After three years of development and testing, New South Wales-based East Coast Canning + Printing (East Coast) is set to unveil the world’s most durable digitally printed can.
East Coast says the BulletProof can sets a new standard for brewers, offering durability, a broader scope for design options and brand integrity, while meeting the manufacturer’s own high standards in sustainability for the beverage industry.
East Coast’s Founder and General Manager, Chris Kelly told Beer & Brewer that the impact of the new can on the brewing industry is simply professionalism.
“This innovation gives breweries, big or small, the chance to present themselves at their absolute best. Whether it’s on a retail shelf, in a fridge at a venue, or pulled out of an esky at a campsite, the can still looks great at the end of the journey. That matters” he said.
“When your packaging holds up after being tossed around in transit or sitting in ice for hours, it reflects on your whole brand. This helps brewers release more styles, ship more confidently, and grow their brand without worrying about how the can’s going to hold up in the real world.”
Innovation in durability
Since it began in 2016, Kelly said East Coast has been committed to overcoming the challenges of digitally printed cans.
“Until now, we have not offered digitally printed matte finishes, waiting until we could confidently meet the quality and durability expectations of ourselves for our clients. That day has finally arrived.”
The new product can handle the demanding conditions of supply chains.
From enduring the heat of tunnel pasteurisation to withstanding scratches from transport or storage in ice.
Kelly said the biggest improvement has been the adhesion or how well ink bonds to the can.
“Digital printing has always had a few durability challenges, but we’ve worked hard over several years to solve them. Through a mix of tighter controls and process tweaks (and yes, some serious science), we’ve been able to lock the ink in place in a way that’s genuinely approaching the level of offset printed cans,” he told Beer & Brewer.
“The result is a can that behaves like a can should – able to take a hit, sit in ice, and still look the part when it matters the most to brands.”
As a result, he described the innovation as transformative not only for the industry but East Coast too.
“From being Australia’s first mobile canning company to introducing our multi-million-dollar digital direct-to-vessel printing technology, BulletProof is a new step forward in offering beverage producers a canning and printing solution that gives consumers a top-quality brand experience when they are holding the can.”
“Our whole philosophy at East Coast is to make sure that we are innovating and constantly improving to make our product better and more sustainable for the beverage industry.”
Brewing industry response
Sydney’s Yulli’s Brews is among the first to adopt the innovation, debuting its new Urban Classic Cactus Ranch Water in a can featuring the BulletProof matte finish.
James Harvey, Head Brewer at Yulli’s Brews said you can feel the quality of the BulletProof can.
“We put a lot of time and effort into the design of our cans, and it’s comforting to know the integrity of the print and the physical can itself is going to be what you intended it to be from canning through to the customer without chipping or scratching,” said Harvey.
“Visible pain points like peeling or scratching and even the variety of colours between batches are completely removed with the new BulletProof cans, which gives us a lot of confidence in putting new beers, and now our first RTD out to market.”
He added: “We have worked with East Coast for seven years now. Being able to access small runs of digitally printed cans has been a game-changer for our business as we’ve grown over the years, and the steps they’ve made in innovating packaging and printing has allowed us to bring a more premium product to market.”
Sustainable design
The BulletProof cans are also fully recyclable and offer matte and spot gloss finishes directly printed onto the aluminium, ensuring both aesthetic appeal and environmental responsibility.
Additional design attributes like CMYK colour palette, tactile feel and metallic finishes have historically relied on wrap-around or shrink-sleeve labels, complicating recycling processes.
Kelly told Beer & Brewer that sustainability has always been the goal at East Coast.
“It isn’t something we think about now and then. It’s been core to what we do from day one. We don’t chase ‘green’ as a trend, we build better packaging solutions because we believe the best version of this industry is one that’s also good for the planet.
“But sustainable options only work if they’re great products too. Improving performance like we have here by making the cans more durable, more versatile, more useful for more brewers is exactly how we help those sustainable solutions succeed in the long run.”
According to East Coast, by eliminating adhesive labels, the company has prevented over 33 tonnes of single-use plastic from entering the Australian beverage market in just two years.
The initial rollout of the BulletProof can includes the 375ml classics and select varieties of the sleek can sizes (330ml and 355ml).
East Coast anticipates the 330ml, 355ml, 440ml, and 500ml classics being available in the next year.