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FAQ Frequently Asked Questions
What tile should I use?
Tumbled Stone – A flat stone finish that presents any art or image in an old-world fashion. The tiles must be sealed if used in a water application. What about for trivets or countertops? Will heat cause the inks to migrate?
Scratch Resistance – We do not recommend any tile for counter tops other than the glass tiles. Although Matte, Porcelain and Tumbled Stone tiles will offer much more resiliency than the Glossy tiles, with enough impact or abrasion, you will be able to scratch the surface. For trivets, we recommend the glass tile, as it will provide the best durability over time, but we have many customers who view trivets as a non-permanent purchase item and are fine selling products that could show wear over time. What adhesive and grout should I use?
Adhesives – For the ceramic, porcelain and tumbled stone tiles, any adhesive you would normally use for installation would be fine. For the glass tiles, we recommend any Epoxy Thin-Set Mortar in white. Do I need to seal the tiles after installation?
Tumbled Stone is a very porous tile, meaning it will absorb water fairly easily. When installing any tumbled stone (dye-sublimated or not) in any sort of water application, your installer would apply a sealer to the tile to prevent water from being absorbed into the tile and potentially rotting the tile body. This sealer is available from nearly any tile dealer. We don’t recommend any brand specifically, but a professional tile installer would have recommendations for you. How long should I press the tiles? At what pressure? At what temperature? Refer to this guide for transfer times. Keep in mind that this information will vary from press to press, and may also be influenced by climate, altitude and other factors. These guidelines should be used as a reference only. Special Interest Questions Tell me more about your Tumbled Stone tile. The Tumbled Stone tiles used by Bison Coating and Supply are a compressed sandstone product from which the tiles are then cut. We have found this to be the most consistent stone available, both in texture and color. When we receive the stones from the manufacturer and unpack them for coating, the range and type of pitting does vary. When we use these tiles for imaging, we try not to separate the different textures as this is the rough weathered look people are looking for from tumbled stone. Tumbled stone tiles are fairly fragile. The nature of the stones is that they are seldom uniform in surface texture, and may also vary in thickness and size. You may wish to lay out your tiles if imaging a mural, so that you can match them, and so that the tiles with “broken” corners are used on the outside. How durable are the Glass tiles? Testing of our glass tiles by the Tile Council of America showed that the glass is significantly stronger (tempered and non-tempered) than most ceramic and porcelain tiles. With that said, the glass tiles are susceptible to blunt force damage, the same as any ceramic tile. I would safely state that these glass tiles are as safe as any ceramic/porcelain tile. How do the images hold up under UV exposure? We do NOT recommend any sublimation tiles for exterior use or any application where there is direct UV Exposure. What kind of breakage occurs if a 6” x 6” non-tempered glass tile is dropped from approximately 4 feet off the ground onto cement or other hard flooring? A glass tile falling 4 feet will have different results depending on how it lands on the ground. The breaking strength tests performed on our glass tile by the Tile Council of America were performed on non-tempered 6” glass. That breaking strength is over 1,900 pounds per square inch. This surpasses the industry standards for commercial floor tiles by more than 700%. Chips on the edges are the most common damage you will encounter (if they land on the edges). |