Cylindrical Printing Machines Explained: Screen, Pad, Rotary UV and Industrial Helical UV Printers
Published · PRO TECHnology Digital Printing
A cylindrical printing machine prints onto round objects such as bottles, cans, jars and tumblers by turning the item while the image goes on. There are four main types: screen printing, pad printing, rotary UV inkjet and industrial helical UV inkjet. They differ in colour, set-up per design, speed and what they can do on clear glass, so the right one depends on how many designs you run, in what quantities and on which containers.
This guide is for manufacturers, packaging buyers and print businesses in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East choosing a machine to decorate round products. It compares the four types on neutral terms, then shows where the LSINC Peri Series fits and where another type is the better buy. PRO TECHnology is LSINC's exclusive dealer for the Middle East and North Africa, appointed on 7 December 2023; the machines are introduced on our LSINC bottle printing machines page. If you would rather have the printing done for you in the UAE, Sun Studio, the group's print studio in Al Quoz, Dubai, prints bottles, cans and drinkware as a service.
- Four types
- Screen printing, pad printing, rotary UV inkjet and industrial helical UV inkjet
- What decides it
- How many designs, how many pieces, the container shape and the finish you need
- LSINC rated speed
- 174 to 1,146 pieces an hour at a 4 inch (101.6 mm) artwork height, by model
- Try it first
- Print trials on your own containers at Sun Studio, Dubai, on the PeriOne or PeriQ360
Key takeaways
- A cylindrical printing machine turns a round item while the image goes on, so the decoration can wrap the product instead of sitting on one flat panel.
- Screen printing is efficient for long runs of a settled design in a few colours, but every colour needs its own screen, so full-colour artwork and frequent design changes cost more.
- Pad printing puts small marks on curved or uneven parts such as caps and closures; it is not built to wrap an image around a bottle.
- Rotary UV inkjet, as an attachment on a UV flatbed or as a compact rotary machine, prints full colour with no screens and suits occasional round work and light production.
- Industrial helical UV printers such as the LSINC PeriOne, PeriQ360 and Perivallo360m write the image as one continuous spiral, load white and clear inks with the colours, and are built for production on bottles, cans, jars and tumblers.
- LSINC rates its machines at 174 to 1,146 pieces an hour at a 4 inch artwork height, depending on the model; real output is measured on your own container.
- Compare machines on cost per printed piece and on a trial with your own container, not on the purchase price alone.
What is a cylindrical printing machine?
A cylindrical printing machine decorates a round or tapered object, such as a bottle, can, jar, tumbler or tube, by rotating it while ink is applied, so the design can run around the product. The term covers very different equipment: mechanical screen and pad printers that transfer ink from a screen or a plate, and digital UV inkjet printers that jet ink straight onto the surface and cure it with UV light. What they share is the rotation. What separates them is how many colours they lay down, what each new design costs to set up, how fast they run and what they can print on clear glass.
It is not the same thing as the printing cylinder of a gravure or flexo press, which is an engraved or imaged roll that prints onto film, paper or labels running past it. Searches for a cylinder printing machine often mix the two; this guide is about machines that print onto the round product itself.
The four types of cylindrical printing machine
1. Cylindrical screen printing machines
The container turns on rollers or a holder while a flat mesh screen travels across it in step, and a squeegee pushes ink through the open areas of the screen onto the surface. Each colour needs its own screen and its own print stroke, or its own station on an automatic line, and the colours have to be registered to one another. Manual and semi-automatic machines suit small workshops; automatic multi-station lines are built for long runs of the same design. On glass, screen printing is also the route to ceramic or fired decoration, where the printed bottle is baked at high temperature.
2. Pad printing machines
An etched plate holds the ink, and a soft silicone pad picks the image up and presses it onto the part. Because the pad deforms, it reaches curved, recessed and uneven surfaces such as caps, closures and pens. It is the right tool for small logos and markings; it is not designed to wrap an image all the way round a bottle.
3. Rotary UV inkjet printers
UV inkjet heads print full colour, often with white and varnish, while the item turns under them, and UV lamps cure the ink. There are two common forms: a rotary attachment fitted to a UV flatbed printer, which uses a machine the business already owns, and compact dedicated rotary UV printers sold mainly for tumblers, bottles and drinkware. There are no screens, so a design change is a new file and a test print. Machines in this group vary widely in print heads, white-ink handling, taper adjustment, loading and local support, and those that print in separate passes rely on registration between them, so check how the wrap closes and whether bands show on your own artwork.
4. Industrial helical UV printers (direct-to-object)
Industrial direct-to-object printers are built around the round object. On the LSINC PeriOne, PeriQ360 and Perivallo360m the item is held on a spindle and carried into the print engine by a shuttle, and the heads lay the image down as one continuous spiral while the item rotates. LSINC calls this helical printing; it is how the Peri Series produces a seamless 360° wrap. Around it sit the things a production line needs: recipes stored on the machine for repeat jobs, ink recirculation, LED pinning during printing with a final UV cure, and on the PeriQ360 a four-spindle carriage that prints four items at a time with semi-automatic loading. How the process works step by step is in our guide to cylindrical UV printing.
Up to seven inks can be loaded, in CMYKW, CMYKWV or PCMYKWV configurations, so white, clear varnish and a jettable primer can run with the colours. The PeriOne and PeriQ360 print on clear or coloured glass with no barrier inside the bottle; for the Perivallo360m, LSINC's brochure lists clear media as an upgrade. LSINC also lists tactile effects and faux embossing, built up from layers of cured ink.
Side by side: how the four types compare
| Screen printing | Pad printing | Rotary UV inkjet | Industrial helical UV (LSINC) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How the image goes on | Ink pushed through a mesh screen, one screen per colour | A silicone pad transfers ink from an etched plate | Inkjet heads print while a chuck or rollers turn the item | Inkjet heads lay one continuous spiral while a spindle turns the item |
| Full-colour artwork | Costly: each colour is a separate screen and stroke | Limited to small multi-colour marks | Yes | Yes, with up to seven inks loaded |
| Wraps the whole product | Yes, with colour-to-colour registration | No, small areas only | Yes; check how the wrap closes | Yes, a seamless 360° wrap |
| White on clear glass | Yes, as its own screen | Possible as a separate colour | Depends on the machine | Yes; no barrier needed on the PeriOne and PeriQ360 |
| Set-up for a new design | New screens, then registration | A new plate | A new file and a test print | A new file, a stored recipe and a test print |
| Best fit | Long runs of a settled design in a few colours | Small logos on caps, closures and curved parts | Occasional round jobs, sampling and light production | Production on bottles, cans, jars and tumblers with frequent design changes |
Which type fits which job?
- One or two colours on the same bottle for months at a time: automatic screen printing, or a label, usually costs least per piece once it is set up.
- A logo on a cap, a closure or a small curved part: pad printing.
- A flat-printing business that gets round jobs now and then: a rotary attachment on the UV flatbed you already run.
- Personalised drinkware in small numbers: a compact rotary UV printer, or have the pieces printed by a studio.
- Full-colour wraps, white on clear glass, tactile finishes, many SKUs or seasonal editions in production quantities: an industrial helical UV printer.
- Strong tapers and contours such as necks, shoulders and cones: a contour-following machine; the Perivallo360m takes tapers up to ±30° and diameters from 20 to 139 mm.
- No machine at all: Sun Studio prints bottles, cans and drinkware in Dubai as a service.
Each industry adds its own questions. Water and beverage bottlers should read our guide to water bottle printing machines for bottlers; fragrance and cosmetics makers our page on perfume and cosmetic bottle printing machines; candle makers our page on candle jar printing machines. What the Peri Series prints, product by product, is in our applications guide.
Rotary UV printer or industrial cylindrical printer?
This is the comparison most buyers end up making, because both print full colour with UV ink and both turn the item. The difference is what the machine is engineered around. A rotary attachment or a compact rotary printer adds rotation to a general-purpose UV printer. An industrial cylindrical printer is built around the round object: spindle and shuttle transport, fixtures made for your container, recipes stored for repeat jobs and, on the PeriQ360, semi-automatic loading of four items at a time.
Questions that separate them, asked on your own product:
- Does the wrap close cleanly, and do bands show between passes on your artwork?
- Can it print white and colour on clear glass without a blocker inside the bottle?
- Does colour stay the same across your container sizes? LSINC's Diameter Independent Resolution holds a fixed resolution whatever the diameter, and the PeriQ360 adds G7 calibration between its tunnels.
- How is each item loaded, and how many pieces can one operator handle in an hour?
- Which diameters and tapers does it take, and what does a fixture for a new container involve?
- Who installs it, trains your operators and services it in your country, and where are spare parts held?
If round products are occasional, the attachment is often the sensible buy. If they are the main line, the transport, fixtures, loading and colour controls of a dedicated machine are what you are paying for. Our cylindrical UV printer buying guide compares the LSINC models in detail, and our guide to choosing a UV printing machine covers flatbed, wall and conveyor printers as well.
Speed: rated output and what you will see
LSINC quotes every speed as a maximum at a 4 inch (101.6 mm) artwork height and states that speed depends on image height, resolution and print mode. Real output also depends on coverage, on layers such as white and tactile varnish, on loading and on staffing, so a net rate is measured on your own container during a trial rather than read off a sheet. For one settled design in a few colours at very high volume, automatic screen printing or labels remain the usual choice.
| Model | Item diameter | Max item length | Max taper | Loading | Rated maximum at 4 inch artwork |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PeriOne | 38 to 152 mm | 457 mm | +10° / -2° | Manual, one item | 282 pieces an hour |
| PeriQ360 | 38 to 114 mm | 406 mm | +10° / -2° | Semi-automatic, four items | 1,146 pieces an hour |
| Perivallo360m | 20 to 139 mm | 406 mm | ±30° | Manual, one item | 174 pieces an hour |
What does a cylindrical printing machine cost?
Prices span a very wide range because the four types are different classes of equipment, from manual tabletop screen printers to industrial production systems. LSINC machines are quoted per configuration: the model, the ink set, the fixtures for your containers and, on the PeriQ360, the feed system. The number that decides the purchase is the cost per printed piece over the life of the machine, which is built from:
- Ink and primer, which rise with coverage and with white, varnish and tactile layers.
- Set-up for each design: screens or plates for screen and pad printing; artwork preparation, a recipe and a test print for digital.
- Operator time per piece, which depends on manual or semi-automatic loading.
- Fixtures for each container shape and size.
- Rejects while a new design or a new container is being proven.
- The site: LSINC lists 16 A single-phase power at 200 to 240 V, compressed air at a minimum of 90 psi for the PeriOne and 120 psi for the PeriQ360 (150 psi with its feed system), and a room held at 18 to 30 °C and 40 to 70% relative humidity.
We model this on your own containers, artwork and volumes before you buy; choose Assess capacity and cost in the form below, or ask for a quotation on our LSINC bottle printing machines page.
What to test before you buy any cylindrical printer
- Send your real containers, empty and, if it matters, filled, with the artwork you will actually run.
- Print the hardest design you have: full colour with white on clear glass, small text, gradients and any tactile effect.
- Check the wrap and the colour: how the wrap closes, any bands between passes, and colour across your container sizes.
- Test adhesion and resistance on the printed piece against the handling, chilling, alcohol or washing it will meet. LSINC lists pre-treatment as dependent upon substrate, so results on your own container are what count.
- Time a realistic run, including loading and changeovers, and cost it per piece.
- Confirm installation, training, spare parts and service in your country before you sign.
Request a print trial on your own containers
Tell us the container, the artwork and the volume. Trials run on the PeriOne or PeriQ360 at Sun Studio, Dubai; a contoured container for the Perivallo360m is assessed with LSINC. The Digital Printing team replies by email, usually within one working day.
Where to see cylindrical printing machines in the UAE
Sun Studio, the group's print studio in Al Quoz, Dubai, runs the LSINC PeriOne and PeriQ360 in daily production, and it is where PRO TECHnology runs print trials on customers' own containers. PRO TECHnology supplies and supports LSINC printers across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East and North Africa; LSINC lists 14 countries in PRO TECHnology's territory. The appointment is described in our LSINC partnership announcement.
Frequently asked questions
What is a cylindrical printing machine?
A machine that prints onto round or tapered objects, such as bottles, cans, jars and tumblers, by rotating the item while ink is applied, so the design can wrap around it. The main types are screen printing, pad printing, rotary UV inkjet and industrial helical UV inkjet printers.
What are the types of cylindrical printing machines?
Four main types: cylindrical screen printers, which use one screen per colour; pad printers, which transfer small marks from an etched plate with a silicone pad; rotary UV inkjet printers, either an attachment on a UV flatbed or a compact rotary machine; and industrial helical UV printers such as the LSINC PeriOne, PeriQ360 and Perivallo360m, built for production on round products.
What is the difference between a rotary UV printer and a cylindrical printer?
A rotary UV printer adds rotation to a UV inkjet printer, as an attachment on a flatbed or as a compact rotary machine. An industrial cylindrical printer such as the LSINC PeriQ360 is built around the round object, with spindle and shuttle transport, fixtures for each container, stored recipes and four items printed at a time. The first suits occasional round jobs; the second suits production.
Can a UV flatbed printer print on bottles?
Yes, with a rotary attachment that turns the bottle under the print heads. It is a practical answer when round jobs are occasional. When round products are the main line, a dedicated cylindrical printer handles loading, fixtures and colour across container sizes in a way an attachment is not built to.
What machine is used to print directly on glass bottles?
Glass bottles are printed directly by screen printing, including fired ceramic decoration, or by digital UV printing on a cylindrical printer that rotates the bottle under inkjet heads. The LSINC PeriOne, PeriQ360 and Perivallo360m are industrial cylindrical UV printers for glass bottles, and the PeriOne and PeriQ360 print on clear glass with no barrier inside the bottle.
Is screen printing or UV printing better for bottles?
Screen printing suits long runs of a settled design in a few colours. Digital UV printing suits full-colour artwork, frequent design changes, many SKUs, personalisation and short runs, because a new design needs a file and a test print rather than new screens.
How fast is a cylindrical printing machine?
It depends on the type and the artwork. LSINC rates its machines at up to 282 pieces an hour on the PeriOne, 1,146 on the PeriQ360 and 174 on the Perivallo360m, all maximums at a 4 inch (101.6 mm) artwork height. Taller images, higher resolution, white and tactile layers and loading bring real output down, so it is measured on your own container.
How much does a cylindrical printing machine cost?
Prices range from manual tabletop screen printers to industrial production systems. LSINC machines are quoted per configuration: the model, the ink set, the fixtures and, for the PeriQ360, the feed system. Compare machines on cost per printed piece, including ink, set-up, labour, fixtures and rejects.
Where can I see a cylindrical printer in the UAE?
At Sun Studio in Al Quoz, Dubai, the group's print studio, where LSINC PeriOne and PeriQ360 printers run in daily production and print trials are run on customers' own containers. Contact PRO TECHnology to arrange a trial.
Do you supply cylindrical printers outside the UAE?
Yes. PRO TECHnology is LSINC's exclusive dealer for the Middle East and North Africa, appointed on 7 December 2023, and supplies and supports LSINC printers in Saudi Arabia and across the region.
ماكينات الطباعة الأسطوانية: الأنواع وكيف تختار ماكينة الطباعة على الزجاجات والعبوات
ماكينة الطباعة الأسطوانية تطبع على الأجسام المستديرة مثل الزجاجات والعلب والبرطمانات والأكواب، بتدوير القطعة أثناء وضع الحبر عليها. وهناك أربعة أنواع رئيسية: الطباعة بالشاشة الحريرية، والطباعة بالوسادة (التامبو) للشعارات الصغيرة، وطابعات UV الدوّارة، والطابعات الصناعية الحلزونية بتقنية UV.
تناسب الطباعة بالشاشة الحريرية الكميات الكبيرة من تصميم ثابت بعدد قليل من الألوان، بينما تناسب الطباعة الرقمية بتقنية UV التصاميم الملونة بالكامل وتغيير التصاميم المتكرر والإصدارات الموسمية، لأنها لا تحتاج إلى شاشات أو ألواح. وتطبع ماكينات LSINC PeriOne وPeriQ360 على الزجاج الشفاف والملوّن دون حاجز داخل الزجاجة، وتُستخدم في الطباعة على زجاجات العطور المستديرة وزجاجات المياه والمشروبات والعلب والأكواب.
تورّد بروتكنولوجي، الوكيل الحصري لشركة LSINC في الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا، ماكينات الطباعة على الزجاج والعبوات وتدعمها في الإمارات والسعودية ودول المنطقة، وتُجرى تجارب الطباعة على عبواتك في صن ستوديو في القوز بدبي قبل الشراء.
Sources
Machine facts are taken from LSINC's product sheets for the PeriOne (PO-05-2024), PeriQ360 (PQ-07-2024) and Perivallo360m (PM-07-2022) and its September 2026 brochures, held by PRO TECHnology as LSINC's regional dealer, and from LSINC's web pages listed here. Descriptions of screen, pad and rotary UV printing are general; individual machines differ.
Bring the container, then choose the machine
A printed sample of your own bottle, can or jar shows what a comparison of machine types cannot: how the wrap closes, how white looks on your glass, and how fast your artwork really prints.