Surface Terms

DBEF

(Dual Brightness Enhancement Film) A 3M product that increases LCD screen brightness. The film recycles most of the light that is normally lost in the rear polarizer.

Gloss

The degree to which a surface exhibits specular reflectance or the quality of image a surface reflects. It is a measure of the image forming ability of a surface. A general way to describe gloss is to say the surface looks shiny or dull. A smooth and highly polished surface will be shinier or have higher gloss. Gloss or the image forming ability of a surface is affected by 1) the material being used, 2) the surface profile (rough versus smooth) and 3) the transparency of the material. Traditional laptop LCD screens which use an anti-glare polarizer create a low gloss surface while the newer shiny laptop LCD screens which use an anti-reflective surface have a high gloss surface.

Gloss meter

A device used to measure the gloss or image forming ability of a surface.

Gloss units

A unit of measure of the gloss or image forming ability of a surface measured in percentage of specular reflection.