Prints On Glass

Year by year as technology advances, more and more applications arise for the use of printed glass

How are images printed onto glass?

There are a few ways you can get images printed on glass. Let’s dive into the different ways and list the pros and cons of each way.

Vinyl sticker onto glass.

This method required a printer to print onto a white or clear vinyl and then applied to the glass. This method is more commonly used for shop front where you wouldn’t want a permanent solution.

Some companies will use vinyl stuck onto the back of the glass to imitate glass prints.

Pros:

• Cheap
•  Removable

Cons

• Photographs onto glass will never be colour accurate
•  Will peel over time
•  Not recommended for splashbacks or wed areas.

Direct print with UV Flatbed printer

This method using a UV Flatbed printer allows the printer to directly lay the ink onto each piece of glass. Using a UV flatbed printer will also give better contrast and overall, better colour and finish. Depending on the company, the prints would be backed in white ink via the printer or painted with white 2-pack paint.

Pros

• High-quality, high resolution
•  Prints directly onto the glass
•  Can be calibrated for accurate colours

Cons

• Transparent prints are less durable than ceramic
•  Limited to size of flatbed printer

Ceramic Flatbed Printers

Like UV ink Ceramic flatbed printers print with ceramic. This is the most durable method for printing onto glass, but ceramic lacks colour vibrancy and prints with a much lower resolution compared to UV ink.

Pros

• Highest durability
•  Higher chance of printing larger than UV*

Cons

• Poor colour gamut
•  Not recommended for photographs
•  Low resolution

*Most ceramic printers are larger than UV flatbed printers. Some UV flatbed printers can print as large as a ceramic printer.

Types of glass used for printed glass.

There are 2 types of glass, Float ‘Clear’ Glass and Low Iron glass. Clear float glass has a slight green tinge to it and it’s cheaper to manufacture. Low Iron glass iron inside the glass reduces the green tinge to look crystal clear.

Low iron glass is used for glass prints and printed glass splashbacks.

some companies will cheap out and use clear float glass to cut costs. You can spot the differences as you will see a slight green to the image/print.

Glass vs Acrylic

The alternative to glass is acrylic. Although acrylic is lighter and won’t shatter like glass, Acrylic will scratch easier than glass and under different weather conditions, acrylic can bend and flex.

Mounting glass

You can mount glass in a few different ways.

Neutral cure silicone – this method is used for permanently mounting your printed glass splashback in your kitchen or wet area.

Standoffs – with 4 (or more) holes in the glass, standoffs mount through the glass onto the wall holding the glass firmly in place

French Cleat – uses 2 pieces of mounting hardware (usually MDF) with a 30-degree angle cut on each piece. One gets mounted to the wall and the other is pre-mounted to the back of the glass. Simply hang the glass on the wall-mounted cleat for a streamlined look.

Where to buy printed glass & printed glass splashbacks?

Complete Graphics is one of Australia’s leading glass printers. Being in the industry for over 10 years and using the industry’s top printers and finishing equipment, Complete Graphics is known for printing some of the highest-quality glass prints in Australia.

Complete Graphics uses high-end UV Flatbed printers and backs off all glass prints with 2-pack paint. In some applications where transparency is required with the glass, white ink will be printed instead of paint.

Looking for a printed glass splashback? Get a quote today