Soft drink producers and brewers are expressing a unique image for their products with high profile aluminum beverage cans. In all shapes and sizes imaginable, with six and eight color graphic capabilities, the possibilities are endless: a tea with textured ice crystals “frozen” to its sides; a shaped soda can with its contours molded for the ultimate grip; a commemorative brew with spiraled ridges to celebrate a world championship. Sleeker, cooler, and impossible not to touch. Today, when you buy a canned product, more than likely its packaging will have been tailored especially for the ultimate enjoyment of that product. Cans of Guinness contain a mechanism that releases carbon dioxide through the beer and creates a thick, creamy head as authentic as a slow pour from the draught in an Irish pub. And the food can is not to be outdone in the search for revolutionary packaging. New easy-open ends put convenience literally at your fingertips—soon even a can opener will be too much trouble by comparison. And their smooth edges are child and family friendly. White can linings are a bright new addition, reassuring consumers that canned foods are fresh and wholesome. And shapes abound on the canned food aisle as well. What better way to distinguish a product and help convey its preeminence in the marketplace? Whether in the home, office, garden, garage, ballpark… anywhere in the world, one thing will never change. The can is the most reliable, recyclable and versatile package. Its long and distinguished history describes a remarkable role in the unfolding of civilization through periods of invention, imperialism, expansion, prosperity, innovation and renewal. No doubt, new opportunities and challenges will continue to arise. And if the past is any indication of what is to come, can manufacturers and their customers will be prepared to satisfy the evolving needs of the modern day consumers and industries they serve. Next: Breweriana