Spirits Bottle Decoration by Sublimation
ATIU decorates spirits bottles by sublimation: the artwork is printed in CMYK, fused into a primer on the glass and wraps the whole bottle, base to neck, at 1200 dpi. No label, no sleeve, no screens. It runs on the tapered, faceted and decanter-shaped glass that premium whisky, gin, rum and agave brands actually use, from 5,000 pieces to millions, at up to 4,000 bottles per hour in Verona, Italy.
What it does on a spirits bottle
Three things at once.
- 01
The whole surface
Neck to base, 360°, no panel edge, no seam, on tapered, curved, concave and asymmetric forms
- 02
Full colour at a flat price
Ten thousand colours cost the same as a two-colour crest: no separations, no setup per colour
- 03
The same file at every scale
A 5,000-piece edition and a run of millions share the same platform, with one supplier from the first sample to full production
One platform
One tested technology, endless results.
For a development team, the real advantage of sublimation is not a single spectacular bottle. It is that one technology, qualified once, covers the whole range. Because the colour is unlimited and the surface is the entire bottle, the same process produces endless outputs: a clear primer with a fine line drawing, a white matte base carrying the 1920s poster of a centenary edition, a metallic dégradé under a night sky. That is what turns a decoration technique into a platform for a portfolio.
Qualified once
Resistance is tested on the system, not on each design. Once the primer, top coat and process are validated for a brand, every new bottle, every colour variant and every edition runs on the same qualified base, with no new development cycle.
Design changes are digital
A new colour, a new artwork, a regional or seasonal edition is a new file, not a new setup: no tooling, no re-industrialisation, no development cost per variant. Several editions can run on the same primer base in the same run.
On the shelf
A fashion-house edition on a super-premium Scotch: a maximalist floral pattern, neck to base, no cropping, no visible seam. Plymouth Gin with the Ocean Conservation Trust: a sustainability message carried by the decoration itself. Barbancourt and Rhum Clément: multi-edition programmes on the same bottle, one run each.
The bottle is the media you cannot skip
Every other channel in a spirits marketing plan has a skip button. The object does not. A bottle behind a bar is seen by everyone in the room, all evening. It travels on Instagram without a media budget. It sits on a back bar for months, long after the campaign that launched it has been forgotten. The bottle is not packaging: it is the most lasting media placement in the plan, and it compounds. That is why decoration should be the first decision in a launch, not the last.
A premium spirit is bought as a gift, on the same shelf as watches and fragrances
Creative directors bring in artists and fashion houses
PPWR makes recyclability a condition, not a bonus
Three pressures, one answer: the whole bottle, decorated
Where other techniques make more sense.
Coating
A single-colour bottle with no artwork is a coating job, not a sublimation job: same line, same primers, and for a core range often the right call.
Glass bottle coating → 02Screen printing
A two-colour logo on a cylindrical bottle in very high volume, or a brand that wants the glass-like feel of fired screen print.
Read the comparison → 03Hot stamping, shrink sleeve
Metallic accents, a logo on a cap or a star on the front panel, belong to hot stamping. When the decoration budget is tight and the market still accepts plastic on the bottle, a shrink sleeve is the practical choice.
Sleeve and ink jet compared →Primer
Sublimation prints in CMYK. Whites, metallics and the base effect come from the primer. On amber, green or black glass a white or metallic primer gives the artwork a faithful base; a clear primer keeps the liquid visible. Finishes are made in-house and practically unlimited; the standards are clear, clear matte (frost), white gloss, white matte, metallic full or dégradé. Same artwork, different primer, different bottle.
Request the swatch kit →
Coverage
Coverage is a design choice, not a fixed setting: from fully transparent to fully covering, with everything in between. How much light passes through, and how much of the glass stays in view.
Creating the artwork
Any artwork that exists as a file can be decorated: photography, gradients, fine serif type, hundreds of colours, at 1200 dpi and a true 360 degrees. Pantone or Cromalin targets are matched through calibrated CMYK, not ink mixing. Four things to get right at the start; then break every other rule. Preparing print-ready files →
Colour space
Work in CMYK, not RGB. Whites, metallics and the base effect come from the primer, not from ink. Define the primer as part of the brief.
Format
Photoshop (.psd) or Illustrator (.ai), layered, at 600 dpi native or more at final print size. Package with linked assets and fonts.
Distortion
Flat artwork takes the bottle’s shape, and on curved areas it deforms. We supply the distortion curve for your component, or pre-distort the file for you.
The joint
On a full 360° wrap the artwork meets itself. The meeting point is hidden inside the design through pattern or texture: design for continuity from the start.
How a project works
Four steps. From brief to finished bottles on the line, same equipment start to finish.
Brief
Bottle reference, artwork and volumes, with Pantone or Cromalin colour targets. Design flat, in CMYK.
Renderings, then the sample
Renderings on your own bottle first, at about 95% fidelity. Then a production-line sample within five working days of the components arriving. During a plant visit, a prototype in about 30 minutes.
Approval
The piece you sign off is locked as the production reference. Every bottle that ships is measured against it.
Production
From 5,000 pieces to millions, at up to 4,000 bottles per hour. Validated for contact with high-proof spirits and for handling and logistics; a trial pallet on request for your filling line. About one month from purchase order, retro-planned against your bottling date. EXW or DAP: Europe, Americas, UAE.
Nothing added to the glass
Waterborne primer and inks. No label, no sleeve, no plastic: the bottle stays glass, in hand and on the sorting line. The chemistry, the energy and the logistics were engineered so that the most striking decoration is also the one your sustainability team signs off.
Waterborne primer and inks, free of heavy metals
No label, no sleeve, no plastic on the glass
Net-zero CO₂ since 2023, full Scope 1–3
EcoVadis Committed
Pentawards Gold 2025, Sustainability
Ready when you are
See it on your bottle first.
Send your bottle reference and your artwork, a print-ready file or a rough concept, and we send back sublimation renderings on that bottle, then a production-line sample in five working days.
About ATIU
ATIU decorates glass bottles by sublimation: full-body, 360°, 1200 dpi, from 5,000 pieces to millions. Two plants in Verona, Italy. The company works on glass, aluminium, zamac and ceramic components — perfume bottles, flacons, spirits bottles, caps and candle jars — for perfumery, spirits, olive oil and home fragrance brands, including groups such as Pernod Ricard and LVMH. Founded in 2019, 40 people, up to 4,000 bottles per hour. ISO 9001. EcoVadis Committed. Net-zero CO₂ since 2023. Pentawards Gold 2025.
What is the minimum order?
5,000 pieces per design, up to millions of pieces per project. Several editions can run on the same primer base in one run.
Does a complex design cost more?
No. Price depends on finish and top coat, bottle size and quantity, not on the number of colours. A full-body photographic artwork and a one-colour crest cost the same on the same bottle at the same volume.
Does it work on dark or coloured glass?
Yes. A white or metallic primer gives the artwork a faithful base on amber, green or black glass; a clear primer keeps the liquid visible.
Does it work on unusual bottle shapes?
Yes. Tapered, curved, concave, asymmetric, embossed and decanter-shaped glass is decorated 360°, base to neck, with no seam.
Is the bottle still recyclable? What about PPWR?
Yes. Nothing is added to the glass: the decoration is fused into a waterborne primer, and transmittance is treated as a design parameter so the bottle still reads as glass on the sorting line.
How fast can I get a sample, and can we hit a launch date?
Renderings on your own bottle in days, a production-line sample in five working days from component arrival, a prototype in about 30 minutes during a plant visit. Typical lead time is about one month from purchase order, retro-planned against your bottling date.