IMDA Recognizes Crown with "Excellence in Quality" Award

Exceptional Print Quality the Key to Closures with High-End Appeal

Philadelphia, PA .- CROWN Closures Americas, a business unit of Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CCK) (Crown) (www.crowncork.com), was honored at the International Metal Decorators Association (IMDA) 2009 Conference and Convention with an “Excellence in Quality” award. Named “Best in Category” in the closures class of entries, Crown’s metal closure designed for Traderspoint Creamery’s organic cottage cheese was recognized for its exceptional print quality and premium appeal.

Crown’s winning closure features an image of a cow in a golden field, bordered by shades of dark green and a transparent light blue. The transparency of the border shades and lettering, paired with the photographic quality of the image, perfectly compliments the gold-colored band and solid beige tamper-proofing shrink sleeve that envelops the glass jar. The overall package presents an exceptionally high-end look that is unique to the product category.

Crown used combination of conventional and UV inks in the four-color printing process. Throughout various stages of application, the UV inks harden under a high-intensity UV light, enabling the application of multiple colors within the same pass for a more finished look with each step and sharper image overall.

The project began at Crown’s graphic arts facility in Aurora, Illinois where a metal proof of the 77 mm press-on closure was generated. Crown worked closely with Traderspoint Creamery to develop the closure’s final design before moving to production at the Weirton, West Virginia decorating facility.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by IMDA and our industry peers for the quality of our work,” said Bill Crispe, Plant Manager at Crown’s Weirton facility. “The many layers of color made this a complex application and the experts at our Aurora and Weirton facilities certainly rose to the challenge, producing an exceptionally beautiful closure.”

IMDA’s “Excellence in Quality” awards are judged by an impartial committee of graphic arts professionals. Submissions are evaluated based on the quality of printing, degree of difficulty, appearance of coating finishes, registration and degree of technical expertise required for each piece.