It is almost a rarity not to come across a touchscreen device – read smartphone, tablet, laptop or a smartwatch – that does not boast of a Corning Gorilla Glass. While that is a clear proof of the kind of market proliferation that the toughened glass has achieved, its makers have hit upon another novel and ingenious way of reaching out to its partners with the same Gorilla glass but now with high-resolution images printed on it.
That’s Vibrant Gorilla Glass for us, and Corning wants manufacturers to swap the usual plastic or metal covers of the smartphones or even laptops with such glasses. While it remains to be seen if there is enough activity on this front, Corning though would like us to believe manufacturers have started evincing a strong interest in such a move.
As for the printing process itself, Corning said they have come up with new proprietary inkjet printing technology to print images directly onto the glass surface. Corning also stated the result achieved is inspiring with the print quality on the glass being almost the same when it is printed on paper for wholesale printing.
“We spent a bit of time understanding inks and fluids, and how these adhere to glass,” said Scott Forester, director, Gorilla Glass Innovations while speaking to Engadget. “There’s a lot of intellectual property around the equipment and ink formulation. It’s a very different printing technology than what you see today.”
Corning also stated the entire printing process is simple in that it requires less time and leads to less wastage. That is not all as the process is also scalable to allow for printing on different sized displays. Among the areas where Corning believes such printed Gorilla glasses can be fitted include the back of smartphones or the top of laptop devices where users can do with non-transparent glass covers.
Such technology will also enable companies to offer unique ways for customers to customize their devices according to their personal tastes. That is not all for makers of aftermarket accessories too can make the best of this technology to offer customization options to buyers.
Overall, the new Vibrant Gorilla Glass, as its makers have termed it seems to open up new and exciting ways the now ubiquitous Gorilla glasses can be applied to.
