Glass and Ceramic Printing in Dubai: Preparation, Testing and Durability by Use
What decides whether a print on glass or ceramic lasts, how the way a piece is used changes the preparation and the tests, and what to send before we quote.
A UV print on glass or glazed ceramic lasts when the surface is prepared for it and the print is tested against the life the piece will actually have. Glass and glaze are smooth and non-porous, so the bond is built before printing: cleaning first, then plasma, Pyrosil or a primer where the surface calls for it. A drinking glass, a perfume bottle, a splashback tile and an office partition each need different tests, so tell us the use before anything is printed.
At a glance:
- For: brands, designers, fit-out contractors, hotels and anyone with glass or ceramic to print.
- Surfaces: flat glass, glass bottles and drinkware, perfume glass, glazed tiles and porcelain.
- Preparation: cleaning, then plasma, Pyrosil or primer where the test shows it is needed.
- Proof: a sample tested the way the piece will be used.
- Sample: AED 105 or AED 150 depending on what it is, taken off the invoice if you go ahead.
- Not claimed: dishwasher safe, food safe, permanent, or an outdoor life in years.
Our glass printing and ceramic tile printing pages describe the services. This guide covers the question that comes before the quote: will it last for what you need it to do?
Why does the use matter more than the material?
"Glass" and "ceramic" are not enough to plan a print. The same bottle can be a gift that sits on a shelf or a water bottle that goes through a dishwasher every night, and the second needs a different build and a much harder test. So we start with what the piece will go through.
| The piece | What it has to survive | What we test | Read more |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drinking glasses, bottles, tumblers, qahwa cups | Washing, hot water, stacking, handling | Wash cycles the way you will wash it | Dishwasher and alcohol resistance |
| Perfume and cosmetic bottles | Alcohol from the fragrance, filling, crimping, packing | A rub with your own fragrance | Alcohol-resistant perfume printing |
| Splashback and wall tiles | Cleaning products, steam, splashes, wiping | Your cleaner on a printed tile | Printed tiles in kitchens and bathrooms |
| Glass partitions, doors and manifestation | Daily cleaning, hands, sun through windows | Cross-cut and your cleaner | Printed glass partitions |
| Awards, gifts and decor | Handling, display, the odd wipe | Cross-cut and handling | How UV printing on glass works |
| Sun-facing or outdoor glass | Strong sun and daily heat | A sample exposed where it will live | Large format glass: outdoor and facade |
Most failures we are asked about come down to a print that was approved on a fresh sample and then met something the sample never saw: a detergent, a fragrance, a scouring pad or months of sun.
How do we prepare glass and ceramic before printing?
Glass and glaze give ink nothing to key into, so the bond is decided before the print goes down. In order:
- We identify the surface. Coated, frosted, tinted, low-E and back-painted glass each have a different top layer, and float glass has a tin side and an air side that glass processors identify before working because they can print and bond differently. Matt and textured glazes differ from gloss ones.
- We clean it and handle it with gloves from then on. A fingerprint is enough to cause a local failure.
- We pre-treat where the surface calls for it, on Modico equipment supplied by PRO TECHnology, a company in the same Dubai group as Sun Studio. The treatments include plasma and Pyrosil.
- We prime where the test shows it helps, with a primer that suits the ink, applied as its data sheet says.
- We print and cure, then test the sample before the run.
Our article on why UV print peels explains what plasma, flame, Pyrosil and primers each do. For the technical side of primers, PRO TECHnology, our sister company in the same group, has written a detailed guide to glass and ceramic primers for UV printing: how to tell peeling from scratching, fading and chemical attack, why a primer only fixes the first, and why passing a tape test is not the same as lasting.
What about our own-label glass primer?
We also offer a glass primer under our own label, shown below. The tin reads "Glass Primer, Pali Chem PA 7200". We are still confirming the manufacturer's technical and safety data sheets, so we do not quote a manufacturer, a country of manufacture, a substrate list, a drying time or any performance figure for it yet.
If you print in-house and want to try it, ask us about it, and test it on your own glass or tile with your own ink before you use it on a job. A primer only improves the bond. It does not make a print scratch-proof, fade-proof or dishwasher-proof.
What durability is realistic?
Honest answers by use, from what we have tested ourselves and what we will not promise:
- Drinkware. In our own wash tests, prints on glass bottles, drinking glasses, steel tumblers and porcelain qahwa cups lasted more than 60 dishwasher cycles, in home and commercial machines. That is our result on our items and build, not a rating for yours, and we still do not call a print dishwasher safe. Our qahwa cup article covers scratches and stacking.
- Perfume bottles. Alcohol resistance is tested with the fragrance itself. The wash result above is not an alcohol test.
- Tiles. The print sits on the glaze; it is not fired into it like kiln decoration. Walls and splashbacks suit it. Floors, worktops that take knives and pans, and anything that touches food are a different case.
- Partitions and doors. Indoors, with sensible cleaning, a well-bonded print is a long-life finish. Abrasive pads and harsh solvents shorten it.
- Sun-facing glass. Strong sun fades printed colour over time, and how fast depends mainly on the pigments, as Fujifilm explains for its own inks. We test a sample and do not quote a life in years.
We make no food-contact claim for printed glass or ceramic. Printing inks, varnishes and coatings are among the material groups covered by food-contact rules such as EU Regulation 1935/2004, and that needs its own evidence. How long a UV print lasts covers the general picture.
What should you send us?
The more of this you can supply, the more useful the first sample will be:
- The actual item, from the same supplier and batch as the run. A similar bottle or tile is not the same surface.
- What it is: the supplier's product sheet, any coating or finish, and for flat glass whether it is toughened, laminated or coated.
- How it will be used and cleaned: the dishwasher, the detergent, the fragrance, the cleaning product, and whether it will see sun.
- The artwork, finished size and position, and whether you want white under the colour, gloss, or raised detail.
- The quantity and the date you need it by.
No glass yet? We source glass on request, especially large-format panels, and quote it as its own line. We do not cut or toughen glass ourselves, so shaping, drilling and toughening happen before printing.
What should be tested before you approve a run?
- Adhesion: a cross-cut tape test, as in ISO 2409, on a sample after it has rested.
- The real exposure: wash it in your machine, wipe it with your fragrance or cleaner, run hot water over it, or leave it in the sun, depending on the use.
- Handling: pack it, stack it and unpack it the way the run will travel.
- Colour and finish: under the light it will be seen in.
- Keep the approved sample as the reference for the run and any reprint.
Passing a tape test proves the bond formed. It does not prove the print will last, which is why the second step matters most. A sample is charged at AED 105 or AED 150, depending on what it is, and the fee comes off the invoice if you go ahead. It is usually ready in one to three working days once the artwork is approved. For a large or unusual piece, we confirm the fee and the time first.
Glazed, unglazed, and tiles that are already fitted
ISO 13006, the international tile standard, defines a glaze as an impermeable vitrified covering. A glazed tile or porcelain piece behaves much like glass for printing. Unglazed and porous bodies absorb liquid and need their own test, and sometimes a different answer altogether.
Loose tiles are printed on our flatbeds. Tiles already on a wall add grout, sealer and years of cleaning residue, so they are a separate case: our printed tiles article covers it, and it starts with a site visit rather than a quote.
Where the printing happens
Flat glass and tiles are printed on our UV flatbeds in Al Quoz: the IQDEMY EVO 2500, a belt flatbed 2.5 metres wide, and Direct Color Systems flatbeds for smaller pieces. Bottles, drinkware and round perfume glass go on our cylindrical printers, described on our cylindrical printing and perfume bottle printing pages. See the full printer fleet. Sun Studio belongs to the same Dubai group as PRO TECHnology, which distributes this equipment in the Middle East, so read our view of the machines with that in mind.
Common questions
Is UV printing on glass dishwasher safe?
Will the print come off a perfume bottle when fragrance touches it?
Does every glass job need a primer?
Can you print on unglazed or porous ceramic?
Can printed glass go outdoors?
Do you sell your glass primer?
Send a photo of the piece, what it is made of, how it will be used and cleaned, and the quantity, by WhatsApp or phone on +971 4 346 7422, or by email to info@sunstudio.ae. Sun Studio Dubai has been printing in Al Quoz First since 2011. We will tell you what the sample should prove before anything is printed.