Consumables

Sun Chemical expands sheetfed offset direct food contact ink offering

Friday 15. December 2023 - Due to the stringent compliance requirements Sun Chemical adheres to for direct food contact (DFC) printing, there is a rigorous pigment selection process used by Sun Chemical for its DFC product range which considers pigment chemistry.

Sun Chemical has further enhanced its sheetfed offset direct food contact ink offering with the launch of an innovative, ‘green’ shade blue pigment that helps to increase the color gamut available to designers and brand owners, especially now within the ‘green’ shade color space without comprising compliance to accepted food safety standards.
Due to the stringent compliance requirements Sun Chemical adheres to for direct food contact (DFC) printing, there is a rigorous pigment selection process used by Sun Chemical for its DFC product range which considers pigment chemistry and potential non-intentionally added substances (NIAS). Currently, there are no suitable green pigments available on the market. The commercial green pigments that are available contain residual NIAS of regulatory concern, which could potentially migrate into the food. This has restricted the colour palette available for direct food contact inks. The addition of this new base to the SunPak DirectFood Plus range means that 1801 colours can now be achieved at a tolerance of Delta E <2 (dE2000) to Digital Master Pantone.
In line with this, as part of SunColorBox, Sun Chemical has developed GamutViewer software to enable brand owners, designers, and converters to predict if their desired colour is within the gamut of the SunPak DFP ink range. This will result in less rework and waste throughout the entire packaging development workflow.
Sun Chemical has also produced physical swatch books (SunDigiGuides), available to designers and brand owners, that illustrate which Master Pantone references are achievable within an acceptable tolerance when using the SunPak DFP ink range, setting expectation for colour upfront that results in speed to market for new product launches.
Patrice Aurenty, Global Business Leader, Sun Chemical Color Management comments: “This exciting launch demonstrates Sun Chemical’s commitment to R&D. We’re delighted to be able to not only extend the colour gamut available with the new SunPak pigment, but also enable designers and brand owners to achieve their visions clearly with our GamutViewer software and SunDigiGuides. We’re confident that our solutions will enable brand owners and designers to take direct food contact packaging solutions to new heights.”
In addition, Sun Chemical has further expanded its footprint of dedicated DFC mixing centres with investments in plants in the UK and Germany to support the growing demand for bespoke spot colours of these specialist inks.