Tetra Pak will start offering full-color digital printing on beverage cartons, which will reduce design-to-print time and allow a variety of designs in one order.

The Switzerland-based company says it is the first in the food and beverage carton industry to offer this kind of printing on cartons.

Koenig & Bauer is building a full-width RotaJET 168 printer to be installed at Tetra Pak’s converting plant in Denton, Texas. Testing of digitally printed packages is expected to start in early 2020 with North American customers.

“We are committed to helping our customers explore new avenues with a truly ‘smart’ package, supporting their need for product customization, smaller batch sizes, greater traceability and the ability to interact with the consumer,” says Charles Brand, executive vice president, product management and commercial operations at Tetra Pak.

The RotaJET 168 inkjet printing press has an 18,000 m²/hour productivity rate and can process all kinds of substrates, including difficult-to-print materials, according to Koenig & Bauer. Its modular approach allows alignment to individual customer requirements.