Decorative glass covers processes that are routinely confused with one another. Back painted glass carries a cured lacquer on its rear face and is an interior surface. Printed glass carries ceramic ink fired into the surface during toughening, which makes it permanent and weatherable. Choosing the wrong one puts an interior finish on an external elevation.
How it is made
The three processes
Ceramic inks containing glass frit are printed directly onto the surface from supplied artwork, then fired during the toughening cycle so the ink fuses into the glass. The result is as durable as the glass itself, unaffected by ultraviolet light or weather, and suitable for facades, floors and overhead positions.
For repeating patterns such as dot gradients, line frits and spandrel blanking, screen printing gives an exact and repeatable coverage percentage more economically than digital printing. This is the normal route for solar shading patterns and for making large areas of glazing visible.
An opaque lacquer is roller-coated and cured onto the rear face, so the colour is viewed through the thickness of the pane and takes on its depth and gloss. It is an interior product: the coating is not intended for weather exposure, and the glass must be cut and worked before coating.
Glass carries a slight green cast that deepens with thickness, so a finished panel never matches a paper or plastic colour chip exactly. Approve a sample produced in the actual glass thickness and specification rather than signing off against a printed swatch.
Applications
Choosing between them
Fired ceramic only. Spandrel panels, patterned solar shading, printed graphics on entrance screens and bird-safe patterning all rely on ink fused into the glass. A lacquered coating will not survive the weather.
Back painted glass is the standard for splashbacks, wardrobe fronts, wall cladding and cabinet doors, where a seamless wipeable coloured surface is wanted and the panel is protected from rain and ultraviolet exposure.
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 the design rather than applied as vinyl afterwards, which is both neater and permanent.
A solid print is opaque; a dot or line pattern passes a controllable proportion of light. The coverage percentage is set at design stage and repeats accurately across a production run, which is how solar shading patterns are specified.
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
Back painted glass, also called lacquered glass, is float glass with an opaque coloured lacquer cured onto its rear face. The colour is viewed through the glass, giving a depth and gloss that painted board cannot match. It is an interior product and is normally toughened where used as a splashback.
Back painted glass carries a cured lacquer on the rear face and is for interior use. 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.
Frit is ceramic ink screen printed onto glass and fired into the surface during toughening. It is typically used for repeating patterns such as dot gradients and line patterns, and for spandrel panels, because screen printing gives an exact and repeatable coverage percentage economically.
Fired ceramic ink will not. Because the frit melts into the glass surface in the toughening furnace it becomes part of the glass, unaffected by sunlight, 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 against fired samples rather than a screen, so approve a fired sample before production. Fine detail is limited by printer resolution and panel size.
Approvals
Processed to recognised approvals
Architectural approvals held by TPRS. Certificate numbers and test reports are available with a quotation.
-
-
-
-
Full list on the quality and certification page. Certificate numbers available on request.
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.