Parsippany, NJ – 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 in North America by: 4 percent for packaging liquid inks with a specific increase of $0.40/lb on bronze metallic inks, 6 percent for energy curable inks, and $0.75/lb for commercial sheetfed blended colors, effective April 1, 2010.

For over 18 months, raw materials and energy cost volatility have significantly impacted the ink industry.  Non-traditional factors recently began impacting the price of major feedstocks and raw materials, including: supply base consolidation and capacity curtailment, significant decline in refinery margins, and rationalized operating rates to diminish demand. The combination of these factors has led to elevated fixed costs on raw material goods.

"Due to the consolidation of raw material suppliers, we now have fewer industry supply options to choose from," said Tony Renzi, Vice President, Product Management Liquid Inks, North American Inks, Sun Chemical. "Until we see an improvement in demand or a supply correction is made in the raw materials industry, we will continue to face a higher cost in manufacturing inks.

"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, and we will continue to invest in those areas that provide our customers with innovative products and services allowing them to be more competitive and present the best value propositions in the market."