About those color-changing Coors Light cans
By Noah Davis • Jul 13th, 2009 • Category: Beer News
Lyle Small is a man for this age.
The founder of Chromatic Technologies Inc. is the mind behind the Coors Light cans that change color when the beer is appropriately cold. The ink Small developed allows the mountains to turn blue when the brew is between 43°-50°F. Although CTI has other customers — it booked 120 new accounts last year — the beer giant accounts for 40 percent of the company’s revenue.
Small originally approached MillerCoors in 2001 about working with the company, but he couldn’t guarantee the ink would hold up in each of the 20 million(!) Coors Light cans produced every day. After three years of testing, however, the ink was ready and Small was well on his way to becoming a very rich man.
We’ll drink a perfectly chilled beer to that.
Zywiec has had this technology on their labels for years - POLSKA POLSKA!!
Yes, thermochromic inks are not new and other beverages including beer have had the ink on bottle labels, but aluminum cans is a whole other story and we are the only ones to have a viable thermochromic ink that will print on this substrate at production sppeeds! Cheers.