Etching it

Wines & Vines,  March, 2000  by Larry Walker

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

Industry sources are reporting an increase in the use of etched and decorated bottles over the past few years as a marketing device. Mac McLellen, president and chief executive officer of Universal Specialties, which has a working relationship with Diablo Valley Packaging in California and the Pacific Northwest, said the increase in etched bottles was "significant."

"The reason, primarily, is that etching and decorating wine bottles provides a type of labeling which gives an image of quality and elegance. It presents a unique image and can be provided on bottles as small as 50ml or as large as 18 liters," he said.

He added that improvements in the technical process have made applied ceramic labeling (ACL) more economical. "Larger and faster machines capable of running 750m1 bottles at speeds from 65 to 220 bottles per minute are being utilized, which significantly reduces the costs. Combining two processes, such as a spray etch and a direct screen print can provide a unique packaging look at much lower prices than were previously available."

Universal Specialties, a family-owned company, provides three different etching processes. "We hand apply and fire decals on bottles, a process which provides multi-color, tight registration. We can direct screen print on bottles using ceramic, precious metals and other paints, and we can spray bottles to provide a frosted look. Or the processes can be combined," he said. He added that the decal process was becoming very popular on large format bottles because it was more cost effective.

The company has done work for FerrariCarano, Stimson Lane, Hogue Cellars, and Ravenswood, among other wineries.

Mike Bergin of Bergin Glass in Napa also reports a significant increase in etched bottles over the last 10 years when the company began calling on the wine industry. "At first, it was used almost exclusively for auction purposes, but we are seeing etched bottles used more and more for special promotions," he said. The company averages about 3,000 3-liter bottles per month. "We've tried to focus on the large format and we also do magnums as well. It seems that more people are asking for the large formats in restaurants and retail stores."

Bergin said that their bottles were still hand produced. There are 35 fulltime people on staff. "It is expensive," he added, "but we will work within the winery budget and design on the front end toward that budget. We can etch a bottle for $3 or for $1,000. It's up to the client. Things like knocking out background colors can dramatically lower price.

The company will do a single bottle for an auction but is also geared for larger productions. "Our typical is 500 to about 1,500."

What Bergin calls the value-added promotions are becoming an important part of his business. "We can etch on a hotel logo or a cruise ship logo in combination with a regular paper label, for example." This allows the winery or hotel to pull regular, already-labeled stock from the warehouse and add the etched logo.

"We have also moved into applied color labeling. We see a lot of the premiums looking for an alternative to paper. It's more expensive, of course, but for a run of maybe 1,000 cases you get a very distinctive look. We apply the colors directly onto the glass by screen painting. We can work on bottles that are already filled or on empty bottles and bake in metallic finishes, like a gold finish. It's a classic look," he added.

Erica Harrop of Elite Glass, distributors of Saver Glass, said her company is using a new process called Saver Coat which creates a frosted appearance on the bottle without the use of environmentally damaging acids. "It's a completely recyclable product," she said. The process is used on several bottlings by Robert Mondavi. The process can also be used for colors

"We stopped using the acid-etching process in the early '90s because of strict environmental laws in France and developed this new process, she said. Harrop added that there are also contamination issues with acid etching within the bottle itself.

Vitro Packaging uses an acid etching technique that moves the bottles in chucks automatically through the etching process. Robert Belke, marketing manager at Vitro, said higher volumes have lowered prices to some degree. "Pricing is dependent on volumes, speeds and automation," he said.

Amisco is another company that provides acid frosting as well as spray coloring, direct ceramic screening and decal application. Amisco reports that the demand for frosted bottles is increasing, although in the beverage industry, the spirits companies have set the pace.

Marc Silvani, of California Glass, said, "there has been a large increase in the overall number of etched glass for wine, primarily driven by the Arbor Mist package from Canandaigua. The demand for the etching process that Arbor Mist created, which is acid based, outstripped the capacity, causing new facilities to be built in Pennsylvania in 1999."