The deadline to submit entries for the fourth annual Colored by INX Can Design Contest is approaching. Brand owners, design agencies, marketers and metal decorators who used the INX Color Catalog to produce a commercial can design before December 31, 2022, are eligible. All entries must be postmarked by May 31 and contain the submission form, electronic design, and printed cans.

A new rule in effect this year is two INX colors must be used in the final can design. According to the company, the INX Color Catalog is known as the only true color standard for metal decorating, containing over 600 removable color metal swatches. It helps reduce lead times to get labels to market quicker.

Combined with new judges added to this year’s panel, a new voting process, and defending champion Great Lakes Brewing Company trying to three-peat, excitement is building says Renee Schouten, vice president of marketing for INX.

“In each of the first three years, we have increased the amount of entries for the Colored by INX Can Design Contest. Based on the enthusiasm of the people we met with at the MetPack and Craft Brewing Conferences earlier this month, we are hopeful it will continue,” she says. “Great Lakes Brewing Company won it in 2021 and took it to another level last year with their TropiCoastal Tropical IPA beer can design. It should be interesting to see what they enter this year and how it stacks up with the competition.”

The independent panel of five judges who will review all of the entries and determine the five design finalists includes two holdovers from last year and three new additions.

The returning judges are Sarah Jacks, INX International’s Color Perfection manager, and Scott Drucker, managing partner of Chicago-based marketing agency, The Drucker Group. Joining them are Alex Fordham, owner of The Metal Packager magazine in London; Janet Johanson, founder and CEO of BevSource, an integrated provider of beverage development, sourcing and production solutions in St. Paul, MN; and Marshall Thompson, the co-founder of Canworks, a digital aluminum can printing company based in Austin, TX.

Their selections will be announced on June 12. The public can vote on INX’s Facebook and other social media platforms from June 14-16; it will count as one vote along with the scoring of the judges. The winner will be announced on June 22 via the INX website and social media.