To enhance brand value through printing on aluminum cans, the primary thing first of all is the attractiveness of the shelves. As eyeSee eye-tracking surveys, aluminum cans with Pantone-certified high-precision printing (color difference ΔE≤1.5) have a 37% higher likelihood to be seen at retail terminals (only 22% for ordinary printing with ΔE≥3.5). PepsiCo Star Wars limited edition can available in 2023 uses 12-color intaglio printing technology to copy character details (175LPI accuracy, industry standard is 150LPI). Its sales increased by 53% in the first week on Walmart, and shelf life was extended by 1.8 seconds (Nielsen POS data).
Brand story communication effectiveness is highly related to printing technology. The Cherry Blossom Season that Coca-Cola can introduce in the Japanese market provides 3D petal textures through nanoimprinting technology (10,000dpi resolution). The accuracy rate of touch recognition is increased by 89% (user research data), and the social media sharing rate is increased by 42% compared to ordinary cans. Carlsberg laser-engraved cans (0.02mm±0.005mm engraving depth) display the company’s past along a timeline as light and shade vary, increasing consumers’ brand awareness by 31% (rated by Kantar BrandZ).
Anti-counterfeiting and traceability functionality fosters trust. Ball Corporation’s Laser Light Can technology engraved invisible QR codes on the surface of the can with an accuracy of 0.05mm (ultraviolet activation), reducing the rate of counterfeiting of Monster Energy from 0.07% to 0.0003%. In the meantime, with the blockchain traceability system (data on-chain delay ≤0.3 seconds), there is full tracking of the batch of manufacturing and nodes of logistics. Heineken uses conductive ink to print NFC chips (≤0.001% misreading rate), with a 23% user QR code interaction rate and 18% increase in repurchase rate (2023 financial report statistics).
Environmental printing technology aligns with the ESG strategy. The water-based UV ink printing on aluminum cans (VOC emission ≤5g/m² vs. solvent-based ink 25g/m²) helped AB InBev achieve CDP water Safety Level A certification. And increase the recyclability of tanks – the InBev green tank’s printing layer peeling percentage has hit 99.9% (92% in regular processes), while the usage ratio of recycled aluminium has increased to 85% (industry: 60%). The plant-based ink printed Pernod Ricard cans enjoy a tax benefit of €12 per thousand cans in the framework of the EU carbon tariff and reduce the carbon footprint by 28% (SBTi certification data).
Reconstruction of cost-effectiveness of ROI. Digital print technology decreases the minimum order quantity (MOQ) from 500,000 cans to 5,000 cans (HP Indigo 20,000 data) and shortens the sampling cycle from 14 days to 48 hours, enabling craft beer brands to customize regional designs – the Constellation series cans of California Modern Times feature 12 pattern areas. The can premium is $0.15, and the sales growth rate per annum is 67%. Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign, using variable data Printing (VDP) to print 150 names on cans, resulted in a growth of 2.4 times in quarterly sales and a drop in the cost of acquiring customers (CAC) by 19%.
It is technological innovation that drives scene marketing. Budweiser’s AR interactive cans, created in partnership with Snapchat, activate augmented reality animations according to the designs on the can body (with a 98.7% image recognition accuracy rate), increasing the interaction time of users aged between 18 and 24 from 7 seconds to 23 seconds and increasing brand memory by 55% (Meta Consumer Lab report). The limited edition cans of Red Bull Music Festival are embedded with RFID tags (1.2m±0.1m reading range), achieving ticket authentication and welfare redemption integration, cutting 32% of event operating costs, and building consumption habits of 87% of visitors.
Regulatory compliance ensures global circulation. EU EN 71-3 certification requires the level of heavy metal migration should be ≤0.01mg/kg. The print speed of the process of printing on aluminum cans using food-grade UV-cured ink is 100% (while that of normal ink is only 68%). Through the FDA 21 CFR 175.300 regulation, Ball Corporation’s epoxy resin coating and printing ink solution enables the bisphenol A residue to be ≤0.001ppm (the regulatory standard is 0.05ppm), helping the brand break into Japan’s Food Hygiene Law’s high barriers (reducing compliance costs by 41%).