The Ceramic Tile Manufacturing Process � Part 2

The glazing process enables the best possible results in color, weight, viscosity and density of the ceramic tile flooring. There are many ways of applying glazes to ceramic tile for flooring which includes silkscreen patterns, spray glazes, waterfall glazes, brushes, and roto screens, etc. These glazes enable a beautiful finish. The now glazed but unfired ceramic tile is called greenware.

The greenware formed is placed in a roller hearth kiln for firing. The firing process consists of high temperatures and pressure, temperatures reaching 2100 degree F over the course of a 45 minute period. During this process, the tile shrinks up to 15%.

There are two types of firing processes, resulting in two main categories of ceramic tile flooring:

The production time of ceramic tile flooring can be reduced to a matter of hours by the process called �monocottura� (an Italian term meaning �single fired�). In this process, individual ceramic tiles are fired and glazed at the same time. It also produces a denser and more durable ceramic tile. This subset of ceramic tile features a flat back to allow an easier installation.

A similar process called �Bicottura� (�double-fired�) breaks the firing process in two phases. The clay is fired once and then again with a glaze added to the top layer of the ceramic tile. In this process, the ceramic tile may be fired several times, and are generally a little less durable than monocottura ceramic tiles. Bicottura tiles should only be applied to indoor locations, mostly as wall tiles and backsplashes because of their softer body and their glaze.

It takes about one hour to convert raw material into finished ceramic tiles. However, the time will vary depending on the machinery and material. After all the processes, the finished ceramic tile is categorized by color/shade, size and quality. The tiles are than sorted, palletized and packed with the help of machines.