Retroreflective articles including optically active areas and optically inactive areas

1. A retroreflective article, comprising:

a retroreflective layer including multiple cube corner elements that collectively form a structured surface that is opposite a major surface; and

a sealing layer having a first region and a second region, wherein the second region is in contact with the structured surface and wherein the second region surrounds the first region to form at least one cell with a cell size that is less than 1000 microns; and

wherein cell size is defined as the cell area by the perimeter length,

wherein the sealing layer comprises a thermoplastic polymer,

wherein the sealing layer further includes a barrier layer disposed within the first region between the sealing layer and the retroreflective layer separating a low refractive index layer from the sealing layer;

wherein the retroreflective article exhibits a coefficient of retroreflection R A that is not less than 80 cd/(lux·m 2 ) for an observation angle of 0.2 degrees and an entrance angle of −4 degrees.

2. The retroreflective article of claim 1 , wherein the cell size is less than 750 microns.

3. The retroreflective article of claim 1 , wherein the second region forms multiple discrete cells.

4. The retroreflective article of claim 3 , wherein the multiple discrete cells each have a cell shape and a cell size and at least one of the shape and size of at least two different discrete cells are unequal.

5. The retroreflective article of claim 3 , wherein the multiple discrete cells each have a cell shape and a cell size that are substantially equal to each other.

6. The retroreflective article of claim 1 , wherein the sealing layer is a pressure sensitive adhesive.

7. The retroreflective article of claim 1 , wherein the retroreflective article exhibits a total light return that is not less than about 5% for incident visible light at an entrance angle of −4 degrees.

8. The retroreflective article of claim 1 , wherein the retroreflective article exhibits a coefficient of retroreflection R A that is not less than about 8 cpl for an observation angle of 2.0 degrees and an entrance angle of −4 degrees.

9. The retroreflective article of claim 1 , wherein the retroreflective article exhibits a % R T slope that is not less than about 3%/degree for an entrance angle of −4 degrees and an observation angle of 2 degrees.

10. The retroreflective article of claim 1 , wherein the retroreflective article exhibits a coefficient of retroreflection R A that is not less than about 4 cpl for an observation angle of 3.0 degrees and an entrance angle of −4 degrees.

11. The retroreflective article of claim 1 , wherein the retroreflective article exhibits a % R T slope that is not less than about 1.5%/degree for an entrance angle of −4 degrees and an observation angle of 3 degrees.

12. The retroreflective article of claim 1 , wherein less than about 65% of the structured surface is retroreflective.

13. The retroreflective article of claim 1 , wherein the second region is raised relative to the first region.

14. A retroreflective article, comprising:

a retroreflective layer including multiple cube corner elements that collectively form a structured surface that is opposite a major surface; and

a sealing layer having a first region and a second region, wherein the second region is in contact with the structured surface and wherein the second region surrounds the first region to form at least one cell with a cell size that is less than 1000 microns;

wherein cell size is defined as the cell area by the perimeter length,

wherein the sealing layer comprises a thermoplastic polymer,

wherein the sealing layer further includes a barrier layer disposed within the first region between the sealing layer and the retroreflective layer separating a low refractive index layer from the sealing layer; and

wherein the multiple discrete cells each have a cell shape and a cell size and at least one of the shape and size of at least two different discrete cells are unequal.

15. A retroreflective article, comprising:

a retroreflective layer including multiple cube corner elements that collectively form a structured surface that is opposite a major surface; and

a sealing layer having a first region and a second region, wherein the second region is in contact with the structured surface and wherein the second region surrounds the first region to form at least one cell with a cell size that is less than 1000 microns;

wherein cell size is defined as the cell area by the perimeter length,

wherein the sealing layer comprises a thermoplastic polymer,

wherein the sealing layer further includes a barrier layer disposed within the first region between the sealing layer and the retroreflective layer separating a low refractive index layer from the sealing layer; and

wherein the retroreflective article exhibits a total light return that is not less than about 5% for incident visible light at an entrance angle of −4 degrees.