Tru Vue 'Ultra Vue' Glass

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Shayla

Shayla

WOW Framer
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Apr 5, 2008
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Washington State
One of our reps brought in a sample and brochure
about this last week, telling me that TruVue is about
to launch this glass.

It looks like Museum, but with only 60 some percent
UV filtering capacity. It's also only 2mm thick. About
95% of the glass we sell is either cons. clear or museum,
so this would feel like a step back in quality. But it's a
heck of a lot better for the folks who would instead be
choosing the regular clear and non-glare glass. It was
also described as being a water white glass, which we've
discussed here before.

Any thoughts?

Oh yes, it also comes in big sizes (48x68).
Although I'd be inclined to use acrylic on such things.
 
This would be another launch of waterwhite from TruVue. They previously had a product called Ultraclear that was available in regular and conservation grade, though I don't believe the conservation grade was quite as good at filtering UV as the current Conservation Clear product is.
The goal, as I see it is to make a product that is both UV filtering and non-reflective, like the Museum Glass, but on a waterwhite base. It was something Denton Vacuum (Denglas), Sandel (RIP), Schott and TruVue have been trying to do for some time. They have succeeded to a point but the product is a laminate using 2 lites of glass with an acrylic or polycarbonate core. Great product, very safe (the polycarbonate being bullit-proof) but challenging to cut and fiinish. Usually most readily available in cut to size orders.
 
I looked at our suppliers prices and two lite 40x60 box
wholesales for about 2/3 the cost of Museum. I hope
I'm not letting the cat out of the bag for their July launch,
but I figure if the reps are telling little fish like me, it's
already common knowledge.
 
Ultra Vue is, as Shayla said, optically coated, 2 mm thick, water-white glass. It is apparently intended to compete directly with the European imports. Their products are really more similar to AR Glass, even though they claim comparisons to Museum Glass.

Our pricing for Ultra-Vue will of course be determined by our distributors, but it will probably be similar to AR Glass, or somewhere between Museum Glass and AR Glass. So far, one supplier has quoted me the same price as AR Glass, and another has quoted a price 14% higher than AR Glass.
 
You would think that if Ultra Vue is only 2mm, and the protection is less than the AR, it should be less expensive than the AR. Why would someone want to buy less for more :shrug:
 
Water White glass is normally 2mm and made specifically for the framing industry. The thinner glass is more clear than 2.5 mm and has none of the green tint. The UV coating applied to CC has a brown tint added to correct the colors in the art since the thicker green glass causes color shift. Some times less really is more.
 
I sure as heck wouldn't want to handle a 48 x 68 lite of 2 mm glass.
:eek: Rick

Added feature: it breaks automatically on the way to the customer's car. :icon11:
 
Never had any issues handling 2mm glass. People think it's scary because it is more flexible. No issues with breakage in frames and it weighs less.
 
Pacific or Eastern time?
 
Time is relative...

tardis.jpg
 
jim_p said:
How does this stuff compare to the Art Glass that Omega introduced sometime back?
Click to expand...

Jim, Artglass UV = 92% UV block, so not a bad figure compared to AR or this new concept. Neutral colourshift is the aim behind waterwhite base glass.

They also have optically coated low reflection glasses in a lower UV block % . . . Artglass clear 60%, and Artglass waterwhite 70%.

Artglass Protect is 99% UV block, but being a laminated product is pretty much out * for all but the most specialised framing projects, mostly used by museums for suitably budgeted projects.
(* Cost and cutting issues, who wants to learn to cut laminated glass on this stuff ?)

This glass is made in thicker products too (4mm, 6mm), and make wonderful display cases !

wpfay said:
They have succeeded to a point but the product is a laminate using 2 lites of glass with an acrylic or polycarbonate core. Great product, very safe (the polycarbonate being bullit-proof) but challenging to cut and fiinish. Usually most readily available in cut to size orders.
Click to expand...

Wally, DenglasUV was beaut ! 99% UV block, coatings had the UV blocking components, handle / store like normal glass, glaze either way.
Of course Denton moved on to more profitable coating applications . . . pity.

All the optically coated low reflection laminates have a standard PVB (Polyvinyl butyral) interlayer, special techniques to cut, but not difficult with right methods, practice, etc.
The PVB interlayer blocks 99% UV.

Polycarbonates as used in bulletproof glass is made to size, can't be cut after sizing (unless cut on a pricey abrasive waterjet cutter).
Actually, BP glass is layered many (up to many, many) times, external glasses, layer of PC, layer of glass, PC again.
Until specs are reached to stop whatever projectile they want to stop is reached.

When in the regular glass trade many years ago, I toured through the Whyalla Steelworks here in SA, and the roller mill control room had massively thick BP glass (made by my then company Pilkington), and it was in the control area to stop long heavy lengths of steel from flying through the glass into the room when being rolled at high speed !
Picture a long length of red hot steel about 6" x 6" coming out of this roller machine at ~ 55 mph and heading straight at you, that's what this glass had to stop.

Ah, back to topic.

Schott Mirogard Plus is another optical coat low reflect glass, blocks 84%.
Would like to see them try some other layered coatings to bring that higher, but the European market seems satisfied (so Schott tell me).

Anyway, cheers.

Les
 
Low iron laminate

Les has given us some great information about specialty glass and there is one more product that is worth mentioning, Luxar Classic, from Glastrosche, AG, in Switzerland. Unlike the dip and bake coatings on the Schott and Denton products, Luxar is coated with ionic sputter coaters (like Optium). It is low iron, AR, with a UV inhibitor in its PVB laminate, quite beautiful and expensive.


Hugh
 
Thank you all for posting here. This information is very helpful.
Hugh is that last glass available only in Europe, or do they have
distributors in the states?

Jeff, is it really the case that the thinner glass is somewhat more
flexible? That sort of makes sense to me, seeing as how it's a
liquid, but I hadn't ever thought of it that way.
 
Luxar Classic

You can check with McGrory Glass, Phila., Maryland Glass and Mirror, Balt., Don Mar, RI, and Turner Assoc. VA, to look for Luxar. Please be preared for sticker shock.


Hugh
 
Framer Dave, why isn't glass a liquid?

It doesn't really seem like one to me, but that's
the common refrain about it. I do know that it
sags to the shape of a frame if left in long enough,
as with very old jobs that come in for repair. And
that, once scored, the break should be made soon
so it works best. But why do they say it is if it isn't?
 
shayla said:
Framer Dave, why isn't glass a liquid?

It doesn't really seem like one to me, but that's the common refrain about it. I do know that it sags to the shape of a frame if left in long enough, as with very old jobs that come in for repair. And that, once scored, the break should be made soon so it works best. But why do they say it is if it isn't?
Click to expand...

Because glass is very weird stuff, and because people repeat what they have heard until it becomes commonly accepted knowledge. Mom, teacher, brother told me so and I never thought to question it...

The most common reason you hear is the rippled glass in old windows. Well, the glass was made that way to begin with. Panes of glass were formed by blowing large cylinders of glass and then cutting and flattening them. Naturally they were not perfect. Float glass and the very smooth surfaces that come with it weren't even commercially viable until the 1950's. Rolled glass came around about a hundred years before that, but that wasn't perfect either.

You'll also see glass windows in old cathedrals pointed out as proof that glass is a liquid and flows. The panes of glass are usually thicker at the bottom. Again, glass was not perfect. The craftsmen of the day were pretty smart, so they put the thicker sides on the bottom for strength. Even then you'll occasionally see a pane installed by an inattentive craftsman with the thicker side up. Would you expect a liquid to flow up? And if it did flow wouldn't you expect to see it flowing out and around their frames?

Take a look at Roman glass artefacts. Being a couple thousand years old you'd expect them to slump and deform beyond recognittion, yet they don't. Old glass shelves in museums and display cases? How about 100+ year old telescope lenses? They're huge, and a difference of even a thousandth of an inch would render them useless. Yet they still focus light.

Glass is strange eough that even physicists don't know exactly what to make of it, but it certainly doesn't flow.
 
Thank you for that explanation. I appreciate it.
 
The reason for snapping the score right away is because flakes come loose at the edges of the score and there is no longer a trench. The score is a V shape but as chips flake off it becomes less definable.
 
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