The rising wave of digital Direct-To-Shape printing

Gone were the days when branding on bottles, cans and other objects was limited to labels. Direct-To-Shape (DTS) has become a buzzword now. It is now changing the complete look and feel of the packaging. Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), the world’s largest brewer, produced customised cans for a large music festival they had sponsored. Using Tonejet direct-to-can printing capabilities, AB InBev created 10,000 customised cans for Tomorrowland, the world’s biggest electronic dance music festival, bringing together some 400,000 visitors from around 200 countries.

Tonejet, working together with AB InBev, printed 15 different can designs featuring national flags across just 10,000 units. The cans were produced in the exact quanti-ties required, without the minimum-order restrictions associated with traditional printing. The largest print run was 1400 cans, and the shortest was just 15 cans! This was achieved by Direct-to-shape printing technology.

Direct-to-shape

Packaging is not a mere decoration; it not only protects the content and shelf life of the product, but also gives valuable information about the product inside and is an excellent marketing tool. The packaging field has been dominated by the use of labels for branding, coding and decorating of product. But, the concept of direct-to-shape printing is a game changer, as it widens the perspective for branding by eliminating the use of labels. This technology can be used on a variety of shapes and curvatures made of different materials like glass, plastic, metal, cardboard, etc.

A disruptor or an enabler…

Whether this technology is a disruptor or an enabler, depends on how one perceives it. Whenever you adopt a new technology, you need a change in manufacturing environment. It will also require a lot of testing and collaboration. Other challenges will include maintaining the print resolution and acceptable adhesion.

But, the technology has been evolving and quality, consistency and feasibility are among the challenges that the industry is taking head on. As it is, digital printing eliminates costly parts of the analog process, and direct-to-shape takes it one step further by eliminating the cost of the labels and their application. Besides, it opens up new product idea and innovation, which the packaging always demands!

But, this will not mean the end of labels. They will continue to exist as the market is huge and there is still unwillingness to embrace the new technology.

The benefits

… Like digital printing, Direct-to-shape has similar benefits:

• Customisation: Brand managers have a choice to print a single container to high volumes, thus giving them the freedom to localise, personalise and customise their products to drive highly-effective promotional campaigns. Brands can con-duct new product trials cost-effectively.

• Faster & efficient production: Since there are minimal job set-up time and late stage differentiation, it means faster turnaround and shorter lead times. Production lines can handle any range of run lengths, providing ultimate production flexibility. Even coding and marking, variable data such as barcodes, etc can be integrated in DTS, thus saving a lot of time and money.

• Environmental benefits: Since there are no labels, DTS avoids waste from over-runs, misapplication or changing label designs.

Digital inkjet for direct-to-shape printing

Xaar’s printheads allow high quality, high-volume single-pass inkjet printing directly onto smooth and shaped containers with exceptional reliability.

Tonejet’s direct-to-can digital printer – Cyclone – with inbuilt Rockwell iTRAK transport system has been designed to remove the barriers associated with small batch canning and includes features and capabilities adapted to the requirements of today’s print environment – a unique approach to beverage can production. This system brings a new level of competitiveness to beverage can production for short to medium runs as well as ultra-short runs. Built to accommodate any design at any run length, Tonejet’s direct-to-can printing capabilities provides brands with an opportunity to manage special or one-off print runs and easily accommodate for events or festivals, social media campaigns and competitions or even limited-edition beverages.

Xerox Direct to Object press prints on cylindrical objects using a version of the same Xerox stainless steel piezo inkjet head that was inherent to the CiPress continuous feed press. Instead of firing the phase-change (solid) ink that the CF press has used, the direct to object printer uses a more conventional UV cured ink. The primary application is for personalizing items such as water bottles. Xerox anticipates that both printers and retail stores will purchase the press.’

Heidelberg OmniFire 250 and 1000 combines advanced Inkjet technology with high-precision robotics to directly print on objects. The Omnifire 250 has a 4 axis robot system to handle smaller, round products, the Omnifire 1000 has a 6 axis robot handling system to move more irregular items of up to 1 meter length. The most famous OmniFire 250 installation is producing personalised soccer balls.

While, Mimaki UJF series includes features that enable users including commercial print service providers, promotional and personalization item printers, makers, technologists, educators and manufacturers, to create specialty items, awards, and personalized products; and for customized ‘just-in-time’ production, component pieces and more.

These are just a few printers, there are so many more. The industry is opening up and we may see many more developments in near future.