“In for a penny, in for a pound”—it’s an old saying being put to the test by Canadian can printer Solucan. In 2019 the firm was the first to fully capitalize on an innovative direct-to-shape Cyclone digital can printing technology from Tonejet for 12-oz aluminum cans. Just two years later, the firm ordered up a second complete can handling and printing line, but this time with a Cyclone C4+ that deploys a longer variant of Tonejet’s printhead to permit the printing of 16-oz cans. The C4+ also has an upgraded user interface, simplified ink refills, and active adaptable can handling to permit rapid changeover between variations in can sizes.
Few are more surprised by the arrival of this second digital can printing system than Solucan President At Hart Print, cans enter the 16-station rotary printing system from above.At Hart Print, cans enter the 16-station rotary printing system from above.and co-founder Sebastien Baril.
“The idea was to start with a line capable of printing 12-oz cans and then replace it once Tonejet had developed a printhead capable of doing 16-oz cans,” says Baril. “We figured we’d print as many as 500,000 12-oz cans while we waited for the longer printhead to be available. But demand for the 12-oz cans is so keen that we wound up printing more than six million cans with the original system. It soon became clear that we needed to add a second line rather than swapping out one printer for another.”
Continue to the full article here: Digital Continues to Transform Printing and Finishing
