Case study: William Say & Mylands

William Say & Co. Limited is the last can maker  in Central London, and has been independently operating since it was founded in 1930. a metal packaging manufacturer based near London Bridge. Their commitment to product quality, customer service and sustainable manufacturing practices has enabled them to retain an impressive client list as well as expand into many new markets. Tinmasters has been working with William Say on a regular basis since 2002, providing them with access to state-of-the-art printing and technical support whenever they need it.

Mylands are Britain’s oldest family-owned paint manufacturer with a coveted Royal Warrant. In 2010 Mylands was preparing to launch a new range of up market paints. They wanted the print and finish on the new paint cans to stand out from other high-end products on the market, which tended to use bright colours and a glossy finish. Mylands had come up with a stunning bespoke design that used a silver and gold palette to deliver a visibly premium edge.

The Mylands design called for a gold lacquer on the inside of the can. On the exterior, a base white would be overprinted with a subtle coat of arms (using cyan, yellow and magenta inks), two printed silver shades and an image of a London skyline at night. We produced a series of prototypes for the Mylands team, tweaking and adjusting the specific shades of silver and gold each time to achieve the required impact. We also added additional black print to the dense skyline areas, to increase the contrast and make it really pop out of the background. When all of the necessary adjustments had been made, we applied a matt varnish as a top coat to give the whole can a distinguished textured satin finish.

The final printed design looks very premium – and well worth the time it took to perfect. In 2011, the first year of production, Mylands wanted the same design produced on three sizes of tin (1 litre, 2.5 litres and 5 litres) and in significant volumes – requiring 146,000 impressions to complete. We have been producing these Mylands designs for William Say & Co’s production ever since.

Looking ahead, our recent investment in a highly automated six colour printing press means we will be able to do short-run orders more efficiently, allowing niche premium brands access to exception packaging that is a great choice for our environment.