DuPont introduces new digitally-printed interlayer for architectural laminated glass at Glasstec

SentryGlas® Expressions™ decorative glass interlayer enables architects and laminators to bring the full colour palette of digital printing to architectural laminated glass for the first time by using DuPont's world-leading ink technology for digital printing. Other major benefits of SentryGlas® Expressions™ over existing decorative glass technologies include reduced design to production time, increased flexibility in image customisation, continuous tone control and photographic quality reproduction.



The company's key stand exhibit (Hall 11, Stand B57) showed how SentryGlas® Expressions™ enables company logos, photographs and entire paintings to be incorporated into a range of architectural glass applications such as entry doors, overhead glazing and office partitions with speed and flexibility - while also conferring the many benefits of laminated glass including safety, security, excellent outdoor weatherability, protection from UV rays, noise reduction and solar/thermal control.



DuPont's patent-pending technology brings together custom designed PVB and inks to achieve long-term laminate durability. This innovation was made possible because of the company's global expertise in the two areas of ink systems and glass laminate construction.



Until today, the main limitations to architects' reproducing high quality images within laminated glass involved speed and colour palette restrictions, with only 8-12 spot colours at a maximum resolution of 80-120 lines per inch being reproducible. By contrast, custom-designed, architectural glass exhibits on DuPont's Glasstec 2002 stand demonstrated how more than a million shades and nuances of colour can be incorporated into SentryGlas® Expressions™ decorative interlayer with excellent resoultion at 720 dots per inch (dpi). This means that complex images such as colour photographs can be reproduced with sensational effect, as was displayed on the stand.



The company's Decorative Glass Manager, David Cordrey, said: ''DuPont's SentryGlas® Expressions TM technology simplifies the process for reproducing complex and attractive images in laminated glass. Laminators, architects and designers send the original artwork to DuPont as transparencies or high-resolution digital images - for example, as Photoshop, Illustrator or Quark Express files. DuPont will then print the proofs, which are then sent back to the customer for approval. Following approval, the digitally printed interlayer is shipped to the glass laminator for manufacture according to the customer's functional specifications.''



DuPont Global Architectural Glass Laminating Products Director, Jeff Granato, said: ''SentryGlas® Expressions™ is a new technology for decorative glazing that brings together the power of DuPont's extensive expertise in interlayers for laminated safety glass - ButaciteÒ PVB, SentryGlasÒ Plus ionoplast and SentryGlasÒ Secure' technology - and our company's expertise in digital printing inks. Only DuPont can supply the winning combination of these two technologies to offer the most stable, dependable art glass worldwide today.''