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Things to know when buying black tile

There are risks in buying black tiles in particular. You should be aware of these to avoid problems and complaints from customers later.

Black tiles from China in particular can be of several different levels of quality owing to different production methods. Avoid buying black ink-jet tiles. For reasons  of chemistry black is very difficult to achieve using an ink-jet process at present. The safest is to buy a full body black tile that way even if the tile experiences surface wearing the black body will retain it's colour. All super black polished porcelain tiles with nano finish can face fading problems. The nano layer consists of very fine particles suspended in a wax. When applied to the tile these particles fill up the microscopic holes that naturally occur in the body of the tile This results in a much smoother surface and a better, blacker colour. But... the durability of the tile will depend on the quality of the body material, the water absorption rating and the quality of the nano wax. To avoid complaints from customers it is critical that we inform customers in advance of the nature of the particular tile and ensure that the customer's proposed use of the tile is appropriate.

Check what the body of the tile is made of.
1. The body is made from really pure black material mixed with black pigment which is very expensive and then polished – the result is that the polished face and the back of the tile are very similar in color – the surface is not "painted" black and as the tile wears the body will not show through the surface as a different colour. Washing the floor will not remove the surface colour. A good black tile will cost between $6 to $7 or more depending on how black the body material is.
2. The body is made from grey to red color material that has iron in it. The color of the body is not black. This tile is rubbish. The surface is polished and is NOT black until they add a black color nano – this is like "paint" on the tile surface. Once the "paint" is applied it is polished further and looks great (sometimes even better than the tile above) - BUT – once the floor is used, washed, wears etc. the surface colour WILL come out. Then you get patches of grey or red of the body showing through.  – I have had claims before when not checking the production…. and lost money – actually lost 4 containers once – all the surface washed out! This tile cost is from $4 to $5.

The glossiness on the surface cannot tell you how good or bad the tile is – you have to compare the bodies, then the surface – is it painted or natural? Then the size of the "holes" between the surface particles – to tell you if they used coarse (cheap) or fine (expensive) material. This will tell you how long the nano will stay in the surface pores.

So there it is – not so easy…. But if your customer is paying cash up front and wants the rubbish black just make sure he knows there you will not accept claims. For the rest of the people – explain / show / test and sell the good tile.