Union Tiles: Our Guide to Glazed Porcelain

When you’re selecting the right tile for a project, you need to consider the functionality, durability, and aesthetics of your chosen product. We asked our friends from Union Tiles to share some insight on glazed porcelain as a tile alternative.

Advances in technology have made it possible to digitally print anything you can imagine onto porcelain tiles using ink jet machines. Reclaimed wood images, (recent rage in design) fabrics, natural stones can all be virtually reproduced with exact images.

Glaze will be applied over all ink jet images in order to protect them, thereby making them glazed porcelain. Inkjet technology has allowed and inspired many of the manufacturers to reproduce the intricate, delicate lines in marble and produce texture!

Believe it or not, this technology evolved from current printing technology. So for those of us that are less into technology, high definition would normally be about 300 dpi (dots per inch) vs. the 80 dpi of screen and roller system. This ‘fancy’ digital technology can reach up to 1000 dpi but it’s generally not needed for tile stone type reproduction, except when using picture reproduction.

Manufacturers are now capable of copying all kinds of designs only limited by the variation of colours. Very dark colours and black, due to the mix of four basic colours utilized in most inkjet processes today, are hard to obtain with the tonality desired.

Durability: There is good and bad glazed porcelain tiles and, some of these are definitely not made to be put in your local restaurant or even the restaurant at home………… your kitchen floor! Always enquire from the supplier what the PEI rating is on the tile you are purchasing unless it is for your bathroom floor. The majority of the glazed porcelain tiles stocked by Union Tiles are great quality and very durable. Their inkjet glazed porcelain tiles are beautiful and they have tiles that look like the most gorgeous concrete finishes.

They also have a stunning range from Italy that will certainly wow…………how do they say in Italian…..’BELLISSIMO’. Visit Union Tiles to see them for yourself.

There is also Terrazzo (feel how the name kind of rolls on the tongue) looking tiles, marble, granite… you name it and Union Tiles has it.

The textures available on glazed porcelain tiles make this product such an asset as you can have the same colour and look available in a matt texture and antislip!

The trending sizes are bigger and bigger and guess what…. Union Tiles has them!

The disadvantages of using a glazed porcelain as opposed to a ‘full body’ porcelain is that the tile base and glaze will not be the same colour. If you happen to chip a tile it is more noticeable. The full body is, of course, more durable and scratch resistant.

If you want to get a peek at the latest trends and have an opportunity to enter the luxury cruise draw then take a trip to Union Tiles. Here you’ll find all the exciting summer shades now in store as well as the latest trends for 2019.