By Olivia Cahoon
Manufacturers print on ceramics and glass used in buildings, monuments, and residential spaces. Thanks to the latest digital printing technologies, custom designed glass is available at fast turnarounds with resilient graphics.
Based in Scotia, NY, Precision Upstate LLC was originally founded in 1996 by Wayne Peper and Tom Lyons. Operating under new ownership since 2017, the company recently completed several renovations and expansions including a second facility in Rotterdam, NY to grow its commercial division space. With new management, the company transformed into a professional establishment utilizing state-of-the-art technology for its custom building products.
Precision Upstate designs and installs quality custom closets, shower doors, glass, and mirrors for homeowners, builders, and contractors exclusively in upstate NY. With over 50 employees, 15 installation trucks, and two facilities in Scotia and Rotterdam, it operates in nearly 25,000 square feet of workspace.
You Imagine It, We Print It
Precision Upstate designs and installs backsplashes, countertops, curtain walls, residential glass walls, shower enclosures, storefronts, and wine cellar glass. In early 2018, the company integrated digital print into its production process with Dip-Tech, a Ferro Company technology and a UV printer.
“The opportunity intrigued us, combining unique design with our experience and passion for glass,” comments Joe DeBella, product manager, Precision Upstate.
The company is currently in the early stages of developing its printed glass market. As a result, the percentage of its total printed glass is very small. However, by 2020 DeBella expects 20 percent of revenue to be printed glass. “We received a builder’s design award for our work on direct to glass printing last year from the Capital Region Builders & Remodelers Association,” shares DeBella.
The majority of Precision Upstate’s glass is printed on a Dip-Tech GlassJet PRO printer. It digitally produces intricate designs across multiple, large glass panes for a variety of facades. The colors are printed together all at once to enable simpler printing onto irregular glass shapes.
With its Dip-Tech printer, Precision Upstate is able to offer durable products suitable for outdoor use and has the ability to handle large glass sizes. Digital ceramic printing onto glass provides high resistance to chemicals, allowing end users to clean printed glass like any other surface. Ceramic inks also offer resistance to scratching, acid, UV, and weather—ensuring long-lasting vivid colors.
During the tempering process, inks are fused directly into the glass so the printed image maintains the glass’ lifespan. In other printing methods, the ink is printed on top of the tempered glass and does not fuse into it. Ceramic inks are compliant with the demanding industry standards for quality and durability.
With this digital technology, Precision Upstate’s manufacturing process improved with quick turnaround times and the ability to modify designs with Adobe Photoshop. However, DeBella admits to pricing challenges and says that printed images are final without room for error. “For large objects, we need 100,000×100,000 pixels, which requires significant computer power and storage space as well,” he adds.
The company’s most popular digitally printed glass objects are backsplashes, conference room enclosures, decorative wallcoverings, doors, facades, fireplace decoration, furniture, office dividers, shower walls, tabletops, and wine cellar enclosures. Precision Upstate typically uses regular glass, low iron glass, or tempered glass from different suppliers in varying thicknesses depending on the application.
Compared to traditional manufacturing techniques, DeBella says there is no comparison with direct to object printing technology. “Once you start getting creative in the design part, you will come up with designs that cannot be done any other way.”
Wine Cellar Glass
One of Precision Upstate’s most popular custom glass offerings is wine cellar glass. It offers homeowners, restaurants, and vineyards the opportunity to stimulate creativity and push the envelope when it comes to interior design.
For wine cellars, the designer creates a variety of shapes and sizes from simple rectangles to large-scale mirror walls. It also offers frames that can be applied to existing mirrors.
Recently, a new client approached Precision Upstate for decorative glass wine cellar walls. The client wanted to use contemporary materials and blend it with a traditional motif—a wrought iron fence graphic.
As with all of its custom wine cellar glass, the company selected 1/2-inch low iron tempered glass. After designing in Adobe Photoshop, it printed the graphic with the Dip-Tech GlassJet PRO printer at 720 dpi. “Our Dip-Tech coped with the size of the glass,” shares DeBella.
In six weeks, Precision Upstate created one 8×8-foot decorative glass wine cellar wall with 64 square feet of custom printing. The client was satisfied with the finished glass and continues to use the manufacturer’s decorative glass services.
“Wrought iron glass is an absolutely stunning look due to its extremely high resolution,” comments DeBella. “It is clearly a showpiece like no other.”
Images That Pop
Digitally printed glass is a practical and professional option for high-impact graphics in several industries including commercial, residential, and public spaces. With the right technology, glass is directly printed to in order to offer double-sided, photorealistic graphics.
Jun2019, Industrial Print Magazine