Craft beer brands have unique needs when it comes to printing labels for their products. Creative ink requirements, shorter print runs, and a variety of job types are just a few. Unfortunately, their needs aren’t always apparent upfront — to the microbrewer or the converter responsible for printing.
Today’s leading digital presses provide the agility and versatility converters need to anticipate and respond to craft beer brands’ changing label requirements. Their compact design integrates all relevant production functions, including corona treatment, white ink, digital varnish, and others.
In this article, discover how you as the converter can demonstrate your insights into the unique needs of the craft beer industry by offering three critical printing capabilities. You will also find how operating a digital press can be as straightforward as it is versatile, so you can focus more on the client experience.
1. Process optimization
Digital presses shorten the time required to set up and complete a job, making short-run print jobs more viable with consistent results across jobs. Converters can also streamline a variety of orders, increase productivity, and minimize production errors even when small batches are required.
Automating processes, load balancing, and digital “interfacing” capabilities can also make printing more user friendly and cost effective. For example, the Epson SurePress L-6534 automates maintenance throughout the day, so that operators need only check in once daily. As a result, converters can reallocate resources to better service craft beer brands or pass potential savings on to clients.
2. Job flexibility
For converters, it’s critical to provide a wide variety of label options, each with a different look and feel. This way, they can remain responsive to craft beer brands, which are subject to sudden market changes that require new designs. Digital presses enable converters to provide craft beer brands with a variety of choices in terms of label materials, textures, and appearances, even for shorter print runs.
For example, some of the latest digital presses feature unique digital varnish and versatile substrate support. Craft beer brands also have their choice of off-the-shelf materials, including uncoated, gloss, and semi-gloss papers. The right digital press also means that a converter can hit spot colors for brands and ensure label text is legible on a variety of different mediums — even with very small font sizes.
3. The ability to project contemporary designs
Due to their market, craft beer brands need designs that exceed consumers’ expectations — they need designs that POP. Converters need to be able to translate creative designs into printed labels that provide their intended design effect, whether or not the design arrives in a format for printing on a traditional flexographic press.
Thanks to modern digital presses, craft beer brands or their agencies do not need to be familiar with print technology to achieve their intended label designs. Their creative teams can focus on what they do best instead — creating compelling designs for consumers based on what they see on their screens (e.g., via Adobe Illustrator).
Specifically, converters using modern digital presses can accept client designs as designed and then use a variety of inks, substrates, and embellishments (e.g., digital varnish) to realize the design intent in a brand’s printed labels. Digital makes adding embellishments cost efficient and helps ensure label designs reflect what craft beer brand design teams originally have in mind.
Putting your customers first
Converters who provide these capabilities also provide better customer experiences. They are able to say “Yes!” to unique craft beer brand requests. In this way, they are well positioned to build customer loyalty as craft beer brands attempt to remain competitive in their unique markets.
Partner with Epson for the technology that makes these opportunities a reality. You can visit Epson.com/SurePress any time or speak directly with an Epson SurePress expert by calling:
Western U.S. (818) 620-2730 | Central U.S. (630) 710-6005 | Eastern U.S. (615) 585-9058
