New Technology

Traditional analogue printing processes that have been used for decorating cans, coupled with the economic crossover point of the suppliers, has meant that minimum order quantities of more than 100,000 units, have effectively resulted into monumental barriers to entry for smaller breweries requiring printed cans.

The company’s electro-static drop-on-demand digital print system is designed to enable canners and brewers to produce short to medium run can jobs with the USPs of high speed production coupled with high quality print, and at a low cost.

“From our point of view, people want to be more flexible with their branding and their marketing. So rather than being locked in for runs of hundreds of thousands of the same design, you are looking at the flexibility of printing fewer then having the option to change as and when required,” he says.

“It allows us to move away from that traditional approach, and move away from months and months of planning. The goal is that if you need 20,000 cans then you can have that in weeks, rather than months.”

Digital can printing’s benefits are not restricted to short to medium run economics, rather this is a fact of the technology. What is also attractive is the ability to change the design of the can at ease.

The domestic use of full colour digital inkjet printer in homes or offices enables the user to print a different document or image on each individual sheet. Leveraging the Tonejet technology, the same idea can be applied to cans, which can be used for orders of small to medium can runs, where the design for each can could be different or even personalised to an individual.

According to Foreman, the company’s Digital Decorator allows for different images to be printed one after the other without the need to stop the production line, change printing plates, or change printing inks. The high resolution digital imaging process also means that high quality photo images can be printed as well as traditional graphics.

While the benefit of cans providing an opportunity for brewers to use the full container height and the full 360 degree circumference is well known.

It’s significantly larger than a label can provide cost effectively, which arguably allows brewers in the UK and Ireland to increase their branding coverage.

“You are looking at around a tenth of the cost of a pressure-senstive label with this type of digital print technology,” Foreman adds. “That’s where this can win, it’s all about offering breweries that flexibility.”