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 pace 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 produce its new direct-to-shape digital printing resolution. Orora will buy Velox digital printing machines, inks and consumables. Orora has already begun to market the brand new service as Helio by Orora. The usage of cans in drinks is rising quickly, thanks partially 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 resolution to print, what it says are excessive decision full-colour pictures 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 revolutionary strategy, designed for high-speed, high-accuracy, switch of ink to container surfaces, at virtually any pace, delivering “excessive decision pictures 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 resembling low migration, scratch-resistance and heat-resistance.
Chris Smith, normal supervisor Orora Beverage Cans, informed 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 stated the Velox expertise will present better 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. As an illustration, its capacity to ship infinite randomisation in sequence permits large-scale promotional activations.
The introduction of Helio provides to the corporate’s vital funding in cans capability enlargement – in June this 12 months Orora accomplished development of an $80m multi-size can line on the Dandenong website.
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 fulfill the surging progress in demand for beverage cans.
Smith stated, “This digital ornament resolution 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 website.
“Now we 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 website in Israel.”
The brand new line shall be put in in June subsequent 12 months and operating by the third quarter. Smith stated Orora is launching Helio now as a result of it is already participating in conversations with model homeowners as they plan summer time campaigns for subsequent 12 months.
“Our function in main packaging is to assist our model homeowners have interaction the consumer on the level of buy. Helio and the Velox resolution will remodel our capacity to do that for our buyer’s manufacturers,” he stated.
“As soon as commissioned, what this implies for our clients is that wait time shall be considerably diminished in delivering a particular can dimension or label design for actions resembling 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 better flexibility in product and marketing campaign planning.”
Commenting on progress within the aluminium cans market, Smith stated, “We’re seeing the demand for aluminium cans proceed to develop, with notably thrilling developments throughout a variety of classes together with craft beer, comfortable 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 undertaking to increase can ends capability at Ballarat was accomplished in March, and a brand new $85M can line at Revesby, NSW, is underway and anticipated to come back on-line by Q1 2025.
Smith stated, “We all know that may graphic design and ornament is a essential software for participating shoppers – with sturdy in-house can ornament functionality, the Helio resolution enabled by high-speed, direct-to-shape digital printing, provides even better worth to Orora’s service providing for its clients.”
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 12 months 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 revolutionary improvement 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 primarily based there.
The Velox advisory board contains Dr Petra Severit, CTO at coatings developer Altana, which has a major stake in Landa, and since 2018 a stake in Velox. Altana is owned by Susanne Klatten, the richest girl in Germany, who has an estimated fortune of US$26bn.