How ink-jet tiles are transforming the industry

It's not just design, it's the business.
Ink-jet technology is increasingly changing the way that the tile industry does business. It makes it quicker and easier to provide designs to match and cater to market trends.  Ink-jet technology provides economic and production benefits over previous production processes, namely screen printing and roller printing. The technology provides an infinite variety of designs coupled with faster response times and lower breakages, but more importantly it has changed the way we do business. We're no longer a product-based sourcing company, today we're actually a service business. Such technology enables us to sell a market solution. Digital print technology has allowed us to effectively and efficiently better tailor products for the various international markets and in a shorter time period. As a result we can provide a product that our customers know will sell. We offer our customers our expertise in tile trends then let them select specific (even unique) designs that fit their markets. In other words we're now selling possibilities and variety rather than fixed ranges.

It's changing the way we sell.
Recently we made a presentation to one of our long-time customers who has placed orders for our initial ink-jet offerings. We decided to raise the level at the presentation and instead of brochures and folders we presented large poster-sized sheets of ink jet designs showing the tiles in real scale. We laid these 1 x 3m posters on the floor, showed collages of photographs we had taken at recent international tile expos and spoke about visual and tactile trends cresting in the international markets. By the end of the meeting our customers were enthusiastically placing orders for cutting edge ink-jet designs, not only the basic five or more tiles but smaller ancillary orders of designs that could be inter-laid with the basic tile designs and multiple variation distressed wood designs like the sample below. This would never have been even possible with roller and screen printed tiles!


This is more than a trend, it's a transformation. The ink jet production process changes not only the design potential but the cost basis so less expensive ceramic tiles can be produced with the look of high end porcelain, natural stone and even wood that is almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

Efficiency and 3D on-demand
The technology allows for an effectively unlimited number of high-quality patterns and decorations to be produced with fewer materials, less waste, less development and production time than any previous processes. The digital printing process can turn photographs, artwork, designs, logos or virtually any image into elaborately decorated wall or floor coverings. Soon enough even accurate textures will be produced digitally using 3D printing technology to produce the relief plates to impress the tile body.

The future starts today
The use of ink-jet printing for ceramic tile manufacture is growing worldwide and in Europe is outselling conventional analog systems. With this technology, tile design and decoration is easier, less time consuming and less costly, giving manufacturers the chance to massively increase their range of products and designs while remaining competitive. Ink-jet technology has made a huge impact on what manufacturers can create and the mass acceptance of these designs from world markets has promoted the swift transformation from screen and roller printing.

Digital ink-jet technology has changed the way ceramic and porcelain is produced, forever!

Download our New ink-jet tile brochures.
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