Wines & Vines

40 Wines&Vines March 2015 PACKAGING Light 'em up Additionally, inks that bring their own "special effects" have come to market, bringing more bang to the bottle. "Our G Ink technology has been available to label (customers) and 30x60 screwcap cus- tomers for a little less than a year," said John Cunningham, director of innovation at Modesto's G3 Enterprises. G Inks stand out: The thermochromic colors change appearance depending on the temperature of the bottle; bichromic colors change with viewing angle. "This gives the bottles added dimension and engages the consumer," he noted. "The target markets for this technology run the gamut from popular to premium (priced). We also expect the millennial wine consumers will be a good target market, with their desire for discovery. Our customers can use G Ink to add a sense of discovery to the package or as a way to teach and inform the customer. For example, the thermochromic can provide in- formation on when the wine is at the best tem- perature to consume," Cunningham told Wines & Vines. G3 has researched printing processes for screwcaps and labels to best match label and cap effects, he said. The company has not yet developed processes to apply to capsules, but some wineries have shown interest. "If enough interest is expressed, we will perform research to add this capability," Cunningham said. "The equipment we use is not unique, but our knowl- edge base is." These inks are not organic, but those used for labels are UV-cured (without solvent). Screwcap inks are conventionally solvent- based, and G3 specializes in matching the spe- Not magic, it's thermocromatic. G3's temperature- sensitive ink appears on the Turning Leaf label when the wine is chilled and ready to drink. 15 $1,885 6 The language of ink Soy/vegetable-based inks. Unlike food/beverage products, organic inks are not OMNI-certified. They have lower volatile organic chemicals (VOC) than conventional inks (0% vs. 25%-35%) and contain no heavy metals. For screen-printed bottles, organic inks are UV-cured rather than baked in Lehr ovens. UV inks dry rapidly and produce virtually no emissions. Unlike conventional inks, UV inks contain no solvents. These inks change color or appearance to reflect changes in temperature. Bichromic inks change color or appearance when the viewing angle is changed. These inks contain pigments, glass frit or metallic particles. They require high-temperature Lehr firing to fuse to the glass/ceramic surface. Organic ceramic UV cUreD bichrOmic thermOchrOmic

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