Gift tins

	Made of 0.23mm-thick tin plate, the TJ96017 model from Winbo doubles as a coin bank.

Makers are installing 6-color application machines and CTP systems for faster operation and better output.

China suppliers of gift tins are investing in better printing equipment in an effort to improve pattern quality.

As such, many companies are now outfitting their factories with machines that allow 6-color application.

Previously, CMYK and 5-hue versions were typical. The performance of these instruments may be boosted via UV solidification technology. Replacing a traditional drying chamber, it permits faster operation while minimizing energy consumption and reducing space and maintenance requirements. VOCs are not emitted during the process.

Further, some suppliers are installing alcohol dampening and Computer To Plate or CTP systems. The first inhibits ink emulsification, printing echoes and color bleeding. CTP enables higher efficiency and output quality than earlier methods, which relied on image transfer to film.

The technology allows remote video draft confirmation with clients, cutting sampling expenditure and time.

The required period for an A4 print, for example, was lowered from three or four days to just several minutes. CPMC Co. Ltd also uses CTP to ensure color consistency across its multiple factories, establishing a service center in the head office to standardize production.

In addition, the company implemented procedures that enable technicians, designers, sales staff and customers to view, comment on and confirm drafts. CMYK, special color and lines-per-inch values are recorded to raise accuracy and efficiency.

To improve the output of even CMYK offset printing, most suppliers utilize the Pantone color-matching system. This allows standardization and imparts a vivid effect but increases prices by 3 to 5 percent.

Further, CPMC and Ningbo Shengmai Tin Mfg Co. Ltd offer high-fidelity patterning, which starts at 200lpi and is capable of five to seven colors. In fact, the first company can provide up to 350lpi. Ordinary application is at 175lpi with CMYK and Pantone color values.

High-fidelity printing raises quotes by 10 percent.

	Suitable for packaging food, this 18.7x13.5x6.7mm gift tin from Ningbo Shengmai features CMYK printing with interior and exterior protective coating.

China models are typically made of tin plate ranging from 0.2 to 0.35mm in thickness. Most measure 0.23mm.

Thinner materials require additional outlay but have higher cost-effectiveness. A sheet of 0.2mm tin plate, for example, is 10 percent more expensive than a 0.23mm version but can used in a greater number of finished products. This results in releases priced 5 percent lower.

Makers usually employ domestically sourced material, with Shanghai Baosteel and Guangzhou Pacific as the major suppliers.

Some companies adopt tin plate from Japan, Australia, South Korea, Brazil or Taiwan on request. Costs for the first two are 13 and 9 percent more, respectively, than mainland China-made types. Imported versions generally utilize superior coatings.

In addition to the traditional circle, oval and polygon shapes, the available designs include heart, car, train, bell, bag, star, dome, cashew, butterfly, bottle and tree. Most suppliers have between 100 and 1,000 existing molds and can create new ones if required. Irregularly contoured items, due to their complexity, are up to 5 percent more expensive.

Select models come with accessories such as handles, straps, hinges, zippers, keyed locks and transparent windows that increase price by about 10 percent. Others double as coin banks.

Matte and glossy lamination are the typical surface treatments. Other finishes, including crackle, wrinkle, pearl and embossing are also used, and add 30 to 50 percent to quotes.

Cartoon, fashion and Christmas motifs are popular. Gift tins with patterns in the first type usually come in a toy construction or can store coins. Companies may obtain rights for popular images. Winbo Industrial Co. Ltd, for example, is a licensee of Time Warner’s Tom and Jerry.

Fashion themes, on the other hand, are applied to bag designed pieces.

Paint and ink are from established suppliers such as Akzo Nobel, PPG, DIC and Toyo.

Products intended for contact with food must meet relevant safety standards that cover the material and interior coating. Compliant models are 5 percent more expensive.

To ensure safety further, most gift tins can bear EN 71 and FDA certification. Tests may be performed by SGS or other third-party organizations on request.

	CPMC offers this truck-shaped model, which comes in 0.23mm-thick tin plate and measures 216x140x102mm.

Currently, China is home to more than 1,500 mostly private and foreign-invested metal packaging suppliers.

Of these, about 750 have annual sales of at least $730,000, while 80 post $14 million to $146 million in revenue. In 2008, CPMC generated $485 million.

Gift tin makers are typically specialists in packaging or daily-use metal products.

For the former, the main hubs are the Pearl and Yangtze River Delta regions, and the area around the Bohai Sea.

In terms of value, output in these locations accounts for an estimated 40, 30 and 15 percent of the metal packaging industry, respectively.

Standard production processes for the line include tin plate coil cutting, surface treatment, printing, molding and punching. All large and some midsize suppliers perform procedures entirely in-house, while others are only capable of the last two steps.

Most companies comply with ISO 9001 requirements. CPMC also has OHSMS 18000 and HACCP certificates, and Winbo meets ISO 14001 guidelines.

There are about 800 tin plate printing lines in China, more than half of which are imported. The majority is owned by metal packaging makers, and the rest held by printing specialists.

CPMC uses CAD to calculate the contortion value between fl at sheets and punched parts via geometric simulation.

This predeformed plate-making technology inhibits further disproportion on finished products.

To satisfy the growing demand for gift tins, a number of suppliers are establishing additional factories.

CPMC has plants in Sichuan, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Hebei provinces, and Tianjin. To boost capability, the company laid the foundation for a new facility in Wuhan, Hubei province in April 2009.