| Monthly Tech-Tip | No tracking! No ads! |
Strips of the opacified glaze have been laid over the dark-burning body and over the white engobe. These two mechanisms give the technician options to balance opacity against cost. Both the engobe and glaze contain zircon, it is very expensive and various factors influence where to focus its use and how much to use.

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This artisan, Dennis Cuku, is the king of DIY tile, making "actually HANDMADE" product using a red-burding terra-cotta-like middle temperature clay body. He also makes glazes in-house and fires using 36 shapes. He mixes 129 glazes and produces about 50,000 ft.² of tile per year. Tile making presents many unique challenges, not the least of which is the need for consistency and predictability of surface character and color. This endeavour is made possible with data, a lot of it. Not just glaze recipes, but many forming, glazing and firing procedures and techniques that must be documented.
| Glossary |
Opacity
Opacity of ceramics glazes is normally achieved by adding an opacifier like tin oxide or zircon. However, there are chemical profiles that can turn transparent glazes milky and make it cheaper to opacify them. |
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