What are Glazed Vitrified Tiles (GVT) Tiles?

Glazed Vitrified Tiles are manufactured using digital technology with the help of high volume Inkjet Printers. It is classified under Vitrified Tiles.

There are different types of tiles such as Digital Wall tiles, Ceramic Floor Tiles, Vitrified Tiles, Polished Glazed Vitrified Tiles, Double charged tiles, Nano Polished Tiles, large Porcelain slabs, Sanitary wares, and Mosaic tiles.

Glazed Vitrified Tiles (GVT) 

There are two main types of digital glazed vitrified tiles such as GVT which are matt finish tiles and PGVT which are glossy surfaces. 

GVT – Digital glazed vitrified tiles

PGVT – Polished glazed vitrified tiles 

These tiles are made using digital printers. The layer of digital printing is less than 1 mm. They are used for commercial spaces, offices, restaurants, and residential areas.

These tiles have low water absorption (0.5%) and low porosity as it is made using a vitrification process. Vitrified tiles are durable, stronger, and resistant to stain. 

Wondering how many designs are available in digital tiles, an infinite number of designs, Surfaces, Textures, patterns, and colors are there and can be customized according to needs and requirements with the help of digital printing machines. 

The Cost of these tiles is higher than ceramic tiles. These tiles are not suitable for heavy traffic areas as the layer may fade away on the passing of time. 

Digital Glazed Vitrified Tiles Meaning

The meaning of Glazed Vitrified Tiles is that there is a Glazed surface on the top of the tiles. The glaze surface coating layer is less than 1mm. There are different glazes for Matt and a glossy finish.

Various coatings layers like Engobe, TR, and Opaque are spread over the surface of the tiles before firings. There are different compositions of the layer coatings depending upon the density, viscosity, and weight for different tiles’ surface finish.  

In digital vitrified tiles, the design is printed with the help of an Inkjet Printing Machine on the surface of tiles. There may be the same design or random design printed on the surfaces. It may have 2 to 10 different phases of designs when the tiles are printed in the digital machine. 

It allows any type of design to be printed on the surface of the tiles like stone, marble, wooden, poster, and images. Any customized images as you wish can be easily printed over the surface of tiles. 

Many factories offer newer design and patterns which address the aesthetics for the better flooring of homes.

Manufacturing Process of Digital Glazed Tiles

The raw materials used are soda, potash, quartz, ball clay, talc, STPP, SLS, and many more for the making of tiles. The cost of a digital tile body is less than the full body vitrified tiles body.

GVT tiles are single-layered tiles that are manufactured using hydraulic presses. The Tiles are passed through the vertical or horizontal dryers after passing from the press. 

The tiles are pre-baked in a dryer after passing out from the press. After that various surface coatings are laid on the tiles for the medium of tiles printing. 

Later the high volume Inkjet Printing machines are used to print the various designs and patterns. Various CMYK colors are used in digital machines such as brown, yellow, cobalt, black, and many more. 

There may be 3 to 10 printing heads on the printing machine depending upon the type of design and colors. There are various digital machine manufacturers such as KERAjet, SACMI, System Ceramic, EFI Cretaprint, and Mejia.  

After that, the tiles are passed through the kiln at a temperature around 1200 c where it is baked to become strong and durable tiles. 

The polishing machines are used for glossy tiles where the surface is polished for a shiny and bright finish. Various lapato abrasives are used in polishing machinery.  

The sizing machine sets the proper tile dimensions and removes the excess edges using sizing and squaring machines.

The final step of tiles making is complete with the box packaging with PP corner strap around the box. Wooden pallet packaging is also used for the export of tiles to prevent damage or movement of tiles box in the transportation. 

Glazed Vitrified Tiles HS Code 

• 69071010 – HS code for vitrified tiles were polished or not. 
• 69072100 – For a water absorption coefficient by weight not exceeding 0.5%.  
• 69072300 – For a water absorption coefficient by weight exceeding 10%. 
• 6908 HS code – Glazed ceramic flags and paving, wall tiles, glazed ceramic mosaic cubes. 
• 6907 – Unglazed ceramic flags and paving, Hearth or Wall Tiles, Unglazed Ceramic Mosaic Cubes. 

Sizes available in Glazed Vitrified Tiles

There are many sizes available for Digital tiles listed below. Major sizes are 600×600 Mm (2×2 Feet) and 600×1200 Mm (2×4 Feet). 

• 600×600 Mm 
• 800×800 Mm
• 600×1200 Mm 
• 800×1600 Mm 
• 200×1200 Mm
• 800×1200 Mm
• 1200×2400 Mm

The Tiles thickness ranges from 9 mm to 13 mm depending upon the sizes and requirements. 

Surfaces in Glazed Vitrified Tiles 

Various types of surface available in digital glazed vitrified tiles such as 

• Matt Finish 
• Glossy Finish
• High glossy 
• Carving
• Sugar
• Metallic 
• Wooden
• Lapato 
• Rustic 

Digital Glazed Vitrified Tiles Price

There are different prices for GVT tiles according to sizes and finishes of the surface. 

600×600 Mm – Rs 23 per Square Feet (Ex-Factory Rates)

600×1200 Mm – Rs 28 per Square Feet (Ex-Factory Rates)

800×800 Mm – Rs 30 per Square Feet (Ex-Factory Rates)

The above rates are ex factories.  Also after that, there are other charges such as Loading Charges, Insurance Charges, Transportation Charges, Unloading Charges to reach the dealers shop, and your homes. 

Note – Glazed Vitrified Tiles are also known as porcelain vitrified tiles outside India. It can be differentiated based on Water absorption. Generally, glazed vitrified tiles have less than 0.5 % water absorption, and the digital porcelain tiles have near about 2 to 5 % water absorption.

Final Thought

Glazed Vitrified tiles are long-lasting and have appealing designs. It is considered as perfect tiles for your home or offices due to high durability, low porosity, and resistance to stain. 

After the introduction of digital machines in the year 2001 in Morbi, it has revolutionized the Morbi ceramic industry and set a new benchmark for the ceramic industry as many new factories started producing digital tiles.

It is popular nowadays as many finish, texture and designs are available and can be printed easily as per requirements.