与欧洲陶业的差距在缩小吗?
Is the Gap getting closer?
请注意,我是说领先一步,因为在数码喷墨技术出现之前,还要领先更多。
我知道这随着时间会改进,但不幸的是,对于市场和行业来说将是一个缓慢的过程。
下一期专栏我将与大家分享一些意大利博洛尼亚CERSAIE展的漂亮照片和信息!
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Is the Gap getting closer? Digital Technology changed forever how tile is made. It has been the most important change technically speaking that our industry has had since the invention of the rotocolor machine. I can summarize some of the restrictions or limitations that exist in the Chinese ceramic market in order to really do the same level products than Italy: These are just a few. There are many other ones that can be mentioned. If this mentality does not change there will always be room for imported products and the Italians and Spanish will always be a step ahead of China.
It really is but there still is more work to do………
Pretty much any kind of stone, marble, textile, pattern can be done with this technology with only some limitation in color range (Reds) or intense dark colors like, black or brown when printed in big areas of the tile.
Now days the company or companies that do not have the digital machine are truly behind the ones that do have it and it is just a matter of time before all companies do.
We just finished a series a few days ago called Cotto using the digital machine. If I showed this same series to any person of any company a couple of years ago most of them would have said that it was impossible to do this type of products in China.
When we displayed the series in the showroom with all the colors, sizes, decos and all the variation all the sales people and even myself were very impressed. But the most interesting comment I heard was from one of our distributors after he saw the complete product line. He said: I truly believe now that we are getting closer and closer and getting the same feeling and quality, color and design look like the Italian tile manufacturers.
The way I interpreted this was: This product collection is very, very good that I does not even seem that it was done in China! It is simply amazing what you can do with digital technology. But not everything is as simple as getting a design from Italy and plugging in the USB in the digital machine and letting the machine print and make the tile.
All of this comes with a price tag on it. If you really want to get the best, you have to invest more in your design to get everything you want and all the variation, color, etc.
In other words: You get what you pay for!
90% or more if not maybe all the ceramic companies in China are not yet willing to invest the heavy bucks in product designs. They invest the minimum possible just to meet the apparent market demands. And most products are done to meet the domestic market demand first and if they are liked by foreign purchasers fine and if not is fine as well.
I believe that the mentality should be just to make the BEST product possible and exceed the market demand in design so it is also liked anywhere, domestic or export markets. Asia to America, Africa to Europe.
1.Equipment or machines limited to certain level of information handling (Software). Example: The machines can only print a certain size design or number of faces.
2.Companies not willing to invest more money in getting bigger designs. This because of the apparent market demand not needing more random and natural variation
3.Huge pressure to reduce cost making this a more important or the most important variable rather than quality
4.Use of lower quality raw materials that do not produce the best results possible
5.Kilns designed to make bigger tile. When you want to make other smaller sizes is very challenging
6.Low level of control of many variables taking care of them by rectifying the product
Please notice that I said a step ahead and not 3 o 4 like it was before digital technology.
I know this will change with time but unfortunately it will be a slow change for the market.
I will send may next report from Bologna Italy with a few nice pictures and information from the CERSAIE show!
Best Regards,
Humberto Valles
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