The sale of the 100th Engineered Printing Solutions (EPS) single-pass Direct-to-Object (DTO) inkjet production system reflects wider market trends reshaping product decoration. Manufacturers today must support shorter batch sizes, long-tail SKUs, quicker changeovers, and on-demand customisation, needs that traditional pad, screen, and offset printing cannot meet cost-effectively due to tooling costs, long setups, and skilled-labour reliance.
Single-pass digital DTO eliminates plates, clichés, screens, and setup fees, enabling rapid artwork changes, variable data, and inline 2D code traceability without reducing production speed.
The installation marks a major step in the manufacturing industry’s shift from analogue decoration to high-speed digital production. Rising labour costs and workforce shortages are also accelerating digital adoption. Single-pass UV inkjet reduces labour hours by up to 81% while aligning with automation-ready workflows, including robotic loading, pretreatment, inspection, and unloading. Because digital DTO is software-driven, brands can maintain consistent print quality across shifts while minimising operator training and dependency.
EPS Executive Chairman Ken Stack described the milestone as a pivotal moment for the industry. ‘Reaching our 100th single-pass DTO system is more than a sales milestone, it marks a turning point in how manufacturers think about product decoration. Digital DTO has moved from early adoption to mainstream production, driven by the need for agility, automation, and measurable ROI. Our next 100 systems will help shape the future of manufacturing for brands that demand reliability, flexibility, and world-class engineering support.’
‘EPS’ experience across the first 100 single-pass systems has reinforced the importance of full production-cell engineering. Pretreatment, ink chemistry, colour management, part transport, and automation all play major roles in digital success. EPS’ engineering, chemistry, and colour-science teams work directly with customers to develop and validate application-specific workflows. The company emphasises uptime, reliability, and 24/7 production readiness as core differentiators, noting that DTO machines operate inside continuous factory environments where ‘if the printer is down, the factory is down.’
EPS is celebrating its 100th single-pass sale in partnership with Kingston Aluminum Technology (KAT) of Canada. KAT’s patented Alumishape™ technology produces uniquely shaped aluminium bottles designed for high shelf impact and sustainability. EPS engineered a flexible single-pass system capable of printing before bottle forming, enabling the containers to be shaped after decoration without distorting the artwork. The system delivers 80 cans per minute, creating a new benchmark for post-formed aluminium packaging.
Ben Pilon, President of BPE Group, KAT’s parent company, highlighted EPS’ engineering collaboration. ‘Finding a print solution was a long process for us. With our new technology, we had been through a lot of testing, and it was proving to be a major challenge.’
‘Working with EPS was a completely different process compared to other solutions. EPS provides quick response times, creativity, and the ability to problem solve. They worked with us to develop something new and I felt confident that together it would be a great solution. Our current printer has been working great, support has been very good and most importantly, our customers are happy.’
