Ball Corporation Opens Expanded Graphics Center of Excellence

Ball's GCOE delivers high-quality can graphics, customer convenience and among the fastest pilot turnaround in the beverage metal packaging industry to Ball's local, national and global customers.

Oct 14 2011 --- Ball Corporation, the leading supplier of metal beverage cans and bottles in the world, opened an expansion of the company's Graphics Center of Excellence (GCOE) in Westminster, Colo.

Ball's GCOE delivers high-quality can graphics, customer convenience and among the fastest pilot turnaround in the beverage metal packaging industry to Ball's local, national and global customers.

"As more global consumers make recyclable cans their package of choice, advanced graphics capabilities have become vital for brands seeking to stand out on retail shelves and capture sustainability-conscious consumers," said Jim Peterson, Ball's vice president, marketing and corporate affairs. "Beverage cans offer a 360-degree billboard for brands to reach consumers. Our expanded GCOE, along with smaller sister facilities in Europe and Asia, leverage the advantages of the can and provide industry-leading graphics that help build brands."

Ball's Colorado GCOE combines the company's extensive metal packaging experience, brand-building creativity and state-of-the-art technology to deliver inclusive one-stop design-to-printed-can service to customers. It features a pilot line for both graphic testing and color standards and offers a variety of printing capabilities, including:

* Eyeris Enhanced Graphics printing that brings improved definition and fine detail to beverage can graphics, creating premium, on-shelf differentiation.
* Dry offset printing, which uses a digital print head that prints top quality design with a resolution of 600dpi directly on to the can surface, lessening dry time of the can and improving graphics quality.
* High definition printing that brilliantly holds fine detail of a can's artwork, greatly improving consumer appeal.
* Matte printing that adds dimension and differentiates cans with a distinctive, premium look.
* Thermochromic inks that use temperature sensitive external inks to indicate to consumers when a beverage is at its optimal temperature to enjoy.

"Customers can fly to Colorado to approve their can standards, and if they require changes to the graphics -- and we prepared them -- we can make the changes and get back on press the same day," said Janelle Harris,director, North American graphic services for Ball. "Typically it would take 2-3 weeks for the changes and possibly another 4-6 weeks before the presses roll again. But with everything under one roof at Ball, ideas get to market faster."