Gurnee, IL – GFI Innovations and Braden Sutphin Ink Co., the oldest privately owned ink company in the U.S., have reached an agreement to augment a strategic relationship that began nearly 10 years ago. The announcement taps Braden Sutphin’s coast-to-coast network reach and supports GFI’s plan to expand its dealer network with a robust distributor program for offset and flexographic inks.

“We have enjoyed a long relationship with GFI and this agreement will further expand the relationship. They have proven ink dispensing technology that is truly a value-added service for our customers,” said Jim Leitch, CEO of Braden Sutphin Ink Co. “GFI has worked closely with us for years to give us the best solution for the marketplace. Their equipment works very well, is well engineered and experiences very little down time.”

Headquartered in Cleveland, Braden Sutphin has manufacturing facilities in Carlisle, Ohio (heatset), and Milwaukee (flexo), and 15 full service satellite locations in the U.S. The company began operations in 1913 and has grown its comprehensive ink portfolio to include a wide range of products. The extensive list includes sheetfed, offset, web heatset and non-heatset inks, in addition to waterless, duplicator, low VOC, soy and vegetable-based, UV Curable offset, water-based flexo and digital.

The agreement calls for Braden Sutphin to manage GFI’s paste and flexo ink formulation dispensing solutions lines, including the AccuBlend-HV for offset litho inks and new AccuBlend-LV flexo Ink dispensing solution. AccuBlend’s hardware and software systems improve control over the process, schedules and workflow of ink dispensing for commercial and packaging printers, which Mr. Leitch says works to his company’s favor. 

“The technology itself is terrific for printers who are doing a considerable amount of mixing Pantone inks. The quick turnaround time on-site with a GFI unit is a great benefit for our customer’s customers. GFI’s tech support in the field is tremendous, and they respond very quickly when needed.”

“We have built a solid relationship with Jim and the people at Braden Sutphin, and admire their support and how well they have managed our machines,” remarked John Borkovec, VP of Sales and Marketing for GFI. “With their expertise, they have a complete understanding and know how to implement our systems in the marketplace.  They also have done a great job of training people and instructing printers on how to use it to their best advantage while improving color accuracy and control.”