Sun Chemical

Ones and zeroes seem to rule the roost—digital is everywhere. In the printing world, digital has a firm grip in the commercial arena where variable-data printing is the “killer app.” According to Jeff Wettersten, director, Digital Print Solutions for Sun Chemical, “Digital printing has gained a strong position in commercial printing due to its variable-data capability. The ability to personalize messages in printed media where they are reaching an audience of one has transformed the use of the product.” In package printing, it’s not so simple; variable-data printing doesn’t have the same play as it does in the commercial sector. “Variable data

PARSIPPANY, N.J.—Sun Chemical appointed Rudi Lenz as its chief executive officer and president, effective Jan. 1, 2008. Dr. Koji Oe, president of Dainippon Ink and Chemicals of Japan, Sun Chemical’s parent company, made the announcement on behalf of the Sun Chemical Board of Directors. Lenz assumes leadership of Sun Chemical after serving as senior vice president and chief financial officer and Sun Chemical Board member since 2002. Lenz succeeds Dr. David Hill, who announced his retirement in late 2007. “Lenz assumes the CEO and president role at an important time for Sun Chemical, and I have every confidence that he will lead Sun to

NORTHLAKE, Ill.—Faced with increases in the costs of raw materials and the impact of recent events in the global supply chain, Sun Chemical will raise prices 8 percent for packaging inks in North America effective Jan. 1, 2008. Despite Sun Chemical’s consistent efforts to improve productivity, Richard B. Pettifor, president, North American Packaging, Sun Chemical, stated that the aggressive action by the Chinese government to address environmental non-compliance in the chemical industry has resulted in supply shortages—driving the need for price increases in North America. Additionally, the efforts by the Chinese to curb environmental impact, coupled with their policy that eliminates export VAT tax

“Counterfeit Colgate Toothpaste Found” is the headline for a June 14 U.S. Food and Drug Administration press release warning that toothpaste with packaging resembling a Colgate product found its way into dollar-type discount stores in four states in the United States. Consumers were lucky this time around —packages were readily identifiable as fake so they could discontinue use or dispose of the product immediately. The counterfeit labels included several misspellings, and stated that the product had been manufactured in South Africa—a location Colgate does not use for manufacturing toothpaste. This is only one example of how a brand’s identity was stolen and reproduced to

Coatings are somewhat unsung heroes in the package-printing world. They provide many important functions, yet most people don’t even know they’re there. These people don’t care either—except that if the coatings weren’t there, they might not like the label or package as much, might even complain about it, or worse yet, might not buy the product. Whoa, Nellie! “Houston, We’ve got a problem.” “Iceberg dead ahead!” Now, we’ve got somebody’s heart pumpin’. Coatings to the rescue No, coatings can’t help much when it comes to world calamities, but if the heart that’s “pumpin’” happens to be a product manager, now we’re playing in

BRUSSELS, Berlin—Labelexpo Europe 2007, taking place on 26-29, is expected to attract more than 23,000 visitors to Brussels from all over the world. With the ongoing growth of the label industry, more companies are exhibiting this year and an additional hall will make the show even larger than in 2005. With 90 percent sold, of exhibitor space sold, six halls will be packed with international suppliers unveiling their new machinery and innovations on this special global stage. With the global label industry continuing to grow steadily at a rate of 5-7 percent each year, Labelexpo Europe provides the opportunity for manufacturers to showcase their

BIELEFELD, Germany—Fischer & Krecke delivered their its CI flexo press designed for Sun Chemical’s WetFlex process to UV-Flex GmbH, Aichstetten, Germany. The 10-color press, a FLEXPRESS 16S model, will be commissioned in the beginning of March. WetFlex is an innovative process in which the radiation cured inks developed by Sun Chemical are applied wet-on-wet to the substrate. The new WetFlex press features a print width of 1350 mm (53 inches) and repeat lengths or 320 – 1050 mm (12.6 – 41 inches). It is designed for printing and in-line lamination of aluminium foil, film and co-extrusions. Additionally, the press line includes an in-line laminating

Package printing is not for the faint of heart. One needs to look no further than packaging ink systems to get an understanding of the complex nature of printed products for the packaging market. Inks can be water-based, solvent-based, or radiation-cured systems; they can be developed for specific processes such as offset, flexo, gravure, or screen; and can be compatible (or not compatible) with different coating, lamination, or adhesive systems. Some are designed for use with specific substrates, while others are applicable for a wide range of substrates. These are just the basic, top-level considerations. Beyond these, there are a multitude of functional,

PARSIPPANY, N.J.—Sun Chemical, manufacturer of inks and organic pigments, will be featured on an upcoming episode of the History Channel’s “Modern Marvels” series on the history and usage of ink. The one-hour episode visits two Sun Chemical manufacturing locations and several of its printing customers. The show is scheduled to air Wednesday, Oct. 4 at 10 p.m. EST. “Sun Chemical has been manufacturing ink [for] nearly 200 years, and we are pleased that the History Channel recognized our innovations and contributions to the development of the industry,” says Brad Schrader, chief marketing officer. The History Channel describes the show as follows: “Invented by

NORTHLAKE, IL/DAYTON, OH—Sun Chemical has announced the sale of certain assets of its Sun Graphic press blankets business to Day International, a leading blanket supplier to the industry. The asset purchase is subject to the satisfaction of the customary closing conditions and is expected to be effective August 31, 2006. The two companies will also enter into a distribution agreement for the sale of Sun Graphic blankets. "After careful examination of business conditions, we concluded it would be best to divest this smaller portion of our business," said Mark J. Levin, president, Sun Chemical North American Commercial Group. "However, we were eager to find