Choosing glass for UV decoration

Clear white glass: Glass has a tendency to appear slightly green because of metallic oxides in the basic components. This green shade is mostly perceived when looking on the edges of the glass, and the thicker the glass the more evident the color distortion. To reduce this effect special sand mixtures containing less iron are used. Therefore this glass is referred to as low iron glass. The low iron glass is nowadays preferred for use in interior glass decoration. Depending where it is manufactured it may appear slightly yellow or have a blue hue. The low iron glass is referred to as clear white glass.

Tempered glass: Safety when using glass is extremely important. By nature the broken pieces of glass are sharp and can cut. Tempered glass, is the preferred product when used for interior decoration. The float glass is heated to approx 650°C in a toughening furnace. Then the glass Is cooled rapidly so the surface strength remains up to 7 or 8 times greater than normal float glass. The broken pieces of tempered glass are not sharp and will not cut or harm anyone.

Planarity (surface flatness): The UV printing process is a horizontal printing process with a movable head carriage defined at a certain fixed height from the glass suface. As the height is not self adjustable during the print, the flatness of the glass is a concern when it comes to printing quality. Of course a lot of this type of glass can be eliminated by very precise glass quality control according to the standards existing for accepting a certain predetermined planarity deviation or curving angle within the glass. The tempered glass surface is irregular for this aspect.

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