PARSIPPANY, N.J., USA – During PACK EXPO 2014, Sun Chemical will show how it can take customers from concept to consumer through its full range of solutions for the packaging markets, from packaging design/brand consultancy, pre-press services with high-definition digital plate technology, and low migration to brand protection, conductive materials for smart device interaction, and inks, coatings, and consumables. 

“During PACK EXPO, we’re taking our customers on a journey from concept to consumer by showcasing our full range of solutions for the marketplace,” said Charles Murray, President, North American Inks, Sun Chemical. “Customers can count on us not only for inks and coatings, but also for flexo plates, brand protection, packaging design and more. We strive to be a solutions partner to our customers to ensure we can meet a broad range of packaging needs that provide real value.”

Meeting Brand Owner Needs from the Design Stage

At Sun Chemical booth #4969, visitors will be introduced to Sun Branding Solutions (SBS), the packaging brand lifecycle management agency of Sun Chemical, which works extensively with brand owners to ensure that packaging is pivotal to their retail presence, harmonizing global brands, optimizing shelf impact and package performance, and helping to make packaging a pivot point for integrated multichannel promotional campaigns. 

Through the expertise of SBS and its ODIN Packaging Launch Software, Sun Chemical can manage all aspects of a packaging launch and provide complete visibility and control over every stage of the packaging development process, including ways to optimize packaging at the design stage, evaluating alternative formats and structures, reducing surplus packaging, or supporting a transition to lower-gauge materials.

SunGraphics® HD Plate Certified Technology Produces Packaging that Pops

To learn more about how Sun Chemical helps brand owners and converters at the pre-press stage, guests at the booth will be introduced to SunGraphics® high definition flexographic plate technology, with Esko HD software and CDI high resolution imaging. Converters that utilize the HD printing plates can print with an image quality of up to 4,000 PPI resulting in expanded tonal range and colors for narrow web, wide web and corrugated applications. 

Printers will also see how Flat-Top Dot technology prints with 30-60 percent less dot gain due to impression compared to standard digital plates, allowing for longer, cleaner, more consistent runs from beginning to end. Flat-Top Dot technology also reduces and/or eliminates the fluting effect common in corrugated printing. 

HD certified by ESKO, Sun Chemical’s is one of the select few worldwide that are proven to use advanced HD to help achieve higher ink densities, reduce or eliminate pin-holing, improve print quality in the shadow areas and create a smoother more uniform ink lay down for solid coverage with MicroCell or Pixel Plus plate technology.

Conductive Materials Designed to Engage Consumers

T+Sun, a partnership between Sun Chemical and T+Ink, will be offering new packaging technologies at the booth, including demonstrations of TouchCode, an embedded code that when touched to a smart device, activates a range of options, including security and web interaction. TouchCode offers an important step forward to engaging with consumers. 

Sun Chemical Coatings Lightweight Packaging, Appeal to Senses and Offer Late-Stage Differentiation

A variety of coatings will be on display at Sun Chemical’s booth including Sun Chemical’s SunBar^® OxygenBarrier Coatings which are designed to enable lightweighting of packaging by removing the metal foil and one layer of adhesive from packaging, as well as offering improved laminate flexibility. A smooth, homogenous, pinhole-free layer, SunBar is easily overprinted with inks and can be laminated to a variety of secondary films. SunBar is cost-effective, recyclable, biodegradable and press-ready, allowing for lighter-weight packaging, a reduced carbon footprint, and easy application with few changes to current equipment.

Other coatings will be on display for satin, matte and gloss printing, in addition to the SunInspire sensory coatings line which offer special effects that allow a customers’ product packaging to stand out on store shelves visually through high luster metallic, fluorescent, glitter, pearlescent, as well as iridescent finishes. SunInspire tactile coatings, ranging from coarse and gritty to soft and smooth, appeal to the sense of touch. Other coatings in the line can create an interactive experience with color shifting, reticulating, and other aromatic coatings.

Sun Chemical’s SunLase™ laser marking solutions is a coating that enables brand owners to add content to both secondary and primary packaging information after the filling and closure of the pack, whether for practical supply chain purposes or as a late stage packaging differentiator. The SunLase solution prints a transparent or tinted coating onto a packaging substrate during the printing process. After the packaging has been sealed, variable coding graphic information, such as barcodes, QR codes, and “Use By” dates or branding, can be created using a low power CO₂ or fiber laser to change the color of the patch to black where marked, with no risks to the packaged product.

Brand Protection Products Offer Anti-Counterfeiting Solutions

Sun Chemical will showcase an infrared coding solution called Verigard™, a security system that adds a small quantity of taggants, or chemical markers, to inks, varnishes or coatings for use in any print process on any substrate, by using a demonstration unit containing a control box and conveyor belt. Using sensors attached to the control box mounted on the conveyor belt, the verifier monitors the presence/absence of the printed ink containing taggants, and/or the printed film thickness.

Low Migration Solutions for Safe Packaging

Sun Chemical will showcase its SunPak low migration family of products to help address the risk brand owners face in food and pharmaceutical packaging, where compounds from materials in the packaging structure can migrate into the product or the surrounding environment. SunPak LMQ inks exhibit very low odor, off-flavor and migration levels, and offer a comprehensive solution to brand owners and converters who are looking for ways to address migration concerns for food, pharmaceutical and tobacco applications.

As part of the “Innovation Stage” at PACK EXPO which brings educational discussions on breakthrough technologies and techniques, Dr. Gregory Pace, a manager of global regulatory affairs at Sun Chemical, will present a seminar on this topic on November 3^rd at 2:00 p.m. during the show.

To learn more about Sun Chemical’s solutions on display during PACK EXPO 2014, visit www.sunchemical.com/pack-expo or stop by booth #4969 on November 2-5 in Chicago.