Solar control. Dot patterns for bird-friendly glass. Creative displays. Art. All of these requests can be executed through digitally printing in both exterior and interior glass applications. With powerful resistance to scratching, UV, and weather, the digital printing process ensures long-lasting, vivid colors. How does it do that? The digital printing process applies ceramic ink directly to the glass surface. After printing, the glass goes through our tempering oven; fusing the ceramic ink permanently into the surface of the glass. The printed glass can then be laminated or insulated. From world maps to UN nations memorials, we have no shortage of unique projects. And digital printing isn’t limited to art. We are seeing more digital frit and patterns on storefront applications, particularly on high-end retail stores, including perimeter frit, to help clean up the sight lines. Today we turn our attention to 4 digitally-printed projects that we took on because of their challenges on size, imagery, and timelines.
CN TOWER LOOKOUT LEVEL, TORONTO
The CN Tower’s remodelled Lookout Level’s interior walls consist of over 150 unique, digitally printed, 6 mm, monolithic panels. The panels were digitally printed, then a white backdrop was applied behind a subtle graphic that when viewed closely, transforms into the graceful silhouette of the iconic tower. The graphic, designed by mackaywong, repeats multiple times around the lookout. Muted in tone, yet bright, clean and crisp in feeling, the paneling offers a classic, timeless decor that marks the path to the main event, the view. The panels are all unique, based on various sizes, with careful CNC work such as holes, cutouts and notches. Since the panels depicted an image, accuracy was the goal with a tolerance of -1/+0 mm.
DIOR FLAGSHIP CHICAGO
Chicago’s first Christian Dior flagship on 931 North Rush Street features a curtainwall of cannage with 29 Insulated Glass Units up to 146″ in length, laminated, tempered, and digitally-printed. Surface two of the exterior laminate was digitally printed multiple times with a white, cannage pattern.
THE SHOPS AT DON MILLS
AGNORA digitally printed ceramic frit 12m tall gateway pylons, fabricating both monolithic and laminated tempered glass for the Cadillac Fairview Shops at Don Mills.
The Shops at Don Mills features 10-12m tall gateway pylons for the mall’s entrances and 3m tall signs mark the intersections of the mall and provide parking space information. Extending from daytime to nighttime, all of the pylons are brightly visible with backlit graphics to provide wayfinding and parking space information. These digitally-printed, ceramic frit signs represent a technical achievement that has pushed AGNORA’s decorative glass offerings above their own expectations. The graphic pattern transition between the adjoining pieces was seamless due to the precise nature of digital application.
KANSAS UNIVERSITY MURAL
The glass mural, measuring 66’ 1” wide x 12’ 4” tall, with a digitally-printed depiction of the history of Kansas University Basketball is comprised of 13 panels. The wall serves both function and aesthetic as a decorative guardrail. The combined images appear seamless as one long mural. As images carried across the panels, alignment was critical to the fabrication process as was ensuring the accuracy of KU’s proprietary team colours. With the use of AGNORA’s CNC machines, all panels were accurately sized to 1/16”. Success of the project hinged on AGNORA’s technical ability to take the client’s raw working files and manipulate them to produce the imagery with accuracy and precision.
“This job tested us on fine line resolution, color matching on all samples, superior glass prep and clean room standards to achieve perfect print quality.” – Joe Lindsey, Digital Print Specialist.
AGNORA can digitally print up to a maximum size of 130″x300″, providing digital in-glass solutions that combine the durability of ceramic inks with the versatility of digital printing. Find more inspiration on our projects page.
OUR PROJECT PARTNERS
Dior Flagship, Chicago
General Contractor : Crane Construction Company LLC
Glass Graphics Designer: 3DS Groupe
Glass Supplier: Pilkington North America & Saint Gobain Glass
CN Tower
Architect: Cumulus Architects Inc.
Glass Graphics Designer:mackaywong
General Contractor: PCL Constructors Canada Inc.
Glazier: Redspire Architectural Glass Inc.
Fabricator: AGNORA
Glass Supplier : Pilkington North America
The CF Shops at Don Mills
Designer : The Cygnus Design Group
General Contractor: Ellis Don
Installation Project Management :Forward Signs Inc
Installer : Explore1
Glass Supplier: Pilkington North America
Kansas University Basketball Mural
Conceptual Planning & Design: Ralph Appelbaum Associates
Glazier: Kennedy Glass
Glass Supplier: Pilkington
Interlayer: Kuraray America
