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Technology marches on of course. Until recently to glaze an image or wording onto a ceramic plate involved such a large set-up cost that it was viable only for large numbers and certainly not suitable for a one-off.

With families wanting personalized ceramic plates to celebrate the birth of a baby, the only way to produce such keepsakes and gifts was to hand paint the plate using a brush and glaze. This required skill of course, but also time and the latter limited the amount of wording that could be placed on the plate. After all, the artist would like to limit the work and time spent on the painting as this directly affects the cost of production.

Then a company in Germany came up with a form of granulated glaze that could be used in a specially adapted laser printer. A design and wording can be digitalized and printed on backing that, when applied to the ceramic, burns off at around 800 degrees in the kiln, allowing the glaze to decorate the plate.

Thus the decoration of ceramics moves into the world of personalization: glazing a photograph onto a plate and adding the customer's wording around the rim of the plate is straight forward and the preparation can be done in minutes. This has opened up a whole new business although the cost of the printing equipment and the powdered glaze is expensive at present. The company at the forefront of this new personalized gift business has a website called personalised china offering plates for a baby's birth, personalised christening gifts, and anniversary gifts. This article was first published on this website.