Screen Printing
Screen printing for glass decoration is one of Arc’s specialties. Screen printing offers a fast and inexpensive way of custom branding glassware. We offer three different types of inks: enamels, thermoplastic organics, and UV inks to meet any type of customer need and requirement. For an elevated premium look, we also offer real precious metal decorating.
Non-lead Enamels
Non-lead enamels (NLE) are metal pigmentations suspended in a medium along with glass particles called frit. Once applied and fired to the glass, the design is very durable and cannot be easily removed with mechanical abrasion. NLE lays down as a “dry type” paint, easily allowing full underpasses of color and multiple layers of colors.
The limitations with this type of paint is a limited color spectrum as well as lower dishwashing resistance due to color fading of the metal pigments.
UV Inks
UV inks are the newest type of inks to be offered by Arc. These inks are ink pigments suspended in a UV curing medium. UV inks have the advantages found in NLE and Organics (easily apply undercoats and multiple top color coats, full spectrum of color) as well as the ability to print in true photographic, 4-color process as well as neons.
The limitation of UV inks is the same as thermoplastic organics, it isn’t bonded with the glass and has reduced mechanical resistance.
Thermoplastic Organics
Thermoplastic organics are ink based colorant suspended in an epoxy type medium. Since the coloring isn’t based on heavy metals, the organic spectrum is greatly increased to most of the color spectrum excluding neons.
The limitation of thermoplastic organics are they are a “wet application” ink, making full underpass colors and overprinted colors not possible. Also, because this isn’t bonded to the glass like NLE, this ink is less mechanically resistant but more dishwasher resistant.
Precious Metals
Arc has the ability to both screen print and band in real gold, platinum, and copper metallic. This process can be included with normal screen printing to achieve a very premium product.