Glazing & decoration

While Full Digital is without question the ultimate goal, it is important to manage the change by developing a mentality that combines ceramic expertise with a knowledge of the specific aspects of the digital process.By Sergio Marcaccioli, Sicer (Fiorano, Italy)

Among the latest new products presented by Torrecid at Cevisama 2020 were the eco-friendly 2low-inkcid® glazes and inks and the new generation of high colour intensity inks.

Glazes, inks, grits and effects for trend-setting ceramic tile production took the spotlight during the Fritta open house event.

The newly developed proprietary printhead e·Q5 is able to operate with both traditional and water-based inks.

Drawn from Sibelco’s deposits in Norway, Spectrum® nepheline syenite enhances the aesthetic and functional characteristics of matt glazes in a number of ways, as well as helping to reduce production costs.

For several years now, Zschimmer & Schwarz Ceramco has been pursuing an environmentally friendly vision based on a simple observation: water-based technology is the only way forward in the field of inkjet ceramic decoration.

The Creadigit - the single-pass drop-on-demand digital inkjet printer from System Ceramics - has established itself as a standard. Its electronics allow for high-speed printing and can create images of any kind with designs up to 200 square metres in size, making each surface truly unique.

The Eco-Ink project (co-financed as part of the EU Horizon 2020 programme) aims to develop eco-friendly organic-solvent-free water-based digital inks for the production of polished porcelain tiles.

After the success achieved at Cersaie and Tecnargilla 2018 with the presentation of C-GLAZES Digital, Colorobbia is continuing to advance in the challenges set forth by the industrial implementation of the different high-laydown digital glazing technologies. The latest "Limitless" innovations were presented at Cevisama 2019.

Ferro is presenting two new ranges of water- based inks that stand out for their improved emissions performance (including odorous emissions) during combustion: DG Inks - Decoration & Glazed Inks HPLUS).

The new materials are used for developing hyper-white bodies and translucent effects, particularly in the ceramic slab segment.

The Ferro R&D department has developed two series of inks which are compatible with all printheads currently used by OEMs.

At Cersaie 2017, Esmalglass-Itaca is presenting a complete range of water-based glazes and engobes for digital application.

At this year’s Ceramics China show Xaar showcases a number of exciting developments for the ceramic tile market which reinforce Xaar’s position as the market-leading printhead technology company.

Easy Polar is the innovative direct-exchange cooling system from Certech

Eolo is able to reduce the temperature by around 5-10 °C and totally eliminate water evaporation from the tiles’ surface before infeed to the digital machine.

A leader in the field of ceramic decoration, the company has developed a new line of Inkjet Master digital effects that bring together the wide range of Megacolor brand ceramic colours with the use of cutting-edge technology.  

Tekmak has continued its research efforts in this field and the company is now presenting version 3.0, Igloo Cube, the most innovative and revolutionary version in terms of energy consumption, dimensions and performance.

"Smaltochimica Inks" is a complete range of colours, materials and effects for all kinds of decorations.

Metco is returning to the Kromatech section of Tecnargilla (Hall D5, stand 006) to present the completion of its “Magnificent Surfaces” project after developing the SSI Soluble Solvent Inks system, better known by the brand name SinkMet.