Heinz Glas has no doubt about it: as far as high-end glass bottles are concerned, the market demand is clearly oriented towards the diversification of decorations. The decor has become a key element to achieve a high differentiation level. The trend has been amplified by the proliferation of flankers, but also by the growing popularity of niche brands and the growing demand for customization, leading the multiplication of limited editions.
For several years, Heinz Glas has invested heavily to master a wide array of finishing technologies. A new step forward this strategy was the recent launch of two new ranges of digitally printed decorations combining high added value and ease of customization.
Digital printing on cylindrical containers
To present its new digital printing capabilities on cylindrical bottles, the German glassmaker launched at Luxe Pack Monaco a home fragrance produced in partnership with perfume creator Fragrance Contact. "This new technique helps to achieve high quality decorations, including near-photographic quality prints, even for small series. And the possibilities are limitless," explains Yann Lefrancq-Béjina of Heinz Glas France.
Two production sites of the Heinz Glas group are already equipped with this digital technology that can print in 3D on cylindrical bottles with a capacity that can exceed 10,000 pieces a day.
Digital printing on textured glass
The other innovation that Heinz Glas presented at Luxe Pack was a combination of digital printing and textured glass to imitate real material textures. In practice, a laser attacks the glass mould to produce the texture corresponding to the desired effect. Then the support is decorated with digital printing to finalize the material effect.
Several decorations were presented at Luxe Pack: wood, slate, leather, wicker, textile and porcelain. An inlay of the original material was also glued on the bottle to strengthen the demonstration.
Of course, the two new techniques can be combined, depending on the customer’s imagination.
