Sunscreen vs Blackout vs Dim-Out Fabrics, Finally Explained

Blind catalogues use four opacity words as if everyone grew up knowing them. Nobody did. Here is each one, in the order they block light, with the window each belongs on.

Light-filtering — the soft default

Glow without glare. The room stays daylit, shapes stay private, the view softens rather than disappears. Bedrooms in the evening, studies, dining rooms. From ₹100/sq ft.

Sunscreen — heat control with a view

A woven mesh that filters solar gain before it becomes heat, while keeping daylight and an obscured view. The right fabric for the room that bakes at 2 pm — west and south elevations, balconies, home offices over a sunny compound. If Delhi summer is the problem you are actually solving, start here.

Dim-out — privacy with manners

Substantially blocks light and silhouettes but keeps a mood of daylight. Bedrooms used in the evening, kids' rooms before full dark is required. From ₹130/sq ft.

Blackout — the sleep fabric

Light does not pass through it, full stop. The asterisk: light still travels around a blind, so blackout earns its name only with the mounting done right — outside mount with overlap, side channels where the streetlight is visible from the pillow. From ₹130/sq ft; see the dark bedroom guide for the full system.

The one-line matrix

• Sun-facing, used by day → sunscreen
• Bedroom, sleep priority → blackout + overlap
• Used morning and night → zebra (its bands are dim-out and sheer in one)
• Everything else, honestly → light-filtering, and spend the difference on the window that matters

Rates for every fabric are live on the roller and zebra pages, GST included, 10 sq ft minimum per window; the wide table is in the price guide. Hold two samples against your window at different hours before deciding — the Block E, Mangolpuri showroom keeps the four opacities side by side for exactly this, Mon–Sat 10am–7pm.