Printing Inks for Glass and Ceramics

Glass and ceramic are utilized in architecture, the manufacturing furniture, household appliances, medical gadgets, labware, mobile phones, and a number of other specialized applications.Glass and ceramic as sustainable and ecologically beneficial mediums for beautifully packaging a product. Advanced technologies are enabled by ceramic and glass materials, which are used as components in devices and as raw materials for the manufacture of other materials. Catalytic converter substrates for automobiles, bulbs and dental crowns are all examples of ceramic components.

Printing on glass and ceramic may increase the value and utility of products like automobiles, manufacturing products and home décor. Printing improves the product’s exteriors, making it more useful, attractive and functional.Optical aids without branding or important information are rare, whether they be spectacles, dark glasses or measuring instruments. It is very important to use very resistant and opaque inks when printing on these products.

The common property of printing on glass and ceramics is that it must be heated at a high temperature after printing for the ink to stick to it permanently.

Ceramics and glass are non-absorbent materials. Therefore, the problem of ink adhesion is higher in their case.

In order to print , several techniques like screen printing, pad printing, digital printing and sublimation are employed on glass and ceramics for decoration, branding, and value addition.

The ceramic inks used for glass printing can be made of organic or inorganic pigments.Inorganic pigments are oxides or salts of metals, which is why they are resistant to chemicals, temperature, sunlight, and mechanical attacks. However, they are hazardous to the environment as they contain heavy metals.

Organic pigments come from nature, in the form of oils or their derivatives; they contain carbon and can be formulated into a very vibrant, limitless range of colours. Organic inks are environment-friendly but have very limited applications because they do not exhibit true metallic colors on glass or ceramics as in the case of inorganic inks.