Sun Chemical to Highlight Sustainable Ink, Coating and Adhesive Solutions at Circlepack 2024

Using the theme “Experience. Transformation.,” Sun Chemical will showcase a comprehensive and sustainable portfolio of products for the packaging markets during Circlepack 2024 in Santiago, Chile.

“Inks, coatings and adhesives play a crucial role in sustainable packaging, offering not just vibrant aesthetics but also environmentally responsible solutions that align with our commitment to a more sustainable future,” said Diego Vial, General Manager, Packaging & Graphics, Sun Chemical. “We’re excited to show how our packaging solutions can help converters achieve their sustainability objectives.”

A Strong Focus on Sustainability

Visitors of booth #C6 will learn about Sun Chemical’s approach to sustainability — the “Five Rs” (Reuse, Reduce, Renew, Recycle, Redesign) — and how it leads to the development of inks, coatings and adhesives that help achieve biorenewable, recyclable and compostable packaging.

Sustainability solutions under Sun Chemical’s SunEco portfolio that will be on display includes:

• SunSpectro^® SolvaWash™ FL+, a washable/de-inkable, flexo-printable, solvent-based ink series that enables brand owners to increase the recyclability of shrink sleeve labels by allowing higher quality and yield of recycled PET from bottle recycling streams.

• SunUno^® Solimax, a multi-purpose ink system that maximizes pressroom efficiency and simplifies the overall print production process by providing a single platform that can cover multiple end-use applications. SunUno Solimax AP inks are certified as Vinçotte-TÜV for use on “OK Compost” packaging and are suitable for printing on various plastic films for external printing and lamination with adhesives, as well as pasteurization with heat treatment.

• SunVisto® AquaGreen™, a water-based ink and coatings series formulated with significantly higher levels of biorenewable sourced resin content that also delivers the performance attributes needed across a range of paper packaging applications.

• SunBar^® Aerobloc oxygen barrier coatings which enable lightweighting, extend shelf life, make packaging pop, and are part of a family of functional barrier and energy-curable adhesives and coatings that allow for the redesign of packaging by reducing and eliminating plastic layers and lamination. Other products in the family include: SunBar^® Vaporbloc, SunSys Vallotemp, SunFuse Theramseal, SunSys Vallogo, SunCure, and SunBeam.

• SolarWave™ UV LED curing flexographic process inks. This class-leading ink range, including SolarWave Integra and SolarWave FSP, is complemented by the highly versatile SolarVerse blending system which offers significant pressroom efficiencies by allowing the production of multiple ink profiles from one system, including standard and food packaging offers and UV LED. SolarWave FSP, one of Sun Chemical’s leading UV LED curing UV flexo systems for food compliant packaging and labels, is now independently certified for plant toxicity and thus suitability for compostable structures.

• SunColorBox, a suite of color management tools and services—from site assessments and full color audits to matching and validating colors to hosting digital libraries of spot colors, all of which enable consistent, accurate digital color communication and provides color data connectivity across the entire packaging supply chain—offers multiple sustainable benefits, such as reduced ink waste, substrate waste and energy consumption. A menu of added-value services, SunColorBox offers every customer – whether printing spot color, CMYK or extended color gamut – a tool to manage colors with best efficiency and ensure consistency across substrates and geographies. It also allows each customer to select the most suitable services based on the size of their business and the investment required.

• SunSpec™ SunStar, water and grease resistant heat seal adhesives that are now available as certified home and industrial compostable for paper-based packaging. Visitors of Sun Chemical’s booth can prepare for future changes in compostability standards with its resistant and barrier varnishes and adhesives range.

• SunLam™, a family of compostable lamination adhesives that consist of water-based and solvent-free adhesives. Designed to meet the needs of all the major flexible packaging applications for food packaging, these adhesives are based on the ultra-low monomer technology to enhance safety in use for operators and consumers.

• SunInspire™, special effect coatings for shelf appeal. Standout on shelf remains a top target for packaging designers while the paradigm change toward sustainable packaging structures challenges it. Sun Chemical is continuously innovating special effects for shelf appeal that not only to differentiate on shelf, but also transform with the changes of substrates while also maintaining safety and compliance for sensitive packaging.

• SunScreen, a real-time coating monitoring system. Ensuring the proper application of coatings is crucial for both performance and sustainability. Traditionally, the lack of real-time monitoring methods leads to inefficiencies, increased costs, waste, and subpar packaging quality.

• SunPak^® DirectFood Plus series of sheetfed offset inks and SunSpec™ SunStar overprint varnishes. Comprised of ingredients that are suitable for direct food contact, these solutions are ideal for folding carton converters to print on the inside of food packaging where direct food contact is an option. By using SunPak DirectFood Plus and SunSpec SunStar, plastic liners/layers, trays, and inserts can be removed from inside a box of chocolates or biscuits, for example, or from food service devices such as paper plates, thus enhancing recyclability. This also allows for exciting new designs that offer marketing messages printed on the inside of a package. Designed to deliver high quality print and high productivity, these inks seamlessly integrate into a typical production environment. Similar technology is available for water-based flexo printing with SunVisto AquaSafe inks.

For more information about Sun Chemical’s solutions on display at Circlepack 2024, visit Sun Chemical’s booth #C6 on April 16-18 at the Espacio Riesco Convention and Exhibition Center in Santiago, Chile, or visit www.sunchemical.com/sustainability.

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About Sun Chemical
Sun Chemical, a member of the DIC Group, is a leading producer of packaging and graphic solutions, color and display technologies, functional products, electronic materials, and products for the automotive and healthcare industries. Together with DIC, Sun Chemical is continuously working to promote and develop sustainable solutions to exceed customer expectations and better the world around us. With combined annual sales of more than $8.5 billion and 22,000+ employees worldwide, the DIC Group companies support a diverse collection of global customers.

Sun Chemical Corporation is a subsidiary of Sun Chemical Group Coöperatief U.A., the Netherlands, and is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, U.S.A. For more information, please visit our website at www.sunchemical.com