A Belgian brewery is using a direct print customisation system to print onto 12,000 PET beer bottles per hour.
Developed by filling and packaging systems manufacturer KHS GmbH, the system uses Xaar 1002 printheads to jet high-resolution (360dpi physical and 1080dpi optical) text and images in five colours (CMYK+W) using low-migration LED-cured inks.
NMP Systems is a KHS subsidiary, and its managing director Phil Johnson says the direct printing onto empty PET bottles enables beverage companies to change graphics within minutes instead of weeks.
“The use of digital technologies for micro marketing in the packaging sector to maximise consumer engagement is accelerating,” Johnson says.
“The ability to create designs and print them directly onto bottles quickly virtually ‘on-the-fly’ is a powerful marketing tool which will give brands the ability to localise, personalise and customise their products to drive highly effective promotional campaigns.
“Brand owners are looking for deeper consumer engagement and digital printing will make it a reality.”
The Direct Print Powered by KHS performance system, which includes certified low-migration ink, artwork and pre-press solutions, sampling and industrial printing, could move PET bottle decoration into the filling and packaging world on an industrial scale.
The Xaar 1002 printheads enable KHS to print high-quality graphics at PET line production speeds in single pass directly onto PET bottles with reliability. Xaar’s TF Technology keeps the inks in continuous circulation, allowing the printheads to be mounted vertically in skyscraper mode on the print station carousels.
The Direct Print system jets graphics up to 70mm in height onto bottles ranging from 40-125mm in diameter with fast, automatic changeover from one bottle size to another when required. Modular in design, the Direct Print Powered by KHS™ system is available in configurations of 12,000, 24,000 or 36,000 bottles per hour.
Martens is one of the first companies to launch beer in PET bottles, with only a handful of companies using them for premium-brand beers in Western Europe.
KHS Pacific Pty Ltd is a supplier of packaging systems and equipment to the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries and is located in Victoria. 
Above: The digitally decorated Dagschotel PET beer bottles printed by Martens Brouwerij that ‘talk’ to you and each
other using a smartphone app.
