Belgian brewer prints interactive characters on beer bottles

Belgium brewer Martens Brouwerij has launched a new brand of beer called Dagschotel, with the faces of a group of Belgian television actors digitally printed onto the bottle.

Martens injected some fun into the Dagschotel beer launch with digitally printed, premium quality PET bottles featuring cast members from the sitcom FC De Kampioenen, ahead of the release of their second feature film, Jubilee Generale, later this year. The bottles are brought to life through use of a smartphone app: characters printed on the bottles deliver special performances through the app and, when two bottles are brought together, the app displays a dialogue between the two characters.

KHS and NMP Systems were key innovation partners for Martens with both the Plasmax FreshSafe-PET barrier coating for enhanced shelf life and premium beer focus, and with Direct Print powered by KHS. Direct Print is the first industrial-scale digital printing process with low-migration UV cure inks to provide a food-safe solution for PET bottles.

NMP Systems’ Phil Johnson said: “The breakthrough technology of digital printing onto PET will enable beverage companies to change graphics within hours instead of weeks, and create new forms of consumer experience in a world where everything is digital.”