World Aluminium Aerosol Can Award 2019

The International Organisation of Aluminium Aerosol Container Manufacturers (AEROBAL) organised its prestigious competition for the world’s best and most innovative aluminium aerosol cans once again this year

by Roberto Guccione

AEROBAL has announced the winners of its 2019 World Aluminium Aerosol Can Awards. The panel, formed of ten specialist journalists, chose a winner in two categories: cans already on the market and prototypes. The emphasis of the World Aluminum Aerosol Can Award is designs that inspire creativity and drive innovation.
The winner among the aluminium cans already on the market was Coombs Family Farms Maple Stream Syrup in a can produced by Montebello Packaging, Hawkesbury, Ontario, Canada. The 207 ml can has a special shoulder shape designed for easy handling, and was produced with a white base coating in dry offset printed graphics with a gloss varnish. According to AEROBAL, the product convinced the judges with its “extraordinary print quality”.
The Montebello graphics team was involved in product development right from the start—from the concept phase through to the final implementation by the customer—who provided the graphics team with a true four-color process CMYK file with a great deal of overprint.
Selected spot colours were used to keep the overprint to a minimum and still obtain the desired printed image. The artwork was very complex, and this meant the graphics team had to interpolate the final artwork for the printed cans to achieve a match with the artwork supplied by the customer. Proprietary colour separation techniques and dry dot screening technology were used to prevent overprinting of the inks. The producer used his dot gain curves to make sure the screened area and screened images were reproduced as closely as possible to the customer’s artwork.
Ball’s 360° Technology
The winner in the “Prototype” category was US manufacturer Ball Corporation, with its innovative 360° technology, which enables a wide range of shapes to be created over the entire circumference of the aluminium can. The technology is not restricted to stock shapes but can also produce the proprietary shapes that the customer wants. A special graphic design, which is aligned to the respective relief area, further enhances the shape’s visual impact. It results in a can with a strong appearance when viewed from every angle and perspective. At the same time, the shape gives added grip and is thus a user-friendly ergonomic plus. The lithography and embossing combined precisely to further emphasize the depth of the design. The futuristic design with its clear lines and the playful honeycomb motif of the sample cans demonstrated the possibilities of asymmetrical embossing. The new 360° technology opened up a wide spectrum of additional design possibilities for the creative design of aluminium aerosol cans.