Digital Printing

Digital printing is the most promising development project at Ball Packaging Europe, because this technology will revolutionise can design options.

Digital printing enables extremely small batches of top-class designs with far greater definition to be produced cost-effectively in photographic quality. The beverage can provides an excellent surface for advertising and brilliant designs.  Together with digital printing, it is the ideal promotion instrument for a wide range of different promotional campaigns and events. For example, it is feasible that at a football championship somebody photographs the golden goal. Several minutes later the image is printed on the can and on the next morning the printed cans are already standing on the supermarket shelves. 

This futuristic scenario becomes reality with digital printing because digital photos can be scanned directly into the printers and special editions produced at a moment's notice. 

Using this technology it is possible to change designs without having to stop the machines, therefore eliminating change-over time stoppages. The advantage for the customer is "printing on demand" because, in theory, the production lines are capable of printing each individual can with a different design. This technology is particularly interesting for premium quality products produced as special editions, as it combines the advantages of individual beverage can design with high definition in photographic quality.

Ball Packaging Europe is on the point of completing the development phase of the sophisticated digital printing technology. The results of the initial trials are already very promising.