Winner of the Can of the Year 2022 competition, which is backed by The Canmaker magazine, is a digitally-printed beverage can produced by NOMOQ, a Swiss-based distributor of containers and service provider to the craft beer sector.

The trophy was presented to NOMOQ’s chief executive and co-founder Peter Stein at a gala dinner during The Canmaker Summit held in Prague, in the Czech Republic. The winning 330ml aluminium D&I can was digitally printed by NOMOQ for Dr Brauwolf, Zurich’s first craft brewer with a matt finish and spot varnishes for the design depicting a wolf howling at the moon.

After a year of evaluating a range of digital printing systems, the group decided to commission a Hinterkopf machine with capacity to print up to 90 cans per minute, which was installed at a facility at Kirchheimbolanden in Germany.

“The technology is being successfully used in North America, so we feel that its efficiency has been proven. Plus, for us it is a nice extra that they are also based in Germany, as we had great support while getting the system up and running.”

NOMOQ made its first delivery to a customer in August. The cans were commissioned by a Swiss craft brewer for a wrestling event. “We are making sure that we deliver on the quality. We print 360-degree labels from the can bottom to the neck, in photo-realistic quality, using unlimited colours. Our customers are very creative,” said Stein.