Flint Group North America has announced a price increase on black coldset inks, effective April 1, 2012, subject to existing contracts. Prices will increase by US$0.04 per pound (CAD$0.09 per kilo) for black coldset inks used to print newspapers, directories, books and web-coldset commercial applications.

Increased global demand for certain petroleum-derived raw materials, coupled with the increased price of crude oil, has raised the costs of the primary materials used to produce black coldset inks. Specifically, costs of refined naphthenic oils and carbon black have sharply increased.

The number of naphthenic oil refiners has decreased over time. A few remaining North American refiners now supply the majority of worldwide demand, exporting a significant amount of their production overseas. Norm Harbin, Business Director, News Inks for Flint Group, notes that the industry “no longer competes solely on a domestic basis for these resources, but rather in a global environment.”

Meanwhile, carbon black manufacturers removed a significant amount of capacity at the height of this recession. Demand has since increased, especially for the tire industry, and carbon black suppliers now find themselves at full capacity with no plans for expansion.      
“Flint Group is taking every possible measure to mitigate the impact of this increase,” says Norm. “We appreciate customers’ understanding of the market conditions that make this price increase necessary.”