Parsippany, N.J. – Due to a 50-75 percent spike in the raw material costs for the Violet 23 pigment with further increases expected in 2011, Sun Chemical will raise prices for all products containing the pigment by 20 percent in North America, effective January 1, 2011.
 
Two of the key raw materials needed for the production of the Violet 23 pigment, carbazole and chloranil, have faced a significant supply shortage in both China and Germany due to consolidations and increased demand. This imbalance in supply and demand with carbazole and choranil has led to the dramatic cost increases seen over the past year with further increases expected in 2011.
 
The majority of ink products affected are in the liquid inks market, but Violet 23 pigments are also used in a variety of conventional sheetfed and UV inks at Sun Chemical.
 
“We are facing a very challenging market right now where raw material suppliers continue to consolidate and give us few industry supply options to choose from. The result has been a significantly higher cost in manufacturing our inks that use the Violet 23 pigment,” said Tony Renzi, Vice President of Product Management for Liquid Inks at North American Inks, Sun Chemical. “Despite all these challenges, we will continue to work on controlling our own costs closely with our supply chain partners.”