The trend toward label-less bottles is attracting a lot of interest in the beverage industry as governments around the world explore projects to increase plastic recycling rates and improve the quality of recycled materials. South Korea recently became the first country to take a stand on this issue, with its Ministry of Environment passing a new law banning the use of external labels on bottled water from January 2026.
“These new regulations present a challenge for beverage manufacturers who need to comply with product labeling requirements and communicate with their consumers, and find a way to do so without impacting production output,” Allen continues. “With this challenge in mind, we worked with several leading Korean bottled water manufacturers to develop a solution for high-speed, inline printing of variable data on bottle caps.”
By adding variable data codes to bottle caps – the most common being QR codes, including GS1 QR codes – it is possible to link to all the data normally required on product labels, supporting applications such as product traceability, providing information on product recycling and consumer engagement.
The full range of bottle cap printing stations can be customized to suit many different production environments in the beverage sector. Options are available for high-speed printing of loose bottle caps and near-line and in-line coding of filled bottles.
Domino’s inline bottle cap printing station features an advanced product handling system capable of stabilizing filled water bottles, as well as high-resolution 300-900 dpi variable data code printing at speeds of up to 44,000 bottles per hour using Domino’s K300 monochrome digital printer. The stations also feature pre- and post-treatment of printed codes to ensure code adhesion and longevity, as well as integrated image processing systems for automatic code checking and verification.
Domino recently completed the installation of its first inline bottle cap printing station for one of Korea’s most prominent beverage manufacturers. The installation was the very first of its kind in the region. The customer reported that Domino’s global reputation, quick response time and ability to offer a complete end-to-end solution were key factors in their decision to work with Domino. Several more installations have followed as more brands recognize the benefits of bottle cap printing in their transition to label-less PET bottles.
“Following our success in South Korea, Domino is delighted to launch our new bottle cap printing station,” said David Bywater, Domino’s Regional Development Director for Asia. “We see the trend towards label-less bottles and the need for variable 2D codes, including QR codes, growing stronger and want to work with our customers to ensure we can offer a solution that meets their needs.”
