Thursday
Nov122009
Colorless Coke Can
"A convex logo substitutes colorfully sprayed can. Naked can help to reduce air and water pollution occurred in its coloring process. It also reduces energy and effort to separate toxic color paint from aluminum in recycling process. Huge amount of energy and paint required to manufacture colored cans will be saved. Instead of toxic paint, manufacturers process aluminum with a pressing machine that indicates brand identity on surface."
Concept by Harc Lee.
12 Comments
Reader Comments (12)
My comments:
"Naked can help to reduce air and water pollution occurred in its coloring process."
Uh-huh. You know the industry uses WATER BASED paints? And the throughput on every barrel of paint used is extremely high. It's not like guys at the can plant are dumping leftover red paint when they're changing over to make blue Pepsi cans. Therefore, this statement is fiction.
"It also reduces energy and effort to separate toxic color paint from aluminum in recycling process."
Um, no. The paint burns off when the aluminum is melted down for recycling. No difference at all in energy consumption. False statement.
"Huge amount of energy and paint required to manufacture colored cans will be saved. Instead of toxic paint, manufacturers process aluminum with a pressing machine that indicates brand identity on surface."
Wrong, wrong, wrong. MORE energy is required as you not only have to have to produce a standard two piece beverage container -- you then have to run it through a second machine where the can is inserted into a female mold with the identification engraved into it (an expensive and energy consuming process right there).
Then you have to drive a rubber punch into the can with a few hundred pounds of pressure. This is a slow, expensive and energy intensive process that consumes far MORE energy than simply applying a four-color litho job at a rate of 2000 cans per minute. And since the molds are made off site just like the paint is, greenhouse gases are emitted shipping the mold from the engraver to the can plant.
Overall, this process is fine if you're selling a product at $9 a six pack, like the Heineken barrel cans -- but not feasible when you're blowing out Diet Coke at $5 a case.
I love this idea. However, I want to a case for its production based on real world knowledge instead of wishful thinking. Coming out of the design business, I just get fed up with idealistic computer jockeys spouting junk instead of using brilliant design to solve real business and societal issues.
I'm usually not one to eat the outside of the can. However, I do not want to drink the Coke that has been sitting in PBA-lined cans.
I like the idea, but it's incredibly impractical, on numerous levels. He may have had a point if it was a litho printed can, that only used 1 color, like red ink with bare aluminum providing the second color. That would cut down on the use of ink.
This sort of manufacturing concept is really only feasible with blow molded plastic. And even with blow molded features, companies still tend to apply graphics to make their product pop visually on the shelf.