Beverage can printing

Two-piece conetop cans hit the market in 1940 with the introduction of the crowntainer, by Crown, Cork & Seal Co.

[citation needed] Beer cans have been printed with colored photographic images since 1956, "first was famous Scottish and English landmarks and then with pinup girls", called the Lager Lovelies.

Coors examined many can coating curing methods and decided to implement an ultraviolet system, which they started to do in 1975.

The drying of thermoplastic coatings is accomplished by evaporation or by applying heat to fuse the material to the metal.

The coating on the metal can re-melt with exposure to heat or strong solvents from the screen-printing process.

Ultraviolet light (UV) curing technology-UV process was motivated by a desire to increase can printing speeds, to reduce energy consumption, and to lower air emissions.

The solvent composition is typically a mixture of aliphatic hydrocarbons, aromatics, ethers, cellosolves and acetates.

This method produces significant VOC (volatile organic compound) and HAP (hazardous air pollutant) emissions.