The evolution and future of inkjet technology: Tile Files

By Claudio Caselli

We all recognize that digital technology has transformed many industries and is evolving at lightning speed, and the ceramic tile industry is no exception. For tile manufacturers, digital printing technology has become a driving force for new and intriguing tile manufacturing possibilities and the increased depth of new product offerings.

EVOLUTION
The evolution of printing on tile has come a long way since the days of simple glazing and pigmentation of tile in its greenware stage. Designs and patterns were incorporated with the introduction of screen printing. A single screen allowed for a single color and pattern to be repeated across tile. Visuals became more complex when multiple screens were added to the process, allowing for more colors and more intricate patterns. Things really got on a roll, quite literally, as the integration of rollers allowed a larger graphic to be applied, ensuring less repetition across tiles. Rotogravure printing, like screen printing, evolved to include more rollers and, therefore, more color and complexity.

In the new millennium, digital inkjet printing capabilities quietly entered the scene with limited inks and applications, but with a huge potential for visual enhancement.

One of the biggest benefits of inkjet printing was that manufacturers no longer had to touch the tile during production. Roller applications required precise alignment, and even a small movement could result in a fuzzy visual. Too much pressure on unglazed tile would result in cracked product and the need to start over with the entire process.

INNOVATION
Like computer technology, the early days of inkjet printing had limited, and not necessarily cost-effective, applications. However, as more and more manufacturers dabbled in the new space and demand increased, more ink types and colors became universally applicable.

Today, inkjet printers can utilize eight or more colors, allowing for a larger range of vivid shades and tones to be created on a tile. Designers are no longer limited to static layers and working around base glazes. Previously, white was not an available color for inkjet printers, and designers had to rely on a white base glaze to enhance veining and depth. This limited the design, since areas of the tile base had to be left exposed. White is now readily available as one of the many jets on a printer, allowing visuals to gain depth and definition, as white is just one of the many layers added to the end product.

Reactive inks are also fairly new to the digital printing scene. They can be used for different techniques that allow for various levels and unique applications of polish, further enhancing textures and dimensions in the end product. These new technologies leverage different types of glazes, resulting in unique and beautiful visual combinations, such as concrete, veining and metallics, as well as textured highs and lows in graphics or subtle patterns. Dimensions are now both visual and tactile.

To develop designs, manufacturers can scan in any image or surface and reproduce that image on tile, just like scanning and printing a picture. But don’t think of it as a carbon copier. A single design can be enlarged to almost any size imaginable, and altered with a few clicks of a mouse. Hundreds of different visuals can be developed, allowing more graphic variety from tile to tile, which adds to the natural variation of each installation. In some cases, a stunning palette of more than one hundred square feet with no repetition, at maximum resolution—can be achieved—something even the largest diameter roller could not accomplish.

EFFICIENCY
Inkjet technology has allowed designers to create visuals never before imagined, even by Mother Nature. Images can be combined, overlaid and altered, opening up a whole new world of design possibilities. We are now producing such high definition visuals that capture the exact look of whatever we are trying to achieve that even industry professionals cannot discern what is tile and what is the “natural” surface we are imitating.

From concept to production line, the manufacturing process has become much more efficient. With rotogravure and screen printing, once a design was set, it was essentially set in stone; any changes to the design required a reprint of an entire roller or set of screens. Those screens and rollers also required ample storage space and careful maintenance.

With digital printing, during the concept phase of design, patterns can easily be tweaked and sent to the printer. Less waste is incurred as some printers can even provide high-resolution mockups on plain paper, so tile pieces do not go to waste during prototype tests. Once the design is approved to hit the manufacturing floor, switching a production line from one design to another is as simple as selecting a new file. Thousands of designs can be easily sent to and stored on the printer.

Rotogravure has not been completely thrown to the wayside, however. Rollers are often still used in conjunction with inkjet printing to provide additional texture or sheen to the surface. There is something to be said about technological advances in manufacturing, but sometimes they benefit from working with an old veteran as well. As the adage says, “two heads are better than one,” and having the option to incorporate both roller and inkjet printing only furthers the possibilities for new designs.

OPPORTUNITY
The collaboration of techniques and the rapid advancement of technology make the future of inkjet printing even brighter. At Cersaie, the international exhibition of ceramic tile and bathroom furnishings held annually in Italy, we saw wood-look variations never before thought possible. Visuals that conveyed deep knots and watermarks on reclaimed wood and the re-creation of the detailed veining of rare wood species are something we would have never imagined when the first simple wood planks emerged a few years ago.

Concrete visuals are another area where digital imaging has expanded the type of rooms where these floors are specified. The concrete look, which now ranges from a subtle wash to a highly distressed look, has moved from industrial or minimalistic settings to a broader range of interior settings. Collections that combine wood with stone or concrete, or sometimes all three, are entering the market. Non-traditional mediums like fabrics, pottery and metal are found in planks, large format tiles and accent pieces alike.

Observing the changes in the tile industry over the past few years has been exciting, especially in terms of product innovation and digital technology. It has been an amazing evolution, one that is rapidly changing every day and continues to push the limits of tile design. We’re excited to see what the future will hold, and if the evolution continues as rapidly as it has begun, I don’t think we will have to wait very long.