How we make our kiln fired ceramic tile murals

Production begins when we receive ether a digital photo or a print from our
customer. After either scanning the print or checking the photo file for quality, our
team begins to process the photo. Depending on what the customer has ordered,
processing may include restoring, cropping, resizing, removing or changing
backgrounds, changing shapes, etc. We spend time on this step because the
better the quality of the photo, the better the quality of the finished product. For
murals, the photos are divided into sections depending on the size of the tiles
ordered.

After processing, the photo is ready to print. We use a special laser printer with
ceramic mineral toners to print onto decal paper. The decal paper allows us to
transfer the print onto the tile.

Once we have printed the days decals, we apply a coating of flux (basically
pulverized glass in a liquid base). the flux melts during firing and leaves a thin
coating over the image giving it additional protection from the elements. We then
let the covercoat dry until the next day. The next step is to cut the finished decals
from sheets into single pieces. This is either done by hand or for larger projects
we have templates setup for our laser engraver which cuts perfect decals in
seconds.

Next we apply the decals to the tile. After soaking them in water for a few
minutes, the image slides right off of the paper and onto the tile. The excess
water is squeeged off and the image rolled down onto the tile.

The tiles are then loaded into our specially built racks and put into the kiln where
they are fired to 1550 degrees. This melts the flux and toners and permanently
bonds them to the tile. After firing and cooling, about 14 hours, we remove the
tiles and quality check each one. They are then carefully packed and shipped to
our customers for a lifetime of enjoyment.