US-based Sun Chemical has become the latest global ink supplier to increase the price on all of its inks and coatings containing acrylic derivatives.
“Disruption in the production of certain building blocks used in the making of inks and coatings, such as styrene and acrylic acid, will cause price increases of up to eight percent in the cost of all water-based and UV/EB inks and coatings depending on the amount of raw material used and geographical region amongst other factors,” said the company in a statement.
“Other product lines may also be affected, depending on the evolution of important raw materials such as nitrocellulose, distillates, solvents and soya oils among others.”
The price hikes will take effect from 15 May, 2017.
“Sun Chemical has been doing its best to minimize these price increases to our customers, but unfortunately the instability in the supply chain makes it impossible to sustain current prices,” said Felipe Mellado, chief marketing officer, Sun Chemical.
The company says its sales representatives will contact each customer individually to explain products affected and ensure that individual needs are met.
Sun Chemical, a member of the DIC group, is a leading producer of printing inks, coatings and supplies, pigments, polymers, liquid compounds, solid compounds, and application materials.
Together with DIC, Sun Chemical has annual sales of more than $7.5 billion, with over 20,000 employees located at 176 subsidiaries across 63 countries, including Australia and New Zealand.
In March, leading global ink supplier Flint Group flagged a new round of ink price increases, citing major supply shortages in base raw materials. On 3 April, the Luxembourg-based company increased its prices by between four and seven percent.