Decorative glass covers two distinct processes that buyers often conflate. Back painted, or lacquered, glass carries an opaque coloured coating on its rear face and is used as a surface. Digitally printed glass carries ceramic ink fired into the surface during toughening, which makes it permanent, weatherable and suitable outside. TPRS produces both.
How it is made
The two processes
An opaque lacquer is roller-coated and cured onto the rear face of the glass, so the colour is seen through the thickness of the pane and takes on its depth and gloss. It is an internal product: the coating is not intended for weather exposure, and it must be cut and worked before coating.
Ceramic inks containing glass frit are printed directly onto the surface, then fired during the toughening cycle so the ink fuses into the glass. The result is as durable as the glass itself, will not fade under ultraviolet light and can be used on a facade or a floor.
For repeating patterns — dot gradients, line frits, spandrel blanking — a screen-printed ceramic frit is more economical than digital printing and gives an exact, repeatable coverage percentage. This is the normal route for solar shading patterns and spandrel panels.
Lacquered colours are matched to a reference such as RAL or a supplied sample. Because glass carries a slight green cast that deepens with thickness, the finished panel will differ from a paint chip; always approve a sample made in the actual glass thickness rather than a printed swatch.
Applications
Where each one belongs
Back painted glass is the standard for kitchen splashbacks, wardrobe shutters, wall cladding and cabinet fronts, where a seamless wipeable coloured surface is wanted and the panel is protected from weather.
Ceramic frit is the correct specification outside. Spandrel panels blanking a floor slab, patterned solar shading on a glazed elevation, and printed graphics on an entrance screen all rely on fired ceramic ink rather than lacquer.
A printed gradient gives graduated privacy across a partition without a hard frosted line, and manifestation marks on full-height glazing can be printed as part of a design rather than applied as vinyl afterwards.
Fired ceramic patterns are the durable way to make large areas of glazing visible, both to meet manifestation requirements for occupants and to reduce bird strike on exposed elevations.
The TPRS product
TPRS Innovink
TPRS Innovink turns glass into a medium of expression by combining decorative design and functional performance. Innovink uses durable ceramic inks to create precision-printed patterns, textures, and photorealistic graphics, making use of innovative digital and screen printing technologies such as the globally renowned DIP-TECH GPI series. Beyond aesthetics, it adds functional benefits like thermal control, glare reduction, and shade efficiency. With a curated range of eco-conscious inks, TPRS Innovink turns glass into a creative and functional design element.
Sectors
Where TPRS supplies this
Glass Insights
FAQs
Lacquered glass, also called back painted glass, is float glass with an opaque coloured lacquer cured onto its rear surface. The colour is viewed through the glass, which gives it a depth and gloss that painted board cannot match. It is an interior product and is normally toughened where it is used as a splashback.
Back painted glass carries a cured lacquer on the rear face and is for interior use. Digitally printed glass carries ceramic ink fired into the surface during toughening, making it permanent and weatherable, so it can be used on facades, floors and external screens. They are different products for different positions.
Fired ceramic ink will not. Because the frit melts into the glass surface in the toughening furnace it becomes part of the glass, and it is unaffected by ultraviolet light, rain or cleaning. Lacquered coatings are not intended for weather exposure and should not be used outside.
Digital ceramic printing works from supplied vector or high-resolution raster artwork. The ceramic palette is narrower than a printing press and colours are matched to fired samples rather than a screen, so approve a fired sample before production. Fine detail is limited by the printer resolution and the panel size.
No. Like all toughened glass it must be cut, drilled and edge-worked before processing, and the lacquer is applied afterwards. Site dimensions must be confirmed before manufacture, which is why a survey is worth doing on fitted work such as splashbacks and shutters.
Glass Chronicles
Read next
Enquiries
Send the drawing, get a specification
Panel sizes, thickness, make-up and quantity are all TPRS needs to quote. Processing runs from two plants in Puducherry and Dharwad, with offices in Chennai and Bangalore.