From Screen to Inkjet: Ceramic Tile Printing's Upgrade and the Low-Carbon Opportunity

The ceramic sector is entering a genuine printing era. At last year's Italian ceramics exhibition, the broad rollout of inkjet-printed products stood out as a key highlight. As anticipated, this high technology from the tile-design stronghold is now being adopted step by step by leading tile-producing countries and is gaining momentum toward wider popularity.

Tile design continues to pursue realistic imitation of natural building materials such as stone and wood. The crux lies in controlling surface texture, tactile feel and layering. Architectural ceramic design has shifted from an early screen-printing stage to today's roller-printing stage. Screen printing is a flat process and cannot print on raised or recessed tile surfaces, making diverse, three-dimensional effects difficult. In this sense, it is flat, or rigid, printing. Roller printing includes screen rollers and rubber rollers.

Compared with screen printing, roller printing is flexible and can print on uneven surfaces, giving tiles richer surface layering and a closer natural look. Inkjet printing departs from conventional contact pressure printing and enables non-contact, 'mid-air' printing on the tile surface. It handles uneven surfaces with a drop of up to 4cm, works on slopes, and avoids the repeated overprinting of local textures. As a result, each tile can carry a different texture, variations become richer, and simulation improves.

Computer-controlled mid-air inkjet operation allows multi-angle, high-density glazing, fully realizing the three-dimensional surface design of tiles and giving patterns a photo-like quality. Dry powder dry pressing is another related technology: a mold first forms a green body with raised and recessed areas, after which inkjet printing is applied.

In fact, inkjet printing for tile production had already matured in Italy years ago. For competitive reasons, it was initially barred from export to China, a rival market, and remained limited to ceramic manufacturers in Europe and other regions. More than 200 inkjet printing units are now in production in that region. At the 2009 Guangzhou Ceramics Industry Exhibition, Italy's SERTAM displayed its PINK series inkjet printers outside Europe.

It is widely believed that Italy's relatively rapid export of inkjet printing technology to China was mainly driven by the once-in-a-century financial crisis, which sharply reduced European ceramic capacity. Equipment makers, seeking survival and growth, had to open advanced technology to China's large market. Judging by the Chinese market's response over the past year or so, East China companies have continued to show their long-standing 'technology-first' character. Nabel adopted Italy's Kerajet digital inkjet printing system early this year and launched its digital series.

At the recently concluded Shanghai exhibition, CIMIC showed its glazed polished tile and Zhizhen Huancai series produced with the German-Italian INK-CID digital inkjet printing system; these two products are said to reach a depiction precision of up to 924dpi. The show also featured the Huangpin Digital series, which combines roller printing and spray printing. In Guangdong, by contrast, mainstream firms have responded coolly to inkjet printing. The only known case is Asia adopting Italian-imported NEWTECH inkjet printers to launch its so-called Avatar series.

Why are Foshan's mainstream players relatively cautious about bringing in inkjet technology? Cost is likely the main reason. The printer itself is not extremely expensive: a PINK series unit in 48mm×48mm size sells for about RMB 1.4 million, while large-format machines cost RMB 4-6 million. However, the company's Sicer digital ink is priced at RMB 1 million per ton, nearly 20 times that of ordinary colorants. At present, Guangdong's mainstream enterprises are busy strengthening and densifying sales networks in second- and third-tier markets to capture booming urban and rural demand, scale up quickly and build economies of scale.

By contrast, first-tier market competition has long been relatively saturated. European ceramic brands in particular have intensified their push into China in recent years, making competition even fiercer. For Guangdong's mainstream companies, moving 'downward' currently carries a lower opportunity cost, and few are truly focused on cultivating the market. East China firms that moved quickly on inkjet printing clearly aim to shore up their traditional markets. For ordinary companies, adopting advanced inkjet printing is mainly a lever to elevate an otherwise weak brand image.

In my view, the financial crisis that led Europe to open advanced inkjet printing technology to China comes at an opportune time amid the broader low-carbon economy, offering a strong chance to upgrade Chinese ceramic manufacturing toward 'low-carbonization.' First, compared with screen and roller printing, which generate substantial color-glaze waste through plate changes and washing, inkjet printing uses cartridges to hold color glaze, making waste less likely and greatly reducing pollution.

Second, when printing equipment was still imperfect, manufacturers often relied on raw materials to compensate for weak surface design, or simplified designs and depended on the chemical properties of materials and the firing process to achieve seamless, realistic or surreal surfaces. With printing technology now increasingly mature, companies should be able to simplify raw material use and combine more ordinary, more eco-friendly materials with inkjet printing artistry. This can meet low-carbon goals while raising product value.

Given these dual effects on industrial upgrading, we hope more mainstream companies will adopt advanced European inkjet printing technology. Only when more mainstream players enter this market can the industry retrace the old ceramic machinery path of 'introduction, digestion, absorption and creation,' and advance the localization of core inkjet components such as inks, print heads and control systems. Once inkjet printing moves onto a low-cost, localized 'Chinese-style' path, the sector is likely to produce another Keda-style listed company.

——This article is republished from China Packaging Network (pack.cn), original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-362196.html