Choosing right porcelain can be quite challenging !
I remember the time 25 years ago. Stallion was then importing hotel ware porcelain crockery from South East Asia (mainly Srilanka, Bangla Desh, Indonesia & China ).. Since hotel buyers knew very little, I personally had tough time explaining what porcelain is and difference between bonechina & porcelain. Equally important was how to control chipping & breakages in particular since this was major pain point. Now that everyone understands, porcelain is undoubtedly better than bone china for commercial usage.
Technical details will help you understand this better in choosing right porcelain..
Firstly, high grade porcelain or premium porcelain (double fired at 1360-1400 degree C & made with best of raw materials). Evidently product is superior finish with smooth glaze, rich appearance, higher translucency. Of course lighter weight as compared to average quality porcelain which is more heavy. Huge buyer benefit is long lasting durable porcelain (eventually highly cost-effective). Stallion porcelain belongs to premium porcelain category. Indeed, the best porcelain crockery available in India at very reasonable prices.
Secondly, average quality porcelain made using medium quality raw material . Most important, firing temperature is lower than required 1360-1380 degrees. Good porcelain must be 100% vitrified. Many brands available in India including one very popular brand comes in this category. These are available to you at much lower price (even at bone china prices). To point out, it lacks required strength & durability, so results in faster & higher chipping & breakages. An intelligent buyer can easily identify such products which comes at tempting prices. On the contrary this cheap purchase results in very quick chipping & breakages. Therefore you do not save any money. In fact you loose more money!
Then lastly, low quality porcelain (usually made in China). Many people including experts, veteran buyers & consultants do not know this interesting fact. The China factories fire tableware ceramics only once ( as against two time firing in all other countries) to minimise production cost. This technique is mastered by Chinese & they produce beautiful looking porcelain with amazing effects at great prices! However the weight is much higher & durability takes a big hit! As I said earlier, most of the China factories produce porcelain for short life. Few factories are really good & they do offer durable better products. Usually they are expensive & may be beyond reach of most Indian buyers. So what we get & see in India is usually cheaper quality Chinese porcelain.
Choosing right porcelain was never so challenging especially now , when so many options are available!
To conclude, hotel buyer must evaluate the crockery on important parameters such as durability, quality, availability, weight. Not on price alone. Value, what you get, is more important compared to price you pay. Quality & value engineering always helps the buyer to save money. Choosing the right porcelain is extremely important especially if you are the decision maker!
Learn more about how to take care of your porcelain from our knowledge base .
