All this is changing. Digital printing technologies have advanced and new systems and inks are becoming available that offer new potential for the glass industry. Digital printing techniques offer now a new deal for fast and cost-efficient printing on glass compared to traditional printing techniques like the old screen printing. Ink-Jet and Air-brush techniques are the most promising in the field and have different properties, in speed, resolution, colors mixing and enamels for special effects.

The offer is wide open, opaque to highly transparent printings can be achieved with state of the art printing hybrid inks. Thanks to the glass substrate transparency, maximum freedom has been achieved in designing patterns, greater than with opaque printing.

Printing can be done on float as well as on tempered glass and, once printed, it can be also laminated to safety glass. As the term direct on glass implies the textures, images, photos and texts can be printed directly on any glass sheet.
Previously, printing on glass was being done using screens to spread the ink on the surface. The development of digital printing technology is now up to the traditional method: no longer are screens involved, no screen cleaning, storage, maintenance and no concerns for damaged screen mesh.

Cost-efficiency is not an issue any more with digital printing, as making and handling screens for smaller sizes and quantities does not put any additional stress on the budget. This is good news for interior designers pursuing customised and tailor made solutions in decorating offices, stores and homes. A revolution in interior architecture could even be claimed here. It will also be beneficial to automotive repair and replacement sectors, who usually deal with small batches.



The printing method is very similar to computer ink jet printing but, even though well proven, printing of large glass sheets requires search of suitable inks to ensure sharp and steady printing. Solvent-based ceramic inks, similar to the ones used with conventional printing methods, as screen printing, allow the same firing temperatures. 

Digital printers can now manage very large image areas and are usually equipped with stationary vacuum tables to handle heavy and fragile substrates and tiling (enabling simultaneous printing on multiple smaller panes of glass). Using colour, high-resolution industrial digital printers, glassmakers can now decorate sheets of glass measuring up to 2m x 3m (6.5ft x 10ft) and up to 40mm (1.57in) thick.
UV curable inks are becoming environment friendly and they allow a very high media versatility and a wide range of applications. The curing is exceptionally rapid – no need for long drying, even at high throughput.

The use of UV curable inks in digital printing makes, not only possible but easy, special orders, with unique designs and information on various sections of a glass sheet. For example, floor directories in multi-building campuses, which require different information on each sheet, or a series of glass plaques for multiple recipients, can now be cost-effectively printed on glass. Other possible applications for digital printing on glass include museum and visitor center graphics, furniture (mainly tables and glass-panelled cabinetry), retail advertising, and more.

Glassmakers are advised, they can now forget about creativity limits and proceed straight into a new world of virtually unlimited possibilities for print decoration and business opportunities.