Bidzer... as Paul Harvey says, "And now... for the rest of the story..."
I had the laminate thread going at another site, but the main laminate being used early on was Designer White. At that time only a couple of people had tried Fashion Grey, and not much was being reported back yet. Mech decided to give it a shot based on some of the initial reports as well as the original testing and data that was done.
Mech originally didn't like his Fashion Grey laminate. When he did his initial comparison between the two, Parkland Polywall had better colors and was much more vivid looking. If I remember correctly, he wasn't too happy with Fashion Grey at all... initially I should say.
That was also a time when people would compare white screens to gray screens and I never felt that was a valid way to test and compare screens. They are two completely different types of screens and will look very different, especially depending on what the projector is calibrated for. That last part really is the key... calibration.
If your projector is calibrated for a white screen, a gray screen will suffer by comparison when it comes to whites, colors, and brightness. It will excel with blacks though but that's about it. Same thing goes if you are calibrated for a medium/darker gray like an N8 range which Fashion Grey is, and compare that to a white screen. The white screen now suffers. Comparing dissimilar types of screens can only show the differences between them and you can't get an accurate idea of how either actually perform in optimal conditions.
Once I mentioned this, mech re-calibrated and changed his mind! After he was setup for a darker gray, it really came to life and ended up looking better than the Polywall.
Price wise you can't beat Polywall for a simple substrate screen, that is unless you live in an area that has Do-Able, then that is the definite choice.
So Parkland is okay, and the price is right but they did change the sheets from what was originally being used. Originally both sides were smooth, one being a little shinier (more reflective) than the other, but both sides could be used depending on your tastes, setting, and projector. From what I understand now one side has a bumpy texture and the other side is smooth. The other restriction is size. You're religated to a maximum screen size of 100" diagonal (but that requires it to be attached to the wall and then a border put around that) or a 98" diagonal or smaller screen. The laminates can go all the way up to a 120" diagonal screen, which is big enough for most people. Over that size and then material or paint based screens come into play.
Performance wise, Designer White really does edge out Parkland as far as color balance and gain.
Parkland Plastics Polywall 235 237 232 Temp 6374/-129 93.4 -1.32 2.07
Wilsonart Designer White 234 236 235 Temp 6534/31 93.3 -1.18 0.27
Between the two, unless money is an absolute deciding factor, I'd go with Designer White if you want a simple substrate screen and don't want to mess with paints. Look around too. Home Depot and Lowes can be two to three times the price of a local store. I can get 4x8 sheets of DW for around $42 and Home Depot wants around $90 for the same thing.
The big thing you want to do is decide if you want a white screen or gray screen, and then make your screen choice from there.
