Short answer
To print a full 360° design straight onto a glass bottle, aluminium can, body-spray can, candle jar or tumbler, use a cylindrical UV printer. Sun Studio in Al Quoz, Dubai, prints on containers you supply with an LSINC PeriQ360 and a PeriOne: no minimum order, and one sample first. The PeriQ360 prints up to four items at once, in CMYK plus white ink, on cylindrical and slightly tapered objects from 38 to 114 mm across. Businesses that want the machine itself buy it through PRO TECHnology, LSINC's listed distributor for the Middle East.
A flatbed UV printer prints onto flat things: panels, boxes, phone cases. Round objects need something different. A cylindrical printer holds the object on a spindle and turns it under the print heads, so the ink goes all the way around, seam to seam, with UV light curing it as it lands. The result is a full-wrap print on the glass or metal itself, with no label, sleeve or adhesive.
Where to get it done in Dubai: Sun Studio
Sun Studio's cylindrical printing service in Al Quoz prints onto containers its customers supply, using two LSINC machines: a PeriQ360 for production runs and a PeriOne for samples, prototypes and short runs. It takes no minimum order and starts every job with a printed sample, so a brand can see the result on its own bottle before committing to a quantity.
What makes it practical for brands:
- Short runs and samples. There are no plates or screens to make, so a design change is a new file. One bottle, fifty, or a few thousand.
- Full colour and white. White ink lets brand colours show on clear and coloured glass, and the artwork can be seen through clear glass from the back.
- Filled or empty. Sun Studio has printed filled, capped bottles and candle jars after pouring, which suits finished stock and gifts.
- Raised effects. Layers of ink and varnish build tactile textures and faux embossing.
What you can print
| Industry | Typical jobs |
|---|---|
| Beverage | Glass water bottles, juice and soft-drink bottles, aluminium cans, seasonal and event editions, hotel and co-branded bottles |
| Fragrance and cosmetics | Perfume bottles, body-spray aerosol cans, cosmetic jars and bottles, launch and gift editions |
| Home and gifting | Candle jars, diffuser bottles, tumblers, corporate gifts with names |
| Hospitality and events | Branded glassware, bar and event bottles, limited editions for venues |
| Wine and spirits, speciality food | Premium bottles and jars (markets LSINC lists for the machine) |
Sun Studio's portfolio includes four Ajmal Perfumes body-spray designs printed in one run, and 1,000 printed cans delivered in two days for PRO TECHnology's Beautyworld stand.
The machine: LSINC PeriQ360
LSINC, based in Huntsville, Alabama, designs and manufactures direct-to-object printers in the United States. It builds the PeriQ360 specifically for cylindrical, bottle and container printing. Its key feature is four independent print tunnels, so it prints up to four items at the same time, and each tunnel can run a different file.
- Objects
- Cylindrical and tapered products in glass, metal (including aluminium), plastic and other non-porous surfaces
- Size
- 38–114 mm diameter (1.5–4.5"), up to 406 mm long (16"), taper up to +10° / −2°
- Ink
- UV LED-cured inks: CMYK plus white, with varnish and primer options (CMYKW, CMYKWV, PCMYKWV)
- Heads and curing
- Ricoh Gen4 piezo heads, helical printing, LED pin and final cure
- Loading
- Semi-automatic, four items per cycle, run by one or two operators
- Software and colour
- ONYX Thrive RIP, G7 colour calibration, consistent colour across diameters
- Footprint
- About 3.1 × 2.4 × 2.1 m (123 × 95 × 83.5"), 1,000 kg
- Recognition
- 2021 PRINTING United Alliance Pinnacle Product Award
Its smaller sibling, the PeriOne, uses the same print engine but is loaded by hand, one item at a time, and takes larger objects (38–152 mm diameter, up to 457 mm long). LSINC rates it at up to 282 items an hour for a 4-inch-tall design. It suits samples, prototypes and high-mix short runs, and it's the usual first machine for a business starting out. Speeds depend on design height, resolution and settings, so ask for a test on your own object.
Why print houses and studios buy one
For a print house, a cylindrical printer opens work that flatbed machines can't do: bottles, cans, jars and drinkware for beverage, fragrance, gifting and hospitality clients. How quickly it pays back depends on your volume and prices, but the economics have some clear advantages:
- No set-up per design. Without screens or plates, short runs and personalised items are profitable, and that's work customers pay more for.
- Several markets from one machine. Water bottles one week, perfume the next, candles for a gifting season.
- Four at once. On the PeriQ360, four items print per cycle with semi-automatic loading, so one or two operators can run production volumes.
- Brands bring it in-house. Bottlers and fragrance houses use it for seasonal, limited and co-branded editions alongside their labelled lines. See how a Saudi water producer does this in our Oska case study.
Ask for a payback model built on your own numbers: expected jobs a month, price per piece, ink use and labour. Don't rely on a brochure figure.
Buying one in the Middle East: PRO TECHnology
PRO TECHnology, a Dubai company established in 1998, is LSINC's listed distributor for 14 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia. It supplies the printers, installs them on site, trains operators, and holds service engineers, spare parts, LSINC inks, primers and consumables in Dubai. Before buying, you can run trials on your own containers on a PeriOne or PeriQ360 at Sun Studio in Al Quoz. PRO TECHnology's PeriOne vs PeriQ360 comparison helps you choose between models.
Before you print: what to check
- Shape and size: diameter, height of the print area, and any taper, shoulders or embossing in the glass
- Surface: glass, aluminium, PET or coated; some need a primer for adhesion
- Use: handling, chilling, condensation, washing or alcohol contact, tested on a sample
- Artwork: a flat design with the exact wrap length; where white ink goes; what shows through clear glass
- Quantity per design and how often it changes; direct printing wins when designs change often
For how direct printing compares with labels, sleeves and screen printing, see label, sleeve or direct print?
Questions buyers ask
What is cylindrical printing?
Printing onto round objects by rotating them under inkjet heads, so the design wraps all the way around. With UV ink, each pass is cured instantly by UV light.
Can you print on glass bottles in Dubai with no minimum?
Yes. Sun Studio prints on bottles you supply with no minimum order, starting with one sample.
Can it print on aluminium and body-spray cans?
Yes: aluminium beverage cans and aerosol cans, full wrap, empty or filled.
Is the print durable?
It depends on the surface, the primer, the finish and how the object is used. Ask for a sample and test it under your real conditions, such as chilling, handling or washing.