In Tin Packaging, Colors Do Matter

Did you know that Coca-Cola has color codes that are given to all of their printers so that no matter who prints it, Coke Red is still the same. Color is that important to their brand. Having a widely-recognized brand color is a smart move.

Marketing and design specialist Raj Vardhman has compiled a number of interesting facts about the “psychology of color” and its impact on viewer engagement:

• It takes approximately 90 seconds for a viewer to make a quick product assessment — and two-thirds of this judgment is based on color.
• Color is a key reason for selecting a particular product. For instance, two-thirds of shoppers won’t purchase a large appliance if it isn’t available in their preferred color.
• The classic notion of “pink for girls” and “blue for boys” turns out to be generally true (despite the penchant for choosing yellow when a family doesn’t want to “channel” their newborn towards a particular gender 
• identity). Bold colors or shades of blue, black and darker green are preferred by most men, whereas more women prefer soft colors or tints of purple, pink, rose and lighter green.

Images are printed with 4-color process – yellow, magenta, cyan and black are combined to achieve most colors. These colors are applied in layers and the full image is achieved. The overall image can print with near-photo quality, with a good representation of each color and hue. But when there is a target color that has to be exact, a line print with a specially formulated color is required – usually at an additional cost. Most printing lines are 4 color.

In 1990, Independent Can became its own printer in order to have a timely supply of high quality metal lithography for its can making operations. In 2004, its 75th Anniversary year, ICC installed the first of its kind in the USA, Metal Star 2, six-color printing line. This enabled the company to print 4-color process and add special colors with one pass.

The Pantone Matching System (PMS) is what most commercial paper printers and metal decorators use for color reference as specified by the customer. In metal 

printing, a color roll-out on metal is produced to show the customer how that Pantone (PMS) color will look on the metal that will form their decorative can. Independent Can’s ability to color match gives brand owners the assurance that their specialty tin package will coordinate with all of their other packaging and marketing materials.

Iams Dog Food understands the importance of color. On this award-winning promotional can, the beautiful dogs were printed with 4-color process over white prints to allow the metal to show through in some areas. Their brand color, hot pink, needed to be exact and that was printed as a special color. The pink needed to be vibrant and the can and lid had to perfectly coordinate. Independent Can won 4 awards for printing and can making for this promotional package.