Conventional metal cans which are provided with a bail to carry same, such as for example one gallon paint cans, are provided with ears which are welded, clinched or otherwise attached, on diametrically opposed sides of the side wall of the can whereby to attach the bail. In the fabrication of the can the application of the ear to the paint can causes problems in the assembly process. For example, when metal ears are welded to the side wall of the can the welding process can cause some destruction and cause bare metal to be exposed on the inside of the can. When latex paint is placed in such cans, consumers can find rust floating on top of their paint due to its contact with bare metal. The precise ear placement is also problematic with welded ears, often leading to rejecting products and requiring extra inspection.
A further problem with paint cans on which ears are welded is that when labels are applied to the can the machine must take into consideration the location of the ears and this poses a restriction on the speed of operation. It also causes defective label applications and again resulting in rejection of cans where labels are improperly applied and therefore requiring more labor to recycle such cans. The current method of applying labels to the paint can is literally a slow rolling process. Before the label is applied, the can has to be indexed so that the ears are properly timed as they pass through the labeling process, a definite bottleneck. Once indexed, the can is rolled over glue and then over a paper label.