Darmstadt – Merck KGaA will be presenting its extensive range of prod¬ucts and solutions for the printing and packaging industries at IPEX, an international trade show that will be held from May 18 to 25, 2010 in Birmingham, United Kingdom. At the same time, Merck is using this industry event to present innovations aimed at adding value to printing products within the scope of PrintCity, the renowned strategic alliance spanning the entire value chain of the printing and packaging sectors.

Colorstream Royal Twinkle and Colorstream Luxury Twinkle
One of the impressive features of Colorstream multicolor effect pigments are their numerous color changing effects. With the new products Royal Twinkle and Luxury Twinkle, color changing effects are complemented by a brilliant sparkle. In addition, from certain viewing angles the new Colorstream pigments appear virtually transpar¬ent and can be used in nearly all printing processes. The latest generation of Color¬stream pig¬ments, which are made with novel substrates based on calcium-alumi¬num-borosilicate, create a refined and glamorous look.

Pyrisma interference pigments for printing and packaging
Pyrisma interference pigments stand for exquisite color saturation. Thanks to a spe¬cially developed particle size distribution a maximum color space can be achieved with eight complementary interference pigments. Magenta, indigo and turquoise are now available in addition to green, blue, yellow, red and violet.  The Pyrisma  product line has been developed in accordance with the "Merck Color Space Concept", which is based on  complex colorimetric calculations and allows the achievement of a maximum color space with a minimum number of pigments.  In turn, color-intensive effects can be at¬tained even at low layer thicknesses.

Iriodin Pearlets
When pearl luster is the aim in the printing, plastics or paint industies, Iriodin effect pigments from Merck are the preferred choice. Iriodin Pearlets have been specially developed for use in the printing industry. This pigment preparation is available for water- and solvent-based as well as UV-curing systems in silver-white and gold tones.  With a pigment concentration of more than 90%, the spheres are the perfect tool. They offer advantages such as nearly dust-free processing and higher process efficiency as well as easier blending and incorporation into the respective binders.

Iriodin 325 Solar Gold Satin
From wallpaper to high-quality packaging for lifestyle products: particularly intense, silky and natural, green-tinted gold effects can be achieved with the gold luster pigment Iriodin 325 Solar Gold Satin. With Iriodin 325, the fine particle fraction of the success¬fully launched product Iriodin 305 Solar Gold is now available. The combina¬tion of small particle size and innovative manufacturing technology give the pigment a high degree of coverage and tremendous color intensity at the same time.

Brand and product protection with Merck Securalic pigments
The brand protection concepts offered by Merck with its Securalic security pigments are a valuable and effective tool in the fight against counterfeit products. They offer certainty for brand manufacturers at different levels ranging from visible interference and color changing effects all the way to taggants recognizable in infrared light as well as forensic security features. The new "Luxury Goods Packaging" demonstration tool will be presented to a large public audience for the first time at the IPEX. It shows the breadth of applications of Merck security pigments and illustrates how printing, plastic, and paint manufacturers can develop counterfeit-proof brand protection concepts.

Merck in PrintCity
As a member of the PrintCity alliance, Merck adds value to print and packaging. PrintCity connects the worldwide expertise of the graphic arts industry and creates cross-industry solutions in line with customer and market needs. Please visit us at IPEX 2010 at Stand 17-D921 to learn more about product innovations from Merck.