The first cans to be printed on Orora’s new high-speed digital direct-to-can printing system, Helio, rolled off the line at the canmaker’s Dandenong facility in Victoria this week, marking a milestone not only for the company but for the region’s packaging sector. PKN was among the media contingent present.
The Helio system – built around Velox IDS-NC 500 technology – is the first of its kind to be installed in the southern hemisphere, and according to Orora, it also makes the company the first canmaker globally to integrate this type of press directly into a can manufacturing line.
Now fully operational and embedded into the site’s second production line, Helio is delivering photorealistic, full-colour decoration directly onto necked aluminium beverage cans at speeds of up to 500 units per minute. The solution provides Orora with a flexible and highly responsive production capability, suited to beverage segments including RTDs, carbonated soft drinks, craft beer, sparkling water and kombucha.
Flexible production for agile brands
Chris Smith, executive general manager of Orora Cans, says Helio marks a major shift in how brands can engage with consumers through packaging.
“Primary packaging plays an increasingly important role in influencing the purchase decision,” Smith said. “With Helio, we can offer customers greater freedom to express their brand personality through packaging, with fast turnarounds, no tooling costs, and high-end visual effects previously only possible on long runs.”
The direct-to-shape (DTS) technology at the heart of Helio eliminates the need for plates, labels or shrink sleeves. Instead, digital artwork is sent directly to press, allowing near-instant changeovers and cost-effective production of short and mid-size runs. This enables brands to easily create seasonal campaigns, test-market products, or execute targeted promotions with minimal lead time.
Helio also opens up new design possibilities: seamless 360° decoration, high-opacity white, gloss and matte varnishes, and printing on the chime and necked area of the can – a space often left undecorated using conventional processes. High-build finishes are also possible, adding further sensory impact.
“Nothing’s off limits”
Andrew Morwood, Customer Enhancement and Graphics manager at Orora Beverage, said the Helio press opens up entirely new creative territory for brand owners.
“Having spent years in customer meetings explaining what couldn’t be done with conventional can decoration, it’s exciting to now be saying, ‘Yes, we can do that’,” Morwood told PKN. “Whether it’s matte and gloss varnishes, high-build textures or bold use of colour, Helio changes the game – when it come's to can decoration, nothing’s off limits anymore.”
He added that the move to high-speed digital printing has long been anticipated by his team. “We’ve been talking about digital for years. This investment makes sense – the speed, the quality, the creative freedom. It’s a real turning point for us and our customers.”
A name built on colour and creativity
Helio’s visual identity also reflects the design freedom it enables. The name itself – drawn from ‘Helios’, the Greek god of the sun – was the outcome of a collaborative branding process between Orora’s innovation and design team, its Decoration Centre of Excellence, and the marketing department.
Savannah Murray, marketing manager at Orora Cans, said the concept was developed through a series of creative workshops exploring the emotional and visual resonance of digital can printing.
“We asked ourselves: what does this technology represent to us and to our customers? What does it make possible?” Murray said. “Helio represents light, energy, and every colour of the rainbow – especially those that are hard to achieve with conventional print, like purples and neon tones. It’s about shifting the conversation from ‘you can’t do that’ to ‘yes, we can’.”
Murray added that the branding rollout was being executed in two phases – a teaser campaign launched in August across digital and social platforms, followed by a full reveal in September, including a refreshed website, targeted advertising, and renewed customer engagement.
Sustainability and efficiency at the core
Alongside its creative flexibility, Helio offers strong sustainability credentials. By removing the need for shrink sleeves or pressure-sensitive labels – and the associated waste – it supports a more circular packaging solution. In addition, the agility of the system helps reduce overproduction and obsolescence.
Anoop Thakur, general manager of Procurement and Sustainability at Orora Cans, said the Helio installation aligns with the company’s broader decarbonisation goals.
“What stood out to us was the robustness of the Helio platform,” Thakur said. “It’s built for 24/7 operation, with intelligent redundancy and self-monitoring that maintains high performance and uptime.”
He added: “Every minute the plant is running, it consumes energy. By reducing downtime and eliminating changeovers on our long-run offset lines, we not only improve efficiency but make meaningful progress towards our sustainability targets.”
Thakur also noted the sustainability benefits of the can format itself. “Aluminium is an infinitely recyclable material, and cans are one of the most recovered packaging formats on the market. When combined with the elimination of plastic-based decorations, this becomes a compelling option for environmentally conscious brands.”
Investment in future-ready packaging
The Helio press complements recent investments across Orora’s can manufacturing network, including the installation of an $80 million multi-size can line at the Dandenong site in 2023, supported by the Victorian Government. Additional multi-size and classic-size can lines are being rolled out at Orora’s Revesby (NSW) and Rocklea (QLD) facilities, forming a broader strategy to meet growing demand for aluminium packaging in the region.
Smith says digital DTS printing will become increasingly central to that offering. “As demand grows for more personalised, localised, and sustainable packaging, we believe Helio – and the capabilities it brings – will help us support our customers’ evolving needs.”
“This is print innovation with purpose,” Smith said. “It’s about quality, speed, sustainability, and giving brands what they need to stand out – when and where it matters most.”
With the launch of Helio, Orora is transforming beverage packaging with sustainable, on-demand decoration that empowers brand creativity and market agility.
