Personalised imprints or marketing campaigns linked to current sporting events – changing label motifs are very popular, since container decoration is an eye-catcher and influences consumers’ purchasing behaviour. At the same time, moreover, important information is provided, like nutritional data.
Even more freedom in terms of optical and haptic design is provided by direct printing with the Dekron DecoType Select: the high colour brilliancy and the ability to print on reliefs and structures enable multifarious design ideas to be implemented. Secondly, the option for altering label motifs at the touch of a button creates a high degree of flexibility: new marketing strategies, for example, can be adopted practically overnight, without having to first use up entirely labels still in stock or disposing of them. Another definite plus: because the ink is applied directly to the container, labels (which are often made of plastic) can be dispensed with.
Direct printing functions with both virgin PET and bottles made from recyclate. In the case of rPET, Krones’ subsidiary Dekron conducts additional tests in order to verify the quality of the input material and to specify the print settings correspondingly.
When recycling the imprinted bottles, it’s essential to ensure that the ink can be removed from the PET in its entirety. The American Association of Plastic Recyclers had confirmed to Krones back in 2018 that precisely this is possible. This means beverage producers need not worry about creating a separate recovery cycle, since die combination of material, ink and print order with the DecoType Select has demonstrated that these PET containers can be incorporated in the recycling flow.
