Schaumburg, IL – Craft beer’s popularity keeps increasing and the role of can design can make or break a brand. Brewing and brewery restaurant professionals looking for answers at the Craft Brewers Conference, April 11-13 in Washington D.C., will be encouraged to learn about INX Color Perfection™, a new approach to color management INX International Ink Co. (booth 3649) will introduce.

The printing industry’s one and only 2-piece Color Catalog is an integral driver of the INX Color Perfection program. As the industry leader for metal decorating ink technology with best-in-class 2-piece and special effects inks, INX created its Color Catalog to be the first standard for can design and decorating. The book initially contains 600+ color chips with ink formulations and will be added to over time. The licensed software program assures users that all colors fit within a set tolerance level to meet color consistency standards.

“The craft brewing industry is very demanding and competitive. There is a need to stand out and differentiate your products from local and regional competition, in addition to those on the national level,” says Renee Schouten, Director of Marketing for INX International Ink Co. 

Industry figures support her statements. In 2015, the craft beer market grew 15%. Over 4,200 brewpubs, microbreweries and regional craft breweries produced products equaling 12% of overall beer industry sales in the U.S. 

“Consumer perception is really important to drive brand strategy in this category,” continued Schouten. “Having the precise color for logos, retail packaging and taproom beer lists is paramount to success. That’s how the Color Catalog can help. Each color was printed on industry standard 2-piece beverage stock cans using a pilot press, and they were coated using an industry standard, water reducible over-varnish.”

Schouten indicated the INX Color Catalog offers tangible benefits, such as advanced digital proofing, best-in-class ink, and the ability to potentially reduce inventory levels at manufacturing facilities.

“Color Perfection shortens the process from concept to can. Using an on-demand output vessel such as the INX CP100 digital cylindrical printer, gives you the option to produce cost effective, direct-to-can short runs or prototypes in a few seconds. The same can be done for film wraps with the Roland VersaCAMM™ printer. Going this route will improve lead times.”

INX will have ink experts available in booth 3649 to discuss Color Perfection and the Color Catalog, in addition to a wide range of special effects technologies the company has available. Make sure to ask about freshness indicators, photochromic sunlight inks, high velocity thermochromic ink, thermo ink for tabs, crowns and closures, and reveal inks.