Ask the Collective
The questions independent drinks founders ask most — answered. Distilled from years of community knowledge so the good stuff never disappears in the feed again.
What UK bottle spraying and glass decoration services are available for small production runs?
For runs over 1,000 bottles, several UK specialist decorators are regularly used by members. Members recommend contacting suppliers directly as pricing and suitability vary significantly based on print complexity, run size, and whether glass is still at the manufacturer. **Recommended suppliers:** - **Dekorprint** (Birmingham) — regularly used for runs >1k; competitive pricing for tinting work, particularly cost-effective through contact Hardeep - **Nolan at Verallia** — used by members for tinting services - **Colorlites** / **Colourite** — used by members depending on project requirements - **Decor** — another option used by members for varying project types - **Glass manufacturer in-house facilities** — worth checking if your glass supplier offers spraying services, as this can avoid transport and wastage costs if decoration happens before the glass leaves the factory **Key considerations members flagged:** - Transport and wastage costs of external decorators can add up; check if your glass manufacturer can spray before delivery - Pricing varies by print complexity and run size, so get quotes from multiple suppliers - For >1k runs of simple tinting, external decorators typically represent the standard route
Which bottle decoration and spray coating services should we consider, and what are their typical turnaround times?
Members have identified several bottle decoration and spray coating options, though availability and turnaround times vary significantly. **Services mentioned:** - **Bruni** — mentioned as an option but noted to be reasonably slow - **Allied** — similarly slow turnaround - **Bottle Decoration Solutions** — confirmed to handle can sleeving and spray coating - **Saverglass** — praised as good quality but currently very busy - **Seaways** — recommended for low-volume work - **Image on Glass** — reported to be good - **DekorGlass** (dekorglass.pl) — Polish supplier, contact c.sterry@dekorglass.pl **Key considerations:** - If you want to keep costs reasonable, verify whether suppliers coat in-house or outsource, as this affects both pricing and control - Several members warned of frustrations with certain providers due to quality and reliability issues - Current capacity constraints mean some established suppliers (e.g. Saverglass) are very busy, so lead times should be confirmed directly