decorative glass_A special section of USGlass magazine, USGlass, June 2010

Volume 45, Issue 6 - June 2010

decorative glass
A special section of USGlass magazine

Eye Candy
Companies Offer up Their Latest and Greatest Decorative Glass Developments

For those looking to make a statement with glass—be it an interior or exterior application—decorative glass and glazing products are a good way to do just that. An increasing number of companies are entering the decorative scene with products that range from colors and prints to patterns and textures. If visual appeal wasn’t enough, decorative products can also be combined with other features of glass, such as safety and solar glazing.

Ready to learn more about decorative options? We’ve got that covered here, in our first Decorative Glass New Products Guide. Over the next three pages yocan read up on some of the industry’s newest developments, products and trends.

On Display
M3 Glass Technologies now offers MPrint digital decorative glass, a laminated glass that combines color and design with safety glazing. The new product can be used in both interior and exterior glass applications.

The laminated lites can be made in varying thicknesses in annealed, heat strengthened or fully tempered glass. Any design, pattern, or full color image can be printed on the interlayers that are laminated between two or more lites of glass. Designs can utilize clear or translucent interlayers, and MPrint can be combined with M3’s other technologies, including back-painting. Possible applications include curtainwalls, windows, glass treads and flooring, handrails, wall paneling and doors.
www.m3glass.com

Double Vision
Coral Industries in Tuscaloosa, Ala., has introduced a new line of painted glass, called PaintVision, and CastVision cast glass.

The PaintVision line includes epoxy urethane and ceramic frit paint coatings to finish the surface of flat glass panels. Virtually any design may be applied to glass, covering the entire surface or specific areas. Graphic designs, visual art forms, signage and photo-realistic images all can be created. Numerous color choices are available from subtle shades to vibrant, bold hues. Images may include single or multiple colors as well as coatings on one or both surfaces of a panel.

Also available, CastVision includes standard textures as well as custom designs in textures and figurative images. Cast glass may be fabricated with notches, holes, cutouts and edgework to meet each project’s specifications. It can also be tempered, laminated or used in insulating glass units, and is available with color coatings in transparent, translucent or opaque finishes.

In other news, Coral has partnered with Walker Glass to distribute its Textures Nuance stock line of patterned acid-etched glass. The stock product line is available in five designs in the 100 and 300 Series. The 100 Series features an acid-etched finish, which combines velour and satin to create a sense of privacy while giving the glass a design element. The 300 Series features a satin finish on clear glass giving visibility to the decor through the glass. Both series feature a relief effect that the company says adds character to the glass surface.
www.coralind.com

Let the Sun Shine In
Generating solar energy from modular glass panels that are attractive from a design standpoint was the inspiration behind a joint development involving Solarmer Energy and Joel Berman Glass Studios. The companies together have developed a decorative glass panel designed to be capable of generating clean renewable electricity.

The decorative and photovoltaic glass panels feature Joel Berman Glass Studios’ signature textured kiln-cast glass laminated to Solarmer Energy’s transparent plastic solar cells. The resulting composite panels are suitable for use in applications where decorative glass is desired and the generation of solar energy is feasible.

According to company information, the materials and manufacturing technologies employed by Solarmer Energy result in a low-cost alternative to traditional silicon-based solar technologies. Once paired with the designer textured glass, the companies say the panels offer architects and designers an attractive, cost-effective means of integrating photovoltaics into building applications.
www.jbermanglass.com

Eluding Gravity
As a new way to add a “pop” of interest to your next design, Nathan Allan Glass Studio has included six new shapes to its Sphere Series of the Josiah J Collection. Dynamic shapes are attached to one side of clear or textured sheets of glass, and clear sheets come in sizes of 1- x 1-foot up to 7- x 12-feet. Cast sheets are available in the same sizes, depending on the texture.

The spheres are available in three standard diameters: 1.5, 2 and 3 inches and custom size spheres are available, up to 24-inch diameters. Available thicknesses include ¼-, 3/8-, ½-, 5/8- and ¾- inch thick, as well as 6-, 10-, 12-, 15- and 19-mm.

Spheres are produced in clear, low iron, green, blue, bluegreen, aqua blue, grey and bronze.

The shapes can also be tempered and/or laminated.
www.nathanallan.com

GlassKote Captures Wood Grain on Glass
Using a special technology GlassKote USA LLC of Bridgeport, Conn., captures the aesthetics of wood grains in high resolution and transfers that look directly to glass. Any type of wood appearance can be produced—saving hardwood forests and providing architectural finishes that do not need refinishing.

The company recommends the product as wall cladding in hospitals and healthcare faes where an organic, warm finish is desired, but mold and bacteria growth is eliminated. Other applications include hotels, restaurants, reception desks and retail displays. The Rare Woods collection is available with a high gloss appearance or a matte finish for a more “rubbed” appearance.
www.glasskoteusa.com

Lighten Up
Factory Glass USA in Suwanee, Ga., offers Lavico glass pillars. The panels can be used in applications such as partitions, wall screens and balusters. In addition, they can also be used as lighting fixtures, as the bubbles inside the crystal glass will reflect light and provide a soft illumination.

Lavico glass panels can be either translucent or transparent. Thickness varies from 2- to 12-cm. They can also be embedded with colors to create design details.
www.factoryglassusa.com

Listen to This
Crossville® offers its Echo recycled glass tiles, which can be used for walls, countertops and floors. The tiles are available in 15 colors, including white, black and red as well as soft blues, greens, and ambers. They are available in three finishes—clear, iridescent and a frosted matte—and in five sizes: 1- x 1-inch, 1- x 3-inch, 2- x 2-inch, 2- x 4-inch, plus listellos.

The tiles have a recycled content of 10 to 70 percent, depending on color. Designed by Barbara Schirmeister, an industry color forecaster, the tiles were created by the historic Peltier Glass Company in Ottawa, Ill., exclusively for Crossville.
www.crossvilleinc.com

Branching Out
EFI, a designer and manufacturer of original glass and aluminum interior products, is now the exclusive North American distributor of the Italian company Omni Décor’s ISO 14001 environmentally-certified etched satin-finish glass.

Omni Décor glass has a wide range of residential and commercial applications. In residential applications it can be used in kitchen cabinet doors and drawers, countertops, islands, pantry doors, tiles and backsplashes, as well as many others. In commercial applications it is ideal for use as room dividers, architectural walls, office partitions, sliding walls, exterior facades, as well as others.
www.efi-us.com

Can Think It, On-Site Will Print It
Direct imaging allows On-Site Systems Inc. in Suwanee, Ga., to print large-scale, high-resolution images directly onto glass, metal, tile, wood, plastic, laminates and more. Just about anything flat up to 2 inches thick can be imaged—windows, curtainwall, doors, tabletops, glass signs and wall plaques are just a few of the possibilities for direct imaging. Digital imaging is available in annealed, tempered, laminated, frosted and other specialty glass products. The surface of the glass can be frosted and backlit, edgelit, painted or diffused.
www.On-SiteSystems.com