Digital Printing Process wins the 2017 Horners Bottlemakers Award announced at Interplas

The Horners Bottlemaking Award for 2017 will be awarded to First Editions Ltd for their use of digital printing to decorate LDPE sports water bottles.

The digital process allows high quality full colour printing to be fully applied around the bottle including on non-flat areas such as shoulders and handle areas which cannot be reached using conventional methods.

Unlike conventional printing the process works directly from digital artwork without the use of screens or plates and enables First Editions to give a truly bespoke service with no minimum order quantity.

This is the first use of the newly developed technology for such applications in Europe and First Editions have had to overcome significant technical problems to achieve a successful production process, not least of which was the implementation of atmospheric plasma surface treatment to enhance the properties of the LDPE surface to ensure compatibility with the ink systems used in the digital print heads.

The Highly Commended Certificate was awarded to Kinneir Dufort for their “Super Lightweight Twist” bottle which offers a substantial weight saving on previous designs but also has an innovative “Twist” feature which will reduce the volume when being returned for recycling.

RPC Promens Industrial UK were also awarded a highly commended award for their Tetrosyl Carlube AdBlue which is an easy-to-use container for the consumer on the garage forecourt, which integrates a storage area for a spout into the design of the pack. 

The winner, First Editions Ltd will be presented with their award by the Lord Mayor of the City of London during the Horners Annual Banquet at the Mansion House.