ORORA INVESTS IN DIGITAL CAN PRINTING

Orora Beverage is putting in the area’s first Velox digital, high-speed, full-colour, can printing system, enabling customisation of can design and ornament, and quick velocity to marketplace for new merchandise and promotions.

The primary digital printer shall be put in at Orora’s can manufacturing facility in Dandenong, the place Orora presently decorates cans with conventional high-speed offset ornament processes. The 2 processes – offset and digital – will run side-by-side.

Orora has simply signed an settlement with Israel-based world supplier, Velox, to provide its new direct-to-shape digital printing answer. Orora will buy Velox digital printing machines, inks and consumables. Orora has already begun to market the brand new service as Helio by Orora. Using cans in drinks is rising quickly, thanks partly to the just about infinite abilty of aluminium to be recycled.

Velox makes use of two core proprietary applied sciences in its DTS direct-to-shape answer to print, what it says are excessive decision full-colour photos and textual content direct onto on any form and materials at excessive quantity: Adaptive Deposition Structure and Variable Viscosity Ink.

The corporate says its Adaptive Deposition Structure is an modern method, designed for high-speed, high-accuracy, switch of ink to container surfaces, at virtually any velocity, delivering “excessive decision photos and exact color matching”.

Variable Viscosity Ink is a specifically formulated household of digital UV inks that the corporate claims delivers “unprecedented printing high quality and flexibility”. The corporate says the tech minimises the trade-off between print high quality and ink protection effectivity, enabling versatile ornament, and “exceptionally vivid and intense course of colors with managed opacity”, any container materials or coating.

Velox says the inks additionally supply improved adhesion and different useful properties akin to low migration, scratch-resistance and heat-resistance.

Chris Smith, basic supervisor Orora Beverage Cans, advised Print21 the offset printing expertise shall be complemented by the digital print functionality, which brings the advantages of fast turnaround from design to supply, with the lead time required by printing plates eradicated.

Smith mentioned the Velox expertise will present higher operational flexibility, catering to smaller minimal portions, and lowering stock overproduction. He’s fast to level out that the expertise’s utility isn’t restricted to quick runs. For example, its means to ship infinite randomisation in sequence allows large-scale promotional activations.

The introduction of Helio provides to the corporate’s important funding in cans capability growth – in June this yr Orora accomplished development of an $80m multi-size can line on the Dandenong web site.

The brand new line, which will increase manufacturing capability by round 10 per cent, and permits for the manufacture of various can sizes and codecs, mixed with the high-speed Helio digital print functionality, strengthens considerably Orora’s place to satisfy the surging progress in demand for beverage cans.

Smith mentioned, “This digital ornament answer will complement and capitalise on the funding at Dandenong, signifying a step change to our management in can ornament. We have already got in-house experience in innovation and pre-press ornament, this expertise will improve our ornament centre of excellence at this web site.

“We now have been assessing the event of direct-to-shape digital ornament expertise for cans for a while,” he added.

“Velox has confirmed functionality and holds quite a few patents for this expertise. Orora has labored with Velox to evaluation trial supplies and examine machines at its web site in Israel.”

The brand new line shall be put in in June subsequent yr and working by the third quarter. Smith mentioned Orora is launching Helio now as a result of it is already participating in conversations with model homeowners as they plan summer season campaigns for subsequent yr.

“Our function in major packaging is to assist our model homeowners have interaction the patron on the level of buy. Helio and the Velox answer will remodel our means to do that for our buyer’s manufacturers,” he mentioned.

“As soon as commissioned, what this implies for our prospects is that wait time shall be considerably diminished in delivering a particular can dimension or label design for actions akin to promotions, new merchandise and limited-edition retail occasions. With no label set-up required and near-immediate provide, shorter, sooner minimal runs could be accommodated, offering higher flexibility in product and marketing campaign planning.”

Commenting on progress within the aluminium cans market, Smith mentioned, “We’re seeing the demand for aluminium cans proceed to develop, with significantly thrilling developments throughout various classes together with craft beer, gentle drinks, RTDs and seltzers. Cans are a terrific sustainable, packaging choice, handy for a lot of events and most significantly, produced from aluminium containing recycled content material, with the can itself being infinitely recyclable.”

Funding within the can manufacturing capability has been ongoing. Other than the brand new Dandenong line, a $30m mission to develop can ends capability at Ballarat was accomplished in March, and a brand new $85M can line at Revesby, NSW, is underway and anticipated to return on-line by Q1 2025.

Smith mentioned, “We all know that may graphic design and ornament is a crucial device for participating shoppers – with sturdy in-house can ornament functionality, the Helio answer enabled by high-speed, direct-to-shape digital printing, provides even higher worth to Orora’s service providing for its prospects.”

Velox was based a decade in the past by two brothers, Marian and Adrian Cofler. It constructed its first prototype two years later, and by 2017 had a beta system operational. The next yr it put in its first tube printing system. In 2021 it teamed up with Crown Holdings to develop digital ornament for necked aluminium cans.

The Velox printing expertise represents one other modern growth from Israel, which has change into a digital print powerhouse; with HP Indigo, Highcon digital die cutters, Scodix digital embellishment, Landa nano expertise, and Kornit DTG simply a few of the new applied sciences based mostly there.

The Velox advisory board contains Dr Petra Severit, CTO at coatings developer Altana, which has a big stake in Landa, and since 2018 a stake in Velox. Altana is owned by Susanne Klatten, the richest lady in Germany, who has an estimated fortune of US$26bn.