In recent years, direct-to-plastic and direct-to-glass cylindrical printing/decorating has expanded fast. This growth has been fueled by a variety of factors, including increased competition by brand owners to stand out on the shelf or in a crowd; increased technologies in colorful printing options, offering brand owners more options; cost savings through the elimination of an applied label and improved inventory control, and sustainability concerns where printing directly on the cylindrical container or cup eliminates the removal of a label in the recycling process.
Owner Of The Brand And Consumer Drivers
Because Kammann machines are designed to be adaptable, the majority of the time it is up to the client to decide which specific approaches to use.
Today’s brand owners seek every form of competitive edge for their items on shop shelves. The ability to utilize the full surface of a plastic container, bottle, or tube affords more chances for bright images and haptic effects than a label. Direct-to-container decoration is, in many ways, the silent salesperson for the brand or message being transmitted. Direct-to-container decorating offers the product the luxury appearance and feel that businesses demand.
Direct to Digital Can Printers has continued to expand as customers have realized they are no longer limited to one- or two-color designs and can instead employ graphic artists armed with innovative design software to print multi-coloured images on containers. Any product that is digitally produced with full-color graphics instead of having a printed label will ultimately win the struggle for shelf space.
The ability of printers to give personalization using digital inkjet technology is a further growth driver for direct-to-container printing for brand owners and customers. Because digital inkjet printing is entirely automated and does not require plates or screens, it is now possible to modify or alter the designs on each container. This technology is intriguing for brand owners and customers.
Manufacturing and technology leaders OMSO can supply equipment with inkjet, flexo, offset, hot stamp, and screen-printing capabilities.
In recent years, the pace of digital inkjet printing has grown substantially, giving greater potential for digitally printed containers and cups. According to Expert, stadium cups and polypropylene and polyethylene containers are now expanding markets in the direct-to-container industry. “Ska Fabricating has created digital inkjet technology that provides comprehensive solutions for all types of plastic containers, including load, pretreatment, multicolor print, extra varnish, and unload, at speeds of up to 600 pieces per hour”
Cost Savings Drivers
The removal of printing and applying a separate label has resulted in significant cost reductions for direct-to-container printing and decorating, which has contributed significantly to the industry’s growth over the past several years. Experts stated that direct printing is less wasteful than other methods. Direct printing is an on-site, one-step procedure.
Direct printing on containers and cups also facilitates inventory monitoring, which can result in cost savings. This is especially prominent with digitally printed containers and cups, where simple setup and less expensive tools allow printers to retain less inventory on hand and apply a just-in-time procedure. Direct-to-container or cup printing enables the client to print on demand and reduces back stock, as stated by Expert.
Sustainability Catalysts
A second factor contributing to the expansion of direct-to-container printing is the rising emphasis on sustainability. Brand owners continue to scrutinize every component of their packaging and seek out greener alternatives. Experts noted that the market is experiencing the effects of a change to more eco-friendly packaging solutions that exclude shrinking materials and, in some circumstances, printed labels and the adhesives used to attach them.
Since printing and decorating are performed directly on the plastic container, the elimination of a printed paper label is also good for the recycling process. When recycling a plastic container with a pressure-sensitive label, the label must be removed before recycling. Direct printing on the container avoids this step. There are alternative methods, such as in-mold labels that may be manufactured from a plastic film, to address this issue, but direct-to-container printing is an additional step towards more sustainable packaging.
The Prospect
As time passes, machines continue to increase in speed and can digitally print with a quicker start-up time. Experts decided that the chance exists to create printing equipment that is both quick and adaptable, but not so expensive as to make investment prohibitive.
Demand from brand owners increased technology for all types of decorating processes from screen printing and offset to digital and flexo, potential cost savings, and sustainability concerns will all contribute to the expansion of direct-to-container and other cylindrical product printing/decorating. All of these factors constitute the perfect storm for ongoing success.
