Sun Chemical to Increase U.S. Ink Prices

PARSIPPANY, N.J.—Faced with continued increases in the costs of raw materials and the impact of recent events in the global supply chain, Sun Chemical will raise prices in the United States by: 4 percent for packaging solvent-based inks, 8 percent for packaging water-based inks, 6 percent for UV flexo inks, and 14 percent for commercial and packaging energy curable (EC) paste inks and EC coatings, effective September 15, 2010.

For over two years, raw materials and energy cost volatility have significantly impacted the ink industry. Non-traditional factors that began earlier this year to impact the price of major feedstocks and raw materials continue, including: supply base consolidation and capacity curtailment, significant decline in refinery margins, and rationalized operating rates to meet diminished demand. The combination of these factors has led to elevated fixed costs on raw material goods.

“Raw material suppliers continue to consolidate, leading to fewer industry supply options to choose from and significantly higher costs in manufacturing inks,” said Grant Shouldice, Director, Product Management, Energy Curable, North American Inks, Sun Chemical. “At Sun Chemical, we continue to work on controlling our own costs closely with our supply chain partners, to improve our internal operations and to develop new value oriented products that can help customers grow their business.”