Aprons for the kitchen of glass with photo printing

Glass panels have all the advantages of traditional ceramic tiles - it is an environmentally safe material and durable in terms of exploitation material, and the design possibilities are almost endless.

• Attractive appearance of the front wall of the kitchen.
• Glass panels are suitable for almost all interior design: from the ascetic high-tech to the luxurious baroque.
• The kitchen apron from glass can be decorated with illumination in addition. In addition, it is possible to install additional outlets.
• It is easy to care for glass panels: they are not afraid of aggressive household chemicals, they are easy to wash, they do not leave stains from water and cleaning products.
• Kitchen aprons made of glass with photo printing are completely unaffected by moisture and steam.
• Over time, the appearance of glass panels remains as attractive as when installing: they do not fade in the sun, do not crack from the temperature drop.
• Since the panels are made of tempered glass, it is almost impossible to mechanically damage them with cutlery.
• Installation of an apron made of tempered glass is not as energy-consuming as tile and can be done independently if desired. Numerous reviews indicate that the installation of a wall panel takes an average of 2-3 hours, depending on the skills of the worker.
• The glass apron is attached to the screws and not to the cement mortar, as in the case of ceramic tiles, so there will not be so much dirt and dust during the installation process.
• Glass panels do not have joints, which means that the dirt in them will not be clogged.
• The glass wall panel can be purchased ready-made, and you can order an individual design. It can be a standard image of coffee with an appetizing cream or an exotic fruit. And if you want, you can use fragments of photos from your personal archive that will remind you of happy moments - honeymoon, beautiful landscapes of the places where you were on vacation. Here the space of fantasy is not limited.
• The panel has a shiny surface that has the ability to reflect light.Therefore, glass plates visually expand the wall and increase the kitchen space.

• It can not be mounted on an uneven surface, in contrast to the tile, which can be leveled using the thickness of the solution.
• The cost of glass panels significantly exceeds the cost of tile.
• If you want to order an individual panel design, then you should be prepared for the fact that it takes a very long time to complete.

For glass panels in the kitchen, ordinary glass is not suitable. The material presented a number of requirements:

• Glass thickness must be at least 6mm;
• The glass itself must be necessarily tempered: first, the glass plate is heated to a temperature of more than 600 degrees, and then rapidly cooled. As a result, the glass becomes impact resistant and heat resistant. Even if such a glass is broken, then the fragments from it will be small with rounded edges, which reduces the level of injury.
• Glass should be discolored - any tone and any drawing is best placed on it.
• Panels can be opaque or transparent. It depends on the intended design.

The length of the wall panel is usually no more than 2-2.5 meters. If you need an apron of greater length, then it consists of several fragments. Usually the panels are mounted at the end of a butt joint and the seam between them is almost not noticeable. To the vertical seam between the panels was even less noticeable, it is better to place it at the level of the junction of wall cabinets.

The drawing is applied on the reverse side of the panel itself with the help of special equipment. Printing technology provides image durability and heat resistance.

There are several ways of applying the pattern on the glass:

1. Film. On the glass from the back side stick a film with the finished image. This is a relatively inexpensive method. However, it is not without flaws. First, the film can stick loosely and eventually peel off. Secondly, the image quickly fades and loses an attractive look.
2. UV printing. The ink is sprayed onto the back side of the glass, and then sealed with ultraviolet LEDs. With this photo printing, the picture has a high resolution, sharpness of the line and brightness of colors. Paint does not fade and does not crack from the sun and high temperatures. The great advantage of this type of printing is that the ink applied to the glass hardens very quickly, which allows you to complete the order in a short time.
3. 3D photo printing. As with UV printing, paints are applied to the surface itself. Before applying the paint, a special varnish is applied to the glass surface of the kitchen panel, which ensures better adhesion of the paint to the surface. The paint penetrates the glass at the level of molecules, which makes the image particularly resistant. From different angles of view and with different lighting, the picture looks volumetric and begins to play with all colors. 3D printing creates the effect of movement of the object in the picture. Colors with this method of printing are very realistic, and the image itself is of high quality and clear. Therefore, such images are a success even at their high cost.

1. Glue. In order to attach the glass panel with photo printing to the wall, use a transparent adhesive sealant on a polymer base. It leaves no traces and is not visible even on a transparent surface. This is the easiest way to mount, but it is not possible to install a backlight for such a panel. Also, glue may eventually damage the image on the panel. Another disadvantage - the panel is glued once and for all. It can not be dismantled in case of repair wiring.
2. Screws. Holes are drilled in the glass, into which plastic dowels are inserted, then silicone washers and then screws are screwed. To make the design more aesthetic, special plugs are put on the caps of the screws. If a place for mounting the backlight is supposed, the self-tapping screws are increased with the help of special brass tubules.
3. Special aluminum or plastic profile. They hold the glass construction from above and below. Such profiles can be equipped with additional fixtures for the installation of LEDs.
4. Mounts. This method has something in common with the mounting of the mirror. The panel is fixed in several places located along the borders of the upper and lower edges.To the panel hung smoothly, the brackets should be in a single plane. Between the mounts and glass install additional gaskets.

Regardless of the method of installation, before attaching the panel to the wall, it must be thoroughly cleaned of possible stains and dirt on both sides, because after installation it will be impossible to wash the back side. It is also necessary to seal the joints between the panel and the table top.

• For a small kitchen, choose an image where there is a large pattern and free space dominates.
• The abundance of motley small elements over time bothers and begins to tire the eye. Especially if the kitchen set itself is made in bright colors.
• Images of architecture never go out of fashion. The main thing - to choose the right theme, depending on the style of the kitchen. For high tech, the image of a modern metropolis in the light of night lights is quite suitable, and for the kitchen in a Provencal style, a drawing on a natural theme.
• Psychologists say that the image of water soothes and pacifies. Therefore, seascapes, water drops, waterfalls, fish, mermaids and other attributes of the water element are neutral, not intrusive, and will fit almost any interior.
• Modern technologies allow photo printing on glass with a smooth surface. Many housewives do not welcome a clean mirror surface - not everyone will like it when their own image flashes before their eyes all the time while cooking. But the mirror tile with a photo printing image looks much more attractive and interesting.
• When ordering an individual design, the specialists of the company can, at your request, edit the colors, brightness and dimensions of the image, as well as add other items. Photo printing is performed on glass panels of all varieties: mirror, color, matte, relief, etc.