Discover your next big idea at PACK EXPO Las Vegas this September
Experience a breakthrough in packaging & processing and transform your business with solutions from 2,300 suppliers spanning all industries.
REGISTER NOW & SAVE

Tea labels push process printing

Six-color process printing results in deeper colors, higher resolution and more press efficiencies for Hansen's new line of ready-to-drink teas.

Pw 20446 Thehigcolfid 1

Last month, Hansen Beverage Co., Corona, CA, debuted its new line of all-natural, ready-to-drink teas in glass bottles with striking, metallized labels printed by a unique, new six-color process. Fort Dearborn Co. (Niles, IL) offset-prints the labels on a metallized paper substrate using its patented, proprietary HiColour(TM) version of six-color process printing. The new printing method:

* results in cleaner, brighter colors

* eliminates the need for using special line colors

* reduces the cost per thousand

Each of the five different tea labels has its own color scheme, with a deep, two-tone color background depicting artwork of Asian-style dragons. The teas have an Asian-style theme due to herbal ingredients that the ancient Chinese believed to have healthful effects on the body.

All labels are printed on a 57# metallized paper substrate. White, black and gold trim are used for the product name, and the back panel consists of a metallized gold story box and another metallized color (which is different for each label) for the Nutrition Facts box. According to Fort Dearborn, there's nothing especially unique about the label substrate itself.

One of HiColour's main benefits is that Hansen can achieve richer, deeper color tones, without using special line colors. "We're getting truer, brighter and cleaner process colors compared to traditional four-color process," says Steve Clark, marketing manager at Hansen. An example is the gold: "Most people would assume we use a special color to achieve that gold," says Clark. Instead, it is process-printed using the six-color process. "I have yet to see a good gold using four-color process," he adds.

While Hansen's tea bottle labels are using HiColour to eliminate the need for special line colors to provide deeper, richer colors, the labels don't feature a multi-color illustration that takes advantage of the range of colors available with HiColour. For now, the real benefit of HiColour is on-press, where all five labels--each with a dramatically different color scheme--are printed on a common sheet on an offset press.

Coding, Marking, and Labeling Innovations Report
Explore our editor-curated report featuring cutting-edge coding, labeling, and RFID innovations from PACK EXPO 2024. Discover high-speed digital printing, sustainable label materials, automated labeling systems, and advanced traceability solutions that are transforming packaging operations across industries.
Access Report
Coding, Marking, and Labeling Innovations Report
Conveying Innovations Report
Editors report on distinguishing characteristics that define each new product and collected video demonstrating the equipment or materials as displayed at the show. This topical report, winnowed from nearly 300 PACK EXPO collective booth visits, represents a categorized, organized account of individual items that were selected based on whether they were deemed to be both new, and truly innovative, based on decades of combined editorial experience in experiencing and evaluating PACK EXPO products.
Take me there
Conveying Innovations Report