How a Tin Container Is Made: From Tinplate Sheet to Finished Tin

A tin container looks simple, but it goes through a long chain of steps before it reaches a filling line. Knowing those steps helps you understand why lead times, minimum order quantities and artwork deadlines work the way they do.

1. It starts as tinplate

Tinplate is thin steel sheet with a very thin coating of tin on both sides. The steel gives the container its strength, and the tin coating protects the steel from rust and gives the familiar bright finish. Tinplate arrives at the factory in coils or in sheets of a set thickness, chosen for the size of tin being made.

2. Coating and printing happen while the sheet is flat

Lacquer and print go on before the tin takes shape. The flat sheets are coated with a protective lacquer, then printed with the customer’s artwork and baked so the inks and coatings cure hard. Printing flat is what makes sharp, full-colour designs possible on a curved or cornered container. It is also why printed tins have higher minimum quantities: every print run needs its own plates and press set-up.

3. Sheets are cut into body blanks

The printed or plain sheets are slit into rectangular blanks, one per container body. The size of each blank depends on the height and diameter, or the sides, of the finished tin.

4. The body is formed and joined

Each blank is rolled into a cylinder, or folded into a rectangle, and the side seam is joined. The open ends are then flanged, turned slightly outward, so the top and bottom can be attached.

5. Ends and lids are pressed and seamed

Bottoms, tops, rings and lids are pressed from tinplate on separate presses. The bottom is joined to the body with a seam that rolls the metal of both parts tightly together, so the joint seals without solder. The top ring or lid is fitted the same way, depending on the closure the product needs.

6. Testing and packing

Finished tins are checked for leaks, dents and print quality before they are packed onto pallets for dispatch. At Deccan, this work happens at our factory in Daman, which has been making tins since the company began in 1998.

Want to see the sizes we make? Browse our tin containers, or contact our sales team with your product and quantity.