Although most brewers develop new craft varieties hoping that customers will be attracted by its flavor or taste, many American consumers choose their beer when buying, which means that the packaging is sometimes as important as the alcohol in the bottle or can . This puts smaller winemakers in a challenging position. They need to find ways to create vibrant designs that make their brands stand out, while maintaining cost-effectiveness when producing labels in the short term.
The good news: The craft beer movement’s pursuit of uniqueness and diversity is consistent with the flexibility provided by digital and hybrid printing. By leveraging the power of digital printing, brewers can achieve brand goals with clearer and more refined design details, distinguishing labels from competitors.
Through digital printing, craft brewers hope that the unique brand experience achieved through each product becomes more feasible, while improving the durability and functionality of the label.
When new craft beer products are released, the rapid conversion and short-term capabilities of digital printers allow beer manufacturers to easily add seasonal or regional designs and beer variations. Digital printing provides the ability to produce a variety of labels, because the converter can switch to different graphics instantly. In these cases, using a label template design with changes can greatly reduce setup time and allow changes such as taste or promotional design changes.
Another advantage of digital printing is that it can be printed on site. Because traditional flexographic printing requires plate making and more equipment space, it makes more sense for beer producers to outsource printing. As the footprint of digital printing becomes smaller, more powerful, and easier to use, it becomes meaningful for brewers to invest in digital printing technology.
The on-site printing function enables a more efficient turnaround time internally. When brewers create new flavors of beer, they can make labels in the next room. Having this technology on site ensures that brewers can create labels to match the number of beers produced.
Functionally, brewers seek waterproof labels to withstand continuous and heavy exposure to water and other moisture-related conditions. Aesthetically, they need a label that can attract consumers. Digital printing can help craft brewers compete with large beer companies that have advantages in brand loyalty and visibility.
Whether the brewer is looking for a glossy or matte label, a warehouse look or the feel of a boutique, digital printing technology provides unlimited options for what beer producers and distributors are trying to achieve with their products.
The high-quality printing capability of digital printing is getting stronger and stronger, and it can print eye-catching graphics, attract consumers’ attention, arouse emotions, or become interested in new and unique flavors. Although the results usually depend on the substrate and how the ink absorbs and reacts, there are many well-known brands whose labels are made with numbers.
Even if the labels use metallic, glossy or shiny textures-mainly developed through more complex processes (such as multi-pass printing)-digital printing has become more capable of producing these high-quality labels without complicated operations.
Certain substrates always bring more challenges. For example, the glossier the substrate, the less ink will be absorbed, so more consideration is needed in production. In general, digital printing can achieve the effect that was achieved by multiple passes or multiple finishing operations on a standard printing press in the past to achieve a similar appearance.
In addition, processors can always add decorations to finishing operations, such as special stamps, foils or spot colors, depending on the value of the product. But more commonly, processors are turning to matte finishes, shabby chic looks-this is not only unique to the craft beer industry, but also provides endless cost-benefit options to create appealing consumers Unique label.
Craft brewing is about product exclusivity, which means that various flavors can be customized according to the region or specific time of the year, and then quickly shared with the market-this is exactly what digital printing can provide.
Carl DuCharme is the commercial support team leader for Paper Converting Machine Company (PCMC). For more than 100 years, PCMC has been a leader in flexographic printing, bag processing, paper towel processing, packaging and nonwoven technology. To learn more about PCMC and the company’s products, services and expertise, please visit PCMC’s website and contact page www.pcmc.com.
Post time: Dec-08-2021