By Melissa Donovan
Part 2 of 2
Companies thrive when adding digital printing technologies to their production processes. InKan Ltd. of Brampton, ON, Canada is one example. Discussed in the first part of this series on glass printing, InKan added a Tecglass digital printer for decorative glass printing and subsequently expanded its product offerings.
Viracon of Owatonna, MN is another company that reaped the rewards of integrating digital printing capabilities into its operations. The company is known for producing high-performance glass products, including tempered, laminated, insulating, silkscreened, digital printed, hurricane resistant, acoustical, blast mitigating, electronic eavesdropping mitigating, and a broad selection of proprietary coatings. It services North American and international markets.
Digital Distinction
In business since 1970, the company employs 1,900 out of three locations today. Its mission is to deliver the highest quality, widest variety of customized architectural glass solutions for the creation of distinctive commercial buildings around the world, according to Annette Panning, director of marketing and product management, Viracon.
She says that the company’s investment in digital printing technology was a natural extension of this motto. The goal was to offer customers another fabrication option for designing unique aesthetics and improve performance. Dubbed DigitalDistinctions, Viracon officially began offering digital printing to its customers in 2012.
DigitalDistinctions is a combination of proprietary and out-of-the-box technology. It combines the durability of ceramic enamel with the versatility of digital printing. Viracon promotes the service with the idea that design possibilities are virtually limitless. Multiple colors and graphics can combine to simulate building materials on a single surface. Different images or colors can be printed on each side of the glass as well.
Functionally, DigitalDistinctions is UV resistant, so colors won’t change or fade over time. It also optimizes energy efficiency by providing added solar control. Combined with Viracon’s Low-E coatings applied on the ceramic enamel, further performance benefits are achievable.
Prior to digital printing, Viracon decorated glass using silkscreen—and still uses the process today. Deciding between which technology to use depends on whether the intended image to be printed is single or multiple colors. Single color uses silkscreen and multiple is ideal for digital.
Viracon commonly prints on standard float glass with its digital printer, but project type and size varies considerably. For example, one job completed with DigitalDistinctions was for Rideau Centre in Ottawa, ON, Canada. The redevelopment project involved insulated, laminated, monolithic glass. Glass was printed for a retail establishment that was designed by B+H Architects under general contractor PCL Constructors Inc.
For many projects Viracon undertakes the selection of digital printing happens for one or two reasons. “Architects and designers desire to add to the building’s aesthetics and/or manage its solar impact,” explains Panning.
Design and Performance
Viracon added digital printing to its decorative glass services to enhance design possibilities while simultaneously enhancing performance of the glass while in use. Branding the service DigitalDistinctions, Viracon is set to influence architectural designs across vertical markets, which solidifies the company’s position as a leading provider of architectural glass solutions.
Click here to read part one of this exclusive online series, One-Stop Glass Fabrication.
Sep2019, Industrial Print Magazine