New UltraGlide System Improvements The UltraGlide pull cord assembly for Duette and Applause shades has been totally redesigned. The assembly still operates with the click and walk away functionality that your customers have come to love, but it has a more robust design that allows it to be used on much larger shades than before...almost 50% larger! It is also quieter than before. The gear reduction adaptor that was required on larger shades has been all but eliminated (it is still used on large Artchitella Meritage shades), so most UltraGlide shades will sound the same when they are lowered and will lower at approximately the same speed.
New EasyRise Clutch With the introduction of the new common headrail, a new clutch design was required for Duette and Applause shades with the EasyRise lifting system. The clutch provides a robust operating system that can accommodate shades up to 174" and 150 square feet (depending on fabric selected). This new design allows for an industry first a Top-Down/Bottom-Up design option that operates with a continuous cord loop! Another feature of the new design is a bottom limit stop. When the shade is lowered completely, a limit stop in the headrail prevents the shade from starting to raise. To raise the shade, simply pull on the back of the cord loop. This makes it very easy to teach the consumer how to operate the shade; to lower the shade, pull on the front of the cord loop; and to raise it, pull on the back of the cord loop.
New Common Headrail and Brackets Beginning in May 2009, Duette and Applause with EasyRise, UltraGlide and LiteRise shades will share a common headrail for all three systems. The headrail is the same profile that the LiteRise system currently uses. The headrail has a fabric-covered valance to color coordinate the headrail to the fabric. A nice feature of the fabric-covered valance is that it is field replaceable so if it ever gets dirty or stained, you can order a new one. Another feature of the headrail is a fuzzy strip of material on the top of the headrail, near the back, that serves as a light block. On an inside mount, the minor gap between the top of the headrail and the window casement that is caused by the thickness of the mounting brackets is no longer an issue, as the light block prevents light from leaking through. There are three separate headrail sizes: one each for 3/8" pleat, 3/4" pleat and 1-1/4" pleat shades. This means that the fully recessed mounting depth for each headrail is different. Two new all-metal installation brackets have been developed for use with the common headrail. One bracket is used for 3/8" pleat headrail and a larger bracket is used for both the 3/4" and 1-1/4" headrails. You will love these new brackets! They are made of spring-tempered steel and are similar in design to the previous UltraGlide bracket. When you install the headrail into the bracket, you will hear a click that lets you know the headrail has engaged the bracket. With this new bracket, there are no false clicks which could sometimes happen with the previous bracket. New spacer blocks and shims have been designed for the new brackets. If you request spacer blocks with your order, you will receive both a 1/2" spacer block and a 1/8" shim. The spacer block can be snapped onto the bracket for easier installation. The new common headrail will make your life easier and reduce the variety of brackets you need to carry.
Modern Precious Metals Aluminum Blinds Gripper Bracket Design Change New Old The hidden installation bracket used on residential 1/2" and 1" Modern Precious Metals Aluminum Blinds (Celebrity, Décor, Lightlines and Reveal ) has been redesigned to make installation of the headrail much easier. The previous design of the bracket required the installer to hold the headrail in position against the bracket until the locking tabs were tightened. The new design incorporates a hook at the top front of the bracket that allows the headrail to hang freely on the bracket, leaving the installer s hands free to tighten the locking tabs. This new design has been field tested and has received positive feedback from installers using it. While the introduction of this new bracket is a running change for fabricators, you will see the new bracket in the field as soon as inventory of the old design is depleted.
New Bracket Design for Cordless Designer Roller Shades New Old A change has been made in the design of the cordless roller shade bracket for Designer Roller Shades. Previously, a small round head Phillips screw needed to be used because of the clearance between two features of the bracket. The new bracket design accommodates a standard hex head screw and driver. Expect to see the new bracket design soon.
Horizontal Blinds 2" Low Profile Headrail Deduction Change Based upon fabricator and dealer feedback, Hunter Douglas changed the 2" headrail deductions on all Wood, Alternative Wood and Aluminum Blinds last month. As a result, this may change how you measure for these products but it will ultimately make it easier for you to measure and install. An additional 1/4" headrail deduction will be taken on the finished width of the headrail. This change results in extra mounting room. On IB applications, there is less risk for a tight fit. More importantly, OB applications with trim become easier to measure and install. Currently, if you measure for the slats to come to the edge of the trim, it leaves no room on the trim to mount the bracket. Either the brackets have to be mounted to the wall with spacer blocks or you need to take your own deduction when measuring. The problem with taking an extra deduction is the slats will not meet the edge of the trim. With the new deductions, you can measure from trim edge to trim edge and the slats will be made to that width but the headrail will be 1/4" shorter allowing for the brackets to be mounted flush with the edge of the trim. The May 2009 Hunter Douglas Full-Line Reference Guide shows the deductions as: IB OB Slat Width Deduction -1/2" Ordered width Headrail Width Deduction -3/4" -1/4"
Template-Free Shutter Specialty Shapes The Shutter Division is receiving rave reviews from both dealers and installers for eliminating the requirement to submit templates for most specialty shapes. To simplify the ordering and measuring process they have designed three new specialty order forms: stand-alone specialty shapes, unframed sunburst over panels in continuous openings and arch/angle top and framed sunburst specialty shapes over panels. The order forms include all the information you need to order template-free specialty shapes. There is no need to attach a separate worksheet. The order forms (along with order forms for most Hunter Douglas products) can be found on the Dealers, Designers and Installers website (DDI) in the Product Info section. Download them today! Training on new order forms is available in our 2009 Shutter Enhancement Training via WebEx internet teleconferencing. For more details contact your fabricator or Shutter Training Administrator Ellen Vos at 480.308.8193 or ellen.vos@hunterdouglas.com.
Country Woods Exposé Wood Cornices Bay & Corner Windows Bay window and corner window applications can now be dressed with Country Woods Exposé wood cornices. The cornices are a custom made to fit these unique applications. The dust covers are angled to follow the angles of the walls and the returns are flush. Measuring for these applications must be done meticulously. It is imperative that you provide accurate measurements for bay and corner window cornices, especially the degree of angles. If accurate measurements are not provided the cornice will not line up flush with the wall. Please use a digital protractor, digital angle finder or digital miter finder to measure the angles. These measuring tools can be found on the internet, your local home improvement store or on PIP Online. To learn how to properly measure for bay and corner windows, refer to the Hunter Douglas Full-Line Reference Guide or Click Here.
Parts for Old Duette EasyRise & UltraGlide Located on the home page of PIP Online, you will see a What s New button. We use the What s New button to notify you of updates or new elements we add to the site. The latest item we added ties into the changes that were implemented in May for Duette with EasyRise and UltraGlide shades. The clutch on the EasyRise system changed as did the Pull Cord Assembly on UltraGlide. The Product Components Guides (which show an illustration of the shade and identify the part numbers) now reflect this change. The Product Component Guides are located on the dealers.hunterdouglas.com web site and also in the Parts Request section of PIP Online. There are hundreds of thousands of shades in the field with the old components. If you need to replace a clutch or an UltraGlide pull cord assembly, how do you find out the part numbers of the old components? And how long will the old parts be available? Don t worry we have you covered. Installers will be able to access the previous versions of the Product Component Guides and order parts for the next two years. Just go to PIP Online and click on the What s New button to find the Product Component Guides for the previous models of Duette with EasyRise and UltraGlide shades. If you are a Certified or Master Installer, you can use PIP Online to request your parts for free. If you are not a Certified Installer SM, you will not see a link on PIP Online for Parts Request. It is a service that is only provided to Certified and Master Installers. Certified and Master Installer Training SM will be conducted this fall. If you take the training, then you too can order parts at no charge and receive free shipping of them too.
Another CI Winner! Everyone who attends Certified Installer SM training is automatically enrolled in a drawing to win a Nedo Telescopic Rule. The winner for 2008 is Jim Boersma of Blind Designs of Illinois. Jim attended the certification training in Chicago in at city. When contacted to inform him he was our winner, Jim noted that he had a telescopic rule on his wish list ever since he attended the training and saw it demonstrated. Jim, you can scratch that off your wish list!