In this paper, we discuss the impact of the temperature and the duration of the melting on the persistent luminescence properties of phosphate glasses within the P2O5-Na2O-CaO and P2O5-Na2O-SrO systems prepared using a standard melting process in normal atmosphere by adding Sr(4)Al(14)O25:Eu2+,Dy3+ microparticles in the glass batch before melting. Glasses with persistent luminescence properties can be successfully prepared if the melting conditions are carefully controlled. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.