Ceramic Tile Art
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The tile decorating process we use is called inkjet sublimation (we explain this process in the section below). The one absolute requirement of the sublimation process is that the tiles must have a polymer coating on them. When a tile is decorated through sublimation the artwork is transferred into the polymer coating and becomes part of it. When your rub your hands across the surface of a sublimated tile you will feel nothing. This is because the image is now part of the coating. The tiles used are specially coated with a polymer coating. You can not just go down to your local hardware store and purchase a box of tiles or ceramic products and use them to sublimate on. The ceramic tiles from hardware stores are not coated for sublimation and will not work. Each sublimated tile is pressed in a heat press that subjects the tile to 400° For approximately 7minutes. The dye enters a gas form under the intense heat and is inducted into the open polymer pores permanently binding to the coating. Sublimation coated ceramic tiles are available in gloss, satin, and matte finishes. There are also glass tiles with white backing, textured glass, tumbled stone and textured wile tiles. |