Ball

Cans are printed at extremely high speeds.

The print process used is called Dry-offset letterpress.

generic design & screen guidelines

Interact here
What's available

take a shortcut
traceability

take a look
special finishes - design

take a shortcut

High Definition – spot colours

2

3

4

5

6

7

Generic design guidelines

Screen guidelines

HD Screen guidelines

HD printing uses special colours – not CMYK. A CMYK image will be separated into special colours during reproduction. Because the screen ruling for HD printing is higher a representation of an image will be closer to the original, but still will not match it exactly.
High Definition – colour separation

1

3

4

5

6

7

Generic design guidelines

Screen guidelines

HD Screen guidelines

Avoid using colours which are needed in an image (a), elsewhere on the can (b). This will allow Ball to best control these colours used in the image in production.
High Definition – screen ruling

1

2

4

5

6

7

Generic design guidelines

Screen guidelines

HD Screen guidelines

The maximum screen ruling for HD printing in can design is 120 LPI. Ball will decide during the reproduction process based on all elements in the design, which screen ruling gives the best final result in production.
High Definition – Dot size

1

2

3

5

6

7

Generic design guidelines

Screen guidelines

HD Screen guidelines

The minimum dot is 2%.
High Definition – Dot gain

1

2

3

4

6

7

Generic design guidelines

Screen guidelines

HD Screen guidelines

In High Definition print the expected dot gain in production is between 10 – 15%.
High Definition – Vignettes

1

2

3

4

5

7

Generic design guidelines

Screen guidelines

HD Screen guidelines

Fading to 0 under circumstances is possible, although leaving an even soft edge over a big area of the can does not belong to the possibilities (dots will not consistently hold on the plate).
High Definition – Image illusion

1

2

3

4

5

6

Generic design guidelines

Screen guidelines

HD Screen guidelines

It is possible to create an optical illusion of a third colour by partly overlapping screens. This will only be applied to screens and in order to get the best possible end result, it will have to be done by a Ball qualified specialised reproduction studio.
Spot colours

2

3

4

5

6

7

Generic design guidelines

Screen guidelines

HD Screen guidelines

Can printing uses spot colours – not CMYK. An image using CMYK colours is separated into spot colours during reproduction. The aim is to give a close representation of the original, but it will never match it exactly.
Screen ruling

1

3

4

5

6

7

Generic design guidelines

Screen guidelines

HD Screen guidelines
The maximum screen ruling for can design is:
85 LPI in Conventional printing
100 LPI in CDI printing
120 LPI in HD printing
Ball will decide during the reproduction process and based on availability which screen ruling is going to be used.
Dot size

1

2

4

5

6

7

Generic design guidelines

Screen guidelines

HD Screen guidelines

The minimum dot which a dry offset letterpress plate can contain consistently is 3%
Dot gain

1

2

3

5

6

7

Generic design guidelines

Screen guidelines

HD Screen guidelines

Dot gain in our process may be as much as 20 - 30%
Vignettes – hard line stop

1

2

3

4

6

7

Generic design guidelines

Screen guidelines

HD Screen guidelines

A screen should continue over the entire surface of the can, fading a colour to zero and leaving a soft edge is not possible due to the dot gain experienced in the can printing process.
Wet - on - wet – screens

1

2

3

4

5

7

Generic design guidelines

Screen guidelines

HD Screen guidelines

Avoid printing colours wet-on-wet as much as possible. Due to the nature of the printing process we have limited control over the final result. Colour variation in batches can be expected. Wet-on-wet printing can only be considered with complimentary colours, screen size & angels. Contact Ball in a very early stage of the development process, so we can help you achieve the best result.
Wet - on - wet – solid

1

2

3

4

5

6

Generic design guidelines

Screen guidelines

HD Screen guidelines

It is not possible to create a third colour using two colours printed on top of eachother. The consistency of this colour cannot be guaranteeed throughout the production. It results in contamination of the colours in other areas of the design.
General overview

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Generic design guidelines

Screen guidelines

HD Screen guidelines

The process used to print cans is called “Dry-offset letterpress”. This means that a printing plate is used for each colour to print that part of the image to a blanket. One common blanket collects all the different colours, until the full mirror image of the design is complete (1 rotation of the blanket). The blanket transfers all the colours at once to the can – see also print processes for more details. Maximum resolution used in can printing is 120 LPI. During the reproduction process the customer supplied artwork is separated into spot colours and the relevant screen ruling applied. We also introduce “air gaps” to protect the design against colour contamination during printing. This process can only be carried out by a Ball qualified reproduction studio.
Vignettes – direction

1

3

4

5

6

7

8

Generic design guidelines

Screen guidelines

HD Screen guidelines

Vignettes should always run from top to bottom (vertical) with a maximum of two colours opposing.

Horizontal vignettes running around the can should be avoided. Due to the nature of the process small differences in pressure at print stage and the lack of controls of ink in the print direction make it impossible to control the printed end result.
Colour separation – large area of colour

1

2

4

5

6

7

8

Generic design guidelines

Screen guidelines

HD Screen guidelines

A large surface covering the same colour has to be split over 2 printing plates
Colour separation – text & block of colour

1

2

3

5

6

7

8

Generic design guidelines

Screen guidelines

HD Screen guidelines

Fine text and an area of the same solid colour has to be split over 2 printing plates
Colour separation – screen & solid

1

2

3

4

6

7

8

Generic design guidelines

Screen guidelines

HD Screen guidelines

Solid colour & screen in the same colour has to be split over 2 printing plates
Distortion

1

2

3

4

5

7

8

Generic design guidelines

Screen guidelines

HD Screen guidelines

The neck of the can is formed after printing and therefore any image in this area will be distorted.
Overlap

1

2

3

4

5

6

8

Generic design guidelines

Screen guidelines

HD Screen guidelines

Because a can is cylindrical, your design will overlap on itself by approximately 2 mm. Point-to-point contact in the overlap differs by production line & size. Perfect alignment can therefore not be guaranteed in the overlap.
We recommend to keep the overlap free of any continous graphics and text. An ideal overlap has the same solid colour on either side of the design.
Line thickness

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Generic design guidelines

Screen guidelines

HD Screen guidelines

Minimum line thickness:

- Positive lines 0.1 mm
- Negative lines 0.25 mm

Traceability

Traceability guideline

We will add our Ball logo and a rectangle shaped box to every design we produce. This information is mandatory on every design and helps us to trace production.
We encourage you to integrate this information into your design and supply it to us in your artwork.

A box measuring 15 x 4 mm (.59" x 15")*. The box should have no infill colour. The manufacturing code prints positive in the box in the same colour as the box outline.

The BALL logo in futura bold at 1.6 mm (.63")*

Add your article number -if required

Indicate where you want us to add our design number (RXXXXX) - if required

*Note: If you allow for the indicated size, the information always fits. Box and logo size differ by size and by plant

AirGaps

Air Gaps (reversed trapping)

Artwork with air gaps

Printed result on can

To protect the colours on your design from contaminating, Rexam adds small gaps between all design elements in different colours during the reproduction process. The size of the gap depends on the colour and the size of the elements in this colour. Air gaps disappear as they typically fill up with ink as this spreads during production. They are calculated to suit each of our plants to protect the colours on your design from mixing.
As these gaps are specific to our process they can only be added by a Rexam qualified reproduction studio.

Overview

Every print process has its own challenges. In this section we guide you through all specific design requirements for can printing. You can also find information on various codes and symbols as well as our special finishes.

Before you start the development of your design, download the Ball design guide from the “What’s available section” on this design & print portal

We recommend that you contact Ball as early as possible during the design development process. Our experts are ready to advise you at concept stage.

generic design & screen guidelines

What's available

traceability

special finishes - design

High Definition – spot colours

High Definition – colour separation

High Definition – screen ruling

High Definition – Dot size

High Definition – Dot gain

High Definition – Vignettes

High Definition – Image illusion

Spot colours

Screen ruling

Dot size

Dot gain

Vignettes – hard line stop

Wet - on - wet – screens

Wet - on - wet – solid

General overview

Vignettes – direction

Colour separation – large area of colour

Colour separation – text & block of colour

Colour separation – screen & solid

Distortion

Overlap

Line thickness

Traceability guideline

Air Gaps (reversed trapping)

Overview