Gruppo Colorobbia, a world-leading producer of frits, glazes and other materials for ceramics, offers a wide range of products for the production of innovative ceramic tiles incorporating new digital applications.  Gruppo Colorobbia believes that, in order to be competitive, the ceramic tile market requires more tools for enhancing creativity, including product differentiation and added value, but without increasing the time to market.

With the advent of digital technology, in recent years it has become possible to achieve an almost photographic image printing quality while maintaining a natural feel in terms of surface relief and materials.  The material look that is so typical of the Italian ceramic tradition has also evolved in step with the development of digital technology, allowing it to be combined with the other available techniques to make each tile truly unique.

One example of these application concepts is Graffiti, a solution based on HydroActive special inks, top coatings, and designs that exploits Colorobbia’s experience in material applications and glazing lines.

Graffiti brings aesthetic benefits by creating an enormous number of micro-reliefs on the surface of flat tiles, some with sharp and others with smooth, rounded edges.  These range from thin, clearly-defined lines to large open spaces and can have the same or a different effect with respect to the top glaze.

The graphic designs are perfectly synchronised with the texture without any repetition of the relief, allowing the most prestigious materials to be reproduced with an extremely natural look.

Used all over the world, Graffiti is applied after the graphic design to create porcelain floor tiles reproducing both lightly engraved or aged marble and high-end wood parquet. Moreover, the top coating can be lightly polished (lappato finish) to achieve a greater gloss/matt contrast and produce decorative tiles in both polished and natural versions.

Depending on the graphic design, Graffiti can create not just thin lines but also reliefs or crests on the glaze that produce a highly glossy effect when top polished, making them interesting for use as wall tiles.

The Colorobbia Graffiti concept is also recommended when introducing a second digital machine onto the glazing line, preferably prior to digital ink application.  This brings the advantage of brighter and more intense colours, including the possibility of very dark graphic designs or different finishes with special-effect inks on the second machine, or a final top coating with special glazes applied by airless technology.  Graffiti allows designers to give free rein to their creativity and can be used on products ranging from porcelain floor tiles to single-fired wall tiles.  It is also highly versatile in terms of the production process.

The Colorobbia Graffiti concept uses a full range of HydroActive special inks, from gloss to matt, and from clear to opaque, so as to meet the largest possible number of selection criteria.  Moreover, most HydroActive inks are highly versatile and can be used for other decorative applications.  The base and top glazes are no less important for perfect results.

Along with the widest range of products, Colorobbia also has expert technical personnel capable of adapting the Graffiti Application concept to each customer’s specific situation and requirements.

About

Gruppo Colorobbia, with companies working on a worldwide scale, specialises in the production and distribution of raw materials and semi-finished products for the ceramics and glass industry. The solutions proposed by Group companies can satisfy the entire production process of each sector related to the industrial ceramics.  The Group, with headquarters in Sovigliana Vinci, Florence, Italy, operates in 18 countries and has 28 companies and 2,000 employees.

Colorobbia S.p.A, has been producing colours for ceramics since 1921 and focuses on the R&D of highly specialized products for all sectors of decoration, in particular for the ceramic tile industry. The result is special materials such as Precious Metals, Granular Glazes, and Colours for the decoration of industrial and artistic ceramic, porcelain and glass; Precious Metals for digital decoration (Aurodigital series), Cold processing Paints and Resins for ceramic tiles; Glazes and Engobes; and High-temperature Coloured Glazes.

Colorobbia Italia is the ceramic colour company of Gruppo Colorobbia. It researches, produces, and sells materials suitable for the realization of ceramic tiles. Colorobbia Italia also engaged tile research and development activities, from laboratory prototypes through to industrial-scale production on customers’ premises.  Colorobbia Italia is a leading supplier in the world ceramic market due to the breadth and quality of its product range and its large-scale financial investments in research and innovation.

With over 5,000 dedicated products for decoration, Colorobbia Specialties is dedicated to development of technical and aesthetic innovations for the ceramic tile sector. Colorobbia Specialties production dedicated to ceramic tiles comprises Precious Metals, with a range of specific products for digital decoration; screen printing products, including gold and platinum; together with a large variety of low-price products. The portfolio also includes Colours, Glazes, and Granular Glazes, including a wide range of products with glitter-metallic and interfering effects.

Colorobbia España, S.A. was founded in 1988 and is one of the world’s largest producers of frits, stains, and other products for the ceramics and glass industry. Through the use of the finest raw materials, strict quality controls, and state-of-the-art production process the company claims to be able to offer the best value products on the market. As well as supplying ceramic glazes; Colorobbia España also offers design and a professional and dynamic technical support service.

More at: http://www.colorobbia.com or http://www.colorobbia.it