Finished blinds trades the cord lock slipping under load against price; roller blinds trades the opposite. The useful question is which one your retail and showroom can absorb.
The short answer on finished blinds
Choose finished blinds when cheaper, simpler, better for large glazing. Choose roller blinds when the priority is less light control, no slat adjustment.
finished blinds against the alternatives, side by side
| Question | finished blinds | Roller blinds | Material | Finished venetian blinds | Roller blinds | Where it wins | Cheaper, simpler, better for large glazing | cheaper entry, simpler supply; measured on slat width, 25, 35 or 50 mm | Where it costs you | Less light control, no slat adjustment | see the limits below | Typical MOQ | 200-500 sets per size and colour | often lower, because stock is common; held at slat width, 25, 35 or 50 mm | Lead time | 25-40 days | usually shorter for stock items; read against slat width, 25, 35 or 50 mm |
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What finished blinds actually gives you
Headrail (25 mm steel or aluminium). Steel is stronger and rusts; aluminium is lighter and costs more.
Slat (25 / 35 / 50 mm, wood or PVC). The material decision cascades into weight, price and warranty.
Ladder tape / cord (polyester, 12-25 mm).
That combination is why finished blinds holds the volume position in its category.
Where roller blinds wins
roller blinds wins when the order sits below 200-500 sets per size and colour, when the service life is shorter than the warranty, or when the buyer is testing a market before committing. Paying for ladder tape / cord you cannot sell is as much a mistake as saving on a material that will come back.
Finished blinds: the cost of choosing wrong
The reverse mistake is also common: specifying finished blinds for a product that will be replaced in eighteen months.
Finished blinds: how to decide in one meeting
- Write the service life the end customer expects, and compare it with 25-40 days of production plus transit.
- Write the conditions, then name the one that maps to ladder tape / cord.
- Ask both suppliers for operation cycles on the same sample, with the same method.
- Compare landed cost including the expected claim rate, not the unit price On finished blinds that is slat width at 25, 35 or 50 mm.
- Record the decision and the reason, so a cheaper quote later does not reopen it For finished wooden blinds it is headrail at 25 mm steel or aluminium that settles it.
If you want the numbers behind either column, they are on the finished blinds page and in our category overview.
Questions buyers ask before ordering
Is 200-500 sets achievable at our volume on finished vs roller blinds?
On finished vs roller blinds, on this item the tolerance sits at 200-500 sets.
How do you verify tolerance against 200-500 sets on finished vs roller blinds?
On finished vs roller blinds, if your customer checks tolerance, tell us the figure; 200-500 sets is ours, and a tighter one is a different conversation.
Does tolerance move between the finished vs roller blinds sample and bulk?
On finished vs roller blinds, our engineering position on tolerance is 200-500 sets; the batch record is what proves it after the sample is gone.
Finished blinds: the cost over the life of the product
| Cost item | finished blinds | Roller blinds | Who absorbs it | Unit price | higher | lower | Buyer, at the order | Claim rate | low if the spec matches the use; written as slat width 25, 35 or 50 mm | higher if the failure mode hits; measured on slat width, 25, 35 or 50 mm | Buyer, 6-18 months later | Replacement shipment | rare | likely once per programme; held at slat width, 25, 35 or 50 mm | Buyer, plus the lost season; read against slat width, 25, 35 or 50 mm | Customer relationship | protected | at risk | Buyer, permanently |
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Finished blinds: a trial that costs one container, not a season
- Slat width 25, 35 or 50 mm — measured at three positions on the roll, recorded as a number rather than pass or fail On finished blinds, skipping this is what produces the cord lock slipping under load.
- Headrail 25 mm steel or aluminium — cut from the middle of the lot, not from the end of the roll For finished wooden blinds, the figure to write down is cord lock at standard, auto-lock or cordless.
- Cord lock standard, auto-lock or cordless — read at 23 C / 50 % RH after conditioning, not straight off the machine On finished blinds that is slat width at 25, 35 or 50 mm.
- Width tolerance 1-2 mm on the finished blind — checked on production material, at in-process rather than only at pre-shipment For finished wooden blinds it is headrail at 25 mm steel or aluminium that settles it.
- EN 13120 for internal blinds, EN 16433 and EN 16434 for cord safety — run to the method named above; the report travels with the lot On finished blinds, skipping this is what produces the cord lock slipping under load.
What finished blinds and roller blinds have in common
cycle life, safety, blackout options applies to either, and the test that matters is the one that reproduces it.
finished blinds fails as cord lock slipping; roller blinds fails earlier and more visibly.
Many programmes use both: finished blinds where the specification is tight, roller blinds in the range extensions where the price point matters more than the service life.
The other finished blinds comparison buyers ask about
Where finished blinds wins
The failure you are buying protection against is cord lock slipping: the blind creeps down and will not hold position. If that is the failure your customer will report, finished blinds is the cheaper decision even at a higher unit price.
How to decide without a trial order on finished blinds
- Slat width 25, 35 or 50 mm — measured at three positions on the roll, recorded as a number rather than pass or fail For finished wooden blinds, the figure to write down is cord lock at standard, auto-lock or cordless.
- Headrail 25 mm steel or aluminium — cut from the middle of the lot, not from the end of the roll On finished blinds that is slat width at 25, 35 or 50 mm.
- Cord lock standard, auto-lock or cordless — read at 23 C / 50 % RH after conditioning, not straight off the machine For finished wooden blinds it is headrail at 25 mm steel or aluminium that settles it.
- Width tolerance 1-2 mm on the finished blind — checked on production material, at in-process rather than only at pre-shipment On finished blinds, skipping this is what produces the cord lock slipping under load.
- EN 13120 for internal blinds, EN 16433 and EN 16434 for cord safety — run to the method named above; the report travels with the lot For finished wooden blinds, the figure to write down is cord lock at standard, auto-lock or cordless.
Specifications for both are on the finished blinds page and the shutters page.
Total cost over three years on finished blinds
| Line | finished blinds | shutters | Note | Purchase | Higher unit price | Lower unit price | Paid at the order | Claims | Lower if the spec matches; written as slat width 25, 35 or 50 mm | Higher if the failure mode hits; measured on slat width, 25, 35 or 50 mm | Paid 6-18 months later | Replacement | Rare | Likely once | Paid in the season you cannot supply; held at slat width, 25, 35 or 50 mm | Rework at your factory | Lower | Higher if the material behaves differently; read against slat width, 25, 35 or 50 mm | Paid in labour |
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finished blinds fails as cord lock slipping; shutters fails as visible light gaps.
A trial that answers the question in one container on finished blinds
How to test finished blinds against roller blinds without a season of stock
The finished blinds versus roller blinds question is usually settled by a trial order that was never designed to settle it. Four choices turn a finished blinds trial into evidence.
- Run finished blinds and roller blinds on the same product, in the same colour, cut by the same operator — most comparisons of this pair are lost because the two samples were made a month apart.
- Fix slat width at 25, 35 or 50 mm and headrail at 25 mm steel or aluminium on both sides, so the trial is about the material and not the specification.
- Inspect at in-process as well as pre-shipment: the cord lock slipping under load is the failure that appears between the two on finished blinds, and a final check alone will not show it.
- Agree the decision line before the run: cord lock at standard, auto-lock or cordless or better, and headrail at 25 mm steel or aluminium. A finished blinds trial without a written pass mark becomes an opinion.
One container is usually enough for a finished blinds decision if those four choices are fixed in advance, and the cost of the run is recovered the first time a lot is rejected at the destination instead of the factory.
Keep the finished blinds trial material. It is the reference for every later argument about whether the finished wooden blinds slat width has drifted, and it is the cheapest document in the file.
The five-year cost of finished blinds against roller blinds
On finished blinds, the purchase price is the smallest part of the five-year comparison against roller blinds. Three finished blinds lines decide the rest, and only one of them is on the invoice.
- Purchase price. Usually 10-25 % apart, in favour of roller blinds on a finished blinds comparison. That is a real number and it is the only line most buyers of finished blinds compare.
- Replacement rate. If finished blinds fails at the cord lock slipping under load within two seasons, the replacement costs the whole purchase price again, and carries the same freight and duty.
- The cost of the complaint. A sorted finished blinds consignment, a credit note, a customer who now inspects everything — a line that never appears in a spreadsheet until it has happened.
The break-even on finished blinds is arithmetic once the replacement rate is known: if finished blinds replaces more than one lot in five, the cheaper option has already lost on slat width.
Which is why the trial above matters more than the quotation for finished blinds. It is the only way to put a number on the middle line, and headrail at 25 mm steel or aluminium is the figure that number hangs on.
Need finished blinds quoted against your specification?
Send the slat width and the destination market. The reply states the range we hold, the price at that volume, and which test report travels with the goods.
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