Domino Printing for Label-Free Bottles

The concept of label-free, or labelless, packaging for bottled water is gaining momentum, especially in South Korea, where legislation is due to come into force at the beginning of 2026.

“In order to reduce the amount of label waste in the country from drinking water bottles and improve the efficiency of recycling systems locally, we will introduce a new label-free QR code system for all such bottles, from January 1 2026, all individual types of drinking water bottles such as mineral waters that are manufactured in Korea will be subject to this change.

~ South Korea Ministry of Environment

The QR code that will need to be printed onto the bottle or closure will need to provide access to information relating to the product and the packaging, including nutrition information, recycling instructions and more.

GS1 Digital Link barcodes printed onto the package offer to allow for compliance with the new legislation and have the advantage of also being scanned at the point of sale.

Because a barcode printed onto a transparent bottle will not scan reliably, it makes sense to print the required QR code on the top of the cap, where a high-quality barcode image can be achieved.

Domino Launches Bottle Closure Printing Station for Labelless Water Bottles

With brands already looking to implement pilots on labelless battles in Korea, printing specialist Domino has launched a range of print and product handling solutions, especially for this market.

The Domino system is able to print a QR code and other required information on top of the bottle cap at the high speed needed by this industry.

***Printing System for Labelless Bottles from Domino***

There are systems available that can handle loose caps and others for printing after the bottles have been filled and capped.

The printing systems can include pre and post-treatment to improve print adhesion as well as vision inspection systems to ensure every cap is correctly printed.

Domino’s K300, a high-speed piezo-electric printer that can print up to 600 x 600 dpi, is integrated into the systems. The printer can use various ink types, including water-based, glycol and UV-cured, to allow for matching to a specific application.

Domino says that several systems have already been installed in water companies in South Korea as brands begin to move to label-free or labelless packaging.