Food and beverage equipment manufacturer Krones AG is premiering a new system, DecoType, for printing directly onto plastic bottles.
Digital direct printing on containers and packages during an ongoing production operation opens up an abundance of new options, according to the Neutraubling, Germany-based company, offering "huge potential" for the beverage industry as well as market segments in household and cosmetics, for converters and for glass manufacturers.
Compared to the application of labels to containers, the DecoType direct printing method offers significantly more scope for individualised, attractive design of the containers, and is said to be ideally suited for supporting marketing campaigns and product launches.
"The use of updated decors or short-notice launches of newly developed products enables the client to react swiftly to changes and emergent trends on the market," the company says.
Increasingly frequent requests for individualisation have led to smaller batch sizes, with concomitantly small label print runs – digital direct printing can "significantly enhance" the affordability of such jobs, Krones says.
Digital direct printing also creates new options for the designer, allowing haptics to be married with optics, for instance, or print on uneven surfaces.
A picture template can be transformed simply and immediately into a printed image. And variable data such as barcodes or best-before dates, all the way through to individual-product tracking, can also be easily integrated without any problems.
A whole new variant of decoration
With the new DecoType direct printing system, print heights of up to 200mm can be achieved using UV inks.
In modularised, compact construction, the machine is suitable for empty plastic containers made of PET, PP or PE, in either cylindrical or bespoke shapes.
Integrated printing units with ink supply and automatic pushbutton adjustment facilitate change-overs, and the pushbutton-controlled cleaning process has also been automated. Ink top-ups function "flawlessly", while arc emitters ensure reliable UV-drying of the printed containers.
Digital container decoration using DecoType also enables printing on container structures that were previously npt available using current labelling methods.
"The high flexibility provided by the digital technology involved avoids overproduction of labels, no longer requires any label adhesive, and reduces storage costs," the company says.
"By launching the DecoType, Krones has expanded its product portfolio for container dress to include an entirely new decoration variant."
Krones is also planning a DecoType application for glass containers.
www.krones.com
