Ultra-violet Printing of Aluminum Beverage Cans
When the aluminum cans are formed, they are washed and cleaned. A special coating also is applied on the inside of the can. On the printing press up to 6 different ink rollers supply the colors that coat the printing plates. (Similar process compared to offset lithography). After making contact with the rubber blanket, the can has a complete negative image per color. The process is considered wet on wet ink. After going through each color on the rotary belt, the final image is formed and a special coating is applied to each can to protect the can/colors from wear and tear. The completed cans are sent to the UV oven, that operate over 100 F and contains between six and eight 300 watt/inch UV lamps. Both inside and outside of the can are exposed to the light to ensure proper ink curing.
Read more about this topic: UV Coating
Famous quotes containing the words printing, aluminum and/or cans:
“It seems not more reasonable to leave the right of printing unrestrained, because writers may be afterwards censured, than it would be to sleep with doors unbolted, because by our laws we can hang a thief.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)
“With two sons born eighteen months apart, I operated mainly on automatic pilot through the ceaseless activity of their early childhood. I remember opening the refrigerator late one night and finding a roll of aluminum foil next to a pair of small red tennies. Certain that I was responsible for the refrigerated shoes, I quickly closed the door and ran upstairs to make sure I had put the babies in their cribs instead of the linen closet.”
—Mary Kay Blakely (20th century)
“I was so angry to realize I’m a Quebecois, with no past, no history, just two cans of maple syrup.”
—Jean Claude Lauzon (b. 1954)