Novel Inks Clearly Signal when Beverages are Chilled & Ready to Enjoy
Philadelphia, PA – July 13, 2009. What's better than a refreshingly cold beverage on a hot summer day? How about beverage packaging that can visually communicate when the product inside is cold enough to taste its best? Thermochromic inks from CROWN Beverage Packaging North America, a business unit of Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CCK) (Crown)(www.crowncork.com) do just that by changing color to indicate that the beverage inside has reached its ideal temperature for consumption.
Most recently utilized by Molson Canada on its 12 oz and 16 oz cans of Coors Light, Crown's thermochromic ink technology transforms the package's white snow-capped mountains to a deep shade of blue to indicate when the beer is “as cold as the Rockies.” The distinctive package was recently recognized with a Gold award at the biennial PAC Leadership Awards, a national packaging competition in Canada.
Crown has also applied its thermochromic ink technology to packaging for other beverage products in North America.
Thermochromic inks are spot applied to packaging graphics, helping specific design elements emerge as the temperature of the can decreases. At room temperature, the ink is colorless, but when chilled, can appear as several different colors including blue, green, red and black. The inks can be customized to the temperature requirements of individual beverages, ranging between 43 and 46 degrees Fahrenheit or six and eight degrees Celsius.
“Crown was the first company in North America to commercialize thermochromic inks in 2005, and we've made numerous strides with the application process since then,” says John Corelli, Manager, Graphic Planning, Customer & Technical Service, North America. “Our Crown Graphic Centers utilize a state of the art digital process and employ unique proprietary separation and print methods that maximize turnaround to market and competitive color and print quality to our valued customers. We work continuously to adapt new ink technologies to metal substrates, allowing us to offer brand owners new ways to differentiate their products.”
About Crown Holdings, Inc.
Crown Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is a leading supplier of packaging products to consumer marketing companies around the world. World headquarters are located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For more information, visit www.crowncork.com.
For more information, contact:
In Europe: Caroline Archer-Reed, Marketing Director; Tel; +33 1 49 18 40 43; Email: caroline.archer-reed@eur.crowncork.com.
In the United States: Tom Hughes, Marketing Manager; Tel: (215) 698-5289; Email: thomas.hughes@crowncork.com.
For editorial inquiries: Michael F. Dunleavy, Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Public Relations; Tel: (215) 698-5051; Email: mdunleavy@crowncork.com.