What Is Fritted Glass?

What Is Fritted Glass?

Fritted glass is widely used in the glass industry, although the term itself is not so well known. But in reality, it's very simple. In short, fritted glass is any glass printed with ink, which contains ultra-small ground glass particles, also known as "frit". As a result of the printing process, the ink is fused to the glass itself.

Since printed design is essentially a part of the glass, fritted glass provides long-lasting durability and functional performance, suitable for interior design, architecture, and industrial applications.

How fritted glass is formed

Although there is evidence that the history of fritted glass can be traced back to ancient Egypt, with the development of technology, there are now two main methods to make fritted glass: screen printing and digital printing with ceramic ink. Screen printing has been around for decades. Although the quality and productivity of printers and inks have certainly improved over time, the basic methods remain the same.

In contrast, the major innovation of fritted glass comes from digital ceramic glass printing, which is a pioneer in this field and continues to lead innovation. Digital ceramic glass printing is to spread the ink on the glass in the required pattern, and then heat (in a tempering furnace or a firing furnace) to melt the ink into the glass; the ink and the glass are integrated. This allows the printed glass to withstand the test of weather, abrasives, abrasion, and time.

It is worth noting that another major digital glass printing technology-UV printing-does not produce fritted glass, because the ink is an ultra-thin layer cured on the glass, rather than fused in the glass.

For many different fritted glass applications, digital printing has several advantages over screen printing. No need to clean or store the screen, minimum machine settings (cleanup), reduced labor costs, and a simplified production line, digitally printed porous glass is perfect for flexibility and customization needs, architects and designers, as well as short and medium runs of more simple design.

Fritted glass recommended for construction

Whether you want to create a fritted glass railing, fritted glass window, or fritted glass façade, digital ceramic glass printing can make your project shine. No application is too small or too big. The design cannot be too subtle or too bold. Combining functionality and aesthetic appeal, fritted glass can effectively blend the seams between glass panels, be moderately transparent at different points of the building, or create a powerful graphic statement for the entire installation or selected architectural parts.

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