Pressure-sensitive labels for craft beers

For many beer manufacturers, printing directly onto the aluminum can is the status quo. However, a new trend in craft and specialty beer labels is applying a pressure-sensitive label to the can itself, as if it were a bottle. The Wynkoop Brewing Company in Colorado has applied this method to some of its most popular brews to great success and industry attention. 

“Wynkoop canned around one hundred cases of the unique beer in its first production. Each can has a front and back four-color flexographic-pressure sensitive label on a clear poly stock, mimicking the decoration technique traditionally used for glass beer bottles. The design of the label was intended to allow the can to pop through and gives the look as if the can is actually painted.”

Because canned liquid (particularly when carbonated) can expand and contract under pressure, labels haven’t been a very attractive option for adorning aluminum cans. However, advances in pressure-sensitive stocks have given bottlers and canners another way to display their logo on individual units. 

In a marketplace more and more dominated by bespoke touches, a separate label gives consumers a handmade impression with greater attention to detail. Labels can be the distinction that separate a truly specialty beer variety from its mass-produced competitors. The best part for manufacturers is that with an industrial label printer, applicator and software, those production runs can be scaled to match growth in popularity. 

At DuraFast, we have a wide range of printing solution for all types of stock that can help distinguish your brand from its competition. Contact us today to learn more about the convenience of taking custom label strategy into your own hands.