Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112we satisfy the NEEDS of the cus- tomer. Even if we break it down into residential vs. commercial, it is still not black and white. Sure, some commercial instal- lations may require more techno- logically advanced porcelains, like an unglazed through-body porce- lain. However, most commercial projects do not. There are ceramic tiles offered in the U.S. with low water absorption, high breaking strength, superior scratch resistance and that can be installed outside. These ceramics will certainly hold up under the conditions found in many commercial installations. Residentially, the NEEDS of the customer should be the primary goal. Homeowners are typically upgraded from ceramic to porce- lain during the selection process. They are told that porcelain is going to outperform and outlast ceramic tiles. That’s not necessarily true. Many ceramics today are produced using similar raw materials, fired at the same temperature, and use the same printing and glazing pro- cesses. Many ceramics today will perform as well and last as long as most porcelains. Many ceramics today meet the needs of the home- owner in terms of on-trend designs and durability, yet offered at an affordable price. That means they often have better designs than por- celain, perform like porcelain and last as long as porcelain. Aside from the obvious, why push a homeown- er to porcelain? For example, when choosing win- dows for your new home, if you are given the choice of the standard durable windows or upgrading to bullet proof glass, realistically, what would you choose for your home? The takeaway? Find a reputable ceramic tile manufacturer that will provide you with fact-based infor- mation to support the obvious… ceramic is an option to porcelain for most of your residential and commercial projects. You’ll have an opportunity to provide your customers with the beautiful prod- uct they desire, at a value. If you need advice on where to start your search, feel free to connect with me at mcox@interceramic.com. BY T HE BOOK San Giulio ceramic tile offers a striking stone movement in four matte colors and 12” x 12” matching mosaic sheets. Field tile is 16” x 16” and 12” x 24”. 92 TileLetter | July 2016