as well as the Venture Ultra and Standard films. Also available is the Digital Designs software by 3M which features an extensive catalogue of vehicle patterns. These products are suitable for any auto tint business.

Roland Canada will showcase its GX-400 cutter paired with the Film and Vinyl Designs software for cutting window tint and paint protection patterns. With this combination installers can maximize their film usage and avoid cutting on cars altogether. Roland cutters also work very well alongside the Remlor Decorative Window Film lineup. These glass enhancement and privacy films come in a variety of patterns and shades allowing any piece of flat glass to be turned into a work of art.

From classic frost matte to unique cut glass to the ever-popular dusted crystal, Remlor has the decorative film for most applications. Users can take glass design ideas further by cutting shapes and patterns into these films with a Roland cutter.

Those just getting started in the industry will have access to everything they need to take their business to the next level. With installation 101 demos in each area, attendees will have a chance to learn some of the basics of auto tint, flat glass window film, paint protection film and carbon wrap installations. This will give a taste of what can be learned through the monthly Courage Installation Training courses available at the Richmond, B.C., and Oakville, Ont., locations.

For some attendees, it is all about showing off their talent and taking home a trophy from the Automotive Tint-Off and Flat Glass Film competitions. In Vancouver last year, the first place trophies went to Nixon Hipolito from Street Legal for the Auto Tint-Off and Chris Rennison from Titan Window Films for Flat Glass, while in Toronto Pablo Gonzalez from PG Professional Tint took the Tint-Off and John DeJong of Georgian Glass Coatings won the Flat Glass Skills for the second year in a row. The automotive Speed Demon winners were Rene Hipolito from Street Legal in the west and Milan Michale from Image 1 in the east.

The laid-back educational atmosphere combined with show specials, new products, dealer networking, prize giveaways and a complimentary lunch make for a perfect start to the season. Courage is proud to be celebrating 20 years in the window film industry this year.