Make the correct fabric and colour choice

We offer the widest variety of any product throughout the world.

Matrix Outdoor Blinds is by far the absolute leader in outdoor blinds and solar screens manufacturing and design.

Outdoor blinds have traditionally been a very one-dimensional product i.e Here is the one product we offer, use it for everything!! and hope it blends in and does the job!! The mindset and approach are what has given patio/lapa blinds a great name and at the same time a bad name. The bad name comes in due to the fact that traditional blinds don't work for all applications, yet get sold as a solution for everything.

Guidelines to help direct you in making the right decision on fabric type and application

Ask yourself

• What elements do I need protection against and what purpose do I need the blind to fulfil?
• Do I need them to block out the sun, wind, cold, rain, dust, privacy or for multiple reasons?
• Does the blind need to conform to a certain look, style or design?
• Must it be aesthetically pleasing to the eye?
• Must it be fancy and functional or just plain and functional?
• How often will I use the blinds?
• How many hours of the day does the sun shine directly on the blinds?
• Do I prefer a rope and pulley system or a mechanical gear system?
• What is my budget?
• It is very important to use the right material for the right job. Matrix Outdoor Blinds will not hesitate to back up long term guarantees as claimed by some manufacturers, as long as the right material is used for the right application. We have seen blinds guaranteed for 5 years not last for longer than a year and we have seen blinds guaranteed for 1 year last 5 years plus. We have recently revamped blinds on an old farmhouse that have bee there for 30 years and are still in good condition, but the client was just tired of the colour. Most manufacturers have the frame of mind, that, let's offer a cheap product with an extra long guarantee on the fabric, as these people will only use it a few times a year.

How blinds have progressed over the years

Canvas has been around much longer than the PVC blinds of today. For many years canvas was the only option and was used for everything, from blinds to tents and awnings. Acrylic canvas is an imported material, resulting in a premium price, and is not an easy material to turn into a world-class product if you don't know exactly what you are doing in the manufacturing process. Up until recently, the canvas had to be stitched and if you don't know the secrets of cotton varieties, tensions and manufacturing techniques your product would not conform with world standards. Even with technological advances today canvas is still canvas and will always feature, but there are new developments which Matrix Outdoor Blinds uses to 'weld' canvas together, doing away with stitching, taking canvas blinds to a whole new frontier.

Why you should insist that your canvas blinds be 'welded' and not stitched

South Africa is probably the only country that does not conform to worldwide standards of cotton quality and durability. In the USA for example, 100% Teflon cotton is predominantly used among manufacturers of awnings and blinds that are still utilising stitching in their processes. South African manufacturers use a polyester based cotton (mainly because of price), which lasts approximately 1/3 of the time Teflon cotton does. In fact, a company called Gore-tex that manufactures a cotton brand called Tenara, made a public ultimatum stating that if their cotton breaks or disintegrates before the fabric does, they would pay for the full repair/recover cost.

As a result of this fact, Matrix Outdoor blinds has followed a new trend in manufacturing canvas where we eliminate the use of cotton totally, only using a welding process. Our clients are more than welcome to visit our factory and find out more about the benefits of this.

With all these technological advances, PVC blinds/screens have come about. PVC is an extremely durable, robust product and is much easier to work with. PVC can also be welded easily using a process called high-frequency welding (Cold welding) or hot welding. Both give the same end result as the HFW vibrates the individual molecules forming heat to bond them, and hot welding uses direct heat to melt the PVC. PVC is manufactured in various heat processes, so naturally, it needs heat to join it, be it 'hot' or 'cold' heat!

With even further advanced, imported materials which we don't explain in detail due to restraints, MOB offers a further four unique materials, giving us a total of six materials for you to choose from, for a variety of applications as well as style and durability. You will be shocked when we explain the differences in uses and aesthetics! especially (function vs style) and (function vs price).

No one blinds manufacturer in South Africa can work with this variety of materials or manufacture with the processes we use. MOB has four different manufacturing processes for the six material varieties, where all other companies have one manufacturing process for one or max two different materials. That is what makes us outright leaders.

I hope the information provided above will get you started in making the right choice!

Ryan and Warren