Glass Whiteboards: Improvement on Dry-Erase Boards

Glass whiteboards are becoming increasingly popular in contemporary office designs and meeting rooms. A glass whiteboard is a reusable writing surface with all the characteristics of a dry-erase board, but with some added benefits.

Have you ever noticed the ghosts of meetings past, work-flow charts and bullet-point lists mostly erased but still visible on the dry-erase board? After long-term exposure, the ink absorbs into the surface of a typical dry-erase board.

Glass whiteboards exercise those ghosts; the glass resists ink stains and scratches. Once wiped clean, the glass surface eliminates ghosting and appears like new; it’s ideal for multi-use rooms and sensitive projects.

Glass boards have one characteristic that dry-erase boards do not-the ability to have a transparent background. When mounted on a wall, a clear glass board becomes virtually invisible, blending into a room’s natural décor. With an added LED light base, words written on the glass surface appear to be suspended in mid-air.

A company's logo and branding slogan can be added to a glass whiteboard with direct printing technology.  Image printing can be customized for specific uses such as calendar grids, sports diagrams and labeled input fields.

How to Identify Tempered Glass from Non-Tempered Glass

I overheard one of our sales representatives talking to a customer. The customer wanted to learn how to identify tempered glass from non-tempered glass.

Our sales rep joked with the customer saying, “Take a hammer to it. If it busts into hundreds of tiny pieces, then it was tempered.”

Of course, few people want to purposely shatter a large piece of glass. (Well, I did. However, that’s a story for another time.) There are less destructive ways to be able to identify whether the glass has been tempered.

First, here’s a lesson about how tempered glass is made. Take a piece of annealed glass-glass that was allowed to cool slowly during the manufacturing process. Reheat the annealed glass in a furnace and cool quickly using forced air drafts.

A little known fact for the glass novice is that holes cannot be drilled into tempered glass. Most types of drilling would cause the glass to shatter. Holes, notches and/or carvings must be made before the tempering process.

Anyway, let’s get back to identifying tempered glass. If your glass is coming from the manufacturer, they are required to etch a tempered or safety glass identifier in the four corners.However, that's not always the case.

Another way to identify tempered glass is to view the glass through a pair of polarized sunglasses. In many cases, viewing the glass in sunlight, through polarized lenses, will reveal dark lines or spots. These are prime indicators that the glass is tempered. The lines are formed by the machine rollers during the cooling process.

Finally, look for dimples, bending or warping. These imperfections are caused during the heating process. Tongs used to remove tempered glass from heat often leave small impressions in the glass that can identified if you look closely.

Are Shower Curtains In Hotels A Thing Of The Past?

More and more hotels are offering glass shower enclosures in newly built and renovated hotels according to top interior design firms. Ripping out tubs and replacing them with large, walk-in shower enclosures provides the "At Home" experience that today's customers prefer.

Many hotel brands including The W, Marriott, Indigo and Hilton are now specifying Frameless Showers Enclosures that provide more room, said Larry Kalski, VP Sales for FGD Glass Solutions. "It's fresh and open. The dreary shower curtain is something customers do not like. They want to open up there bathroom experience, not feel confined."

Contemporary hoteliers understand that showers consume less water than baths and that removing bathtubs will lower their insurance premiums. Glass shower enclosures are also easier to clean than bathtubs. It is much easier for the hotel to justify room rate increases with an updated shower that is as good as or better than what they have at home.

Why Does Clear Glass Have a Greenish Tint?

I remember, as a kid, looking through the polished edge of a thick piece of glass. You could see this cool prism and the inside of this mysterious prism world appeared to have a greenish tint.

Later, I discovered that the glass industry calls it "Coke Bottle Green," due to the greenish hue found in many of the antique Coca-Cola bottles. The color comes from the iron minerals used in the manufacturing of glass to add strength.

The color will be darker on thicker or larger glass table tops and mirrors. This color is standard to the industry and used by most glass companies and furniture companies.

However, glass products with low-iron levels are produced for a brighter or white glass appearance. This product in the glass industry is called "Starphire" glass.

FGD Glass Solutions Work on Display in D.C.

The colorful Vistalam glass project produced by FGD Glass Solutions for the Ford's Theatre Museum is also on displayed in the "Honoring Lincoln" section of the museum's Web site.
http://www.fordstheatre.org/