|
Sun Chemical’s Platinum White Receives a PIA/GATF 2008 InterTech Technology Award
PARSIPPANY, N.J., U.S.A. - July 22, 2008 - Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation announced that Sun Chemical was awarded a 2008 InterTech Technology Award for its Platinum White technology, a UV flexo white ink that improves the productivity of converters when printing narrow web labels by delivering increased line speeds, faster changeovers, improved color separations, and reduced costs.
UV rotary screen white inks have long provided high opacity and brightness for package printing, however, rotary screen printers are restricted to low press speeds and sometimes borderline adhesion to many substrates. In addition, flexo or letterpress inks printed over them usually require modification for optimal wetting and adhesion.
Platinum White technology improves on rotary screen technology by enabling increased press speeds, adhesion to many challenging substrates, overprint ability with standard UV letterpress, UV and water-based flexo inks and coatings, better color separations, faster makeready times, and reduced consumable costs.
“We’re proud to be the only ink manufacturer to receive an InterTech Award,” said Brian Leen, president, North American Inks. “We tell our customers that ‘working for you’ means providing quality, service and innovation. Receiving this award is further evidence that our commitment to innovation is working and making a real difference for our customers.”
Printers will not need to modify press equipment or invest in costly new equipment to use Platinum White. Additionally, converters can cut further expenses by purchasing flexo plates at a considerably lower cost than easily damaged rotary screens.
“For those printers who must lay down an opaque white on clear substrates or overprint the opaque white for shrink sleeve printing, using Platinum White daily can bring a significant cost savings per year,” Leen said. “InterTech award judges noted that Platinum White technology will have a positive economic impact on flexo printers and praised the improvements in opacity and speed offered by this ink. We are pleased to have it recognized by PIA/GATF, but we are especially proud of the way Sun Chemical’s innovations are benefitting the needs of our customers.”
About PIA/GATF InterTech Technology Awards
Inaugurated in 1978 to foster awareness and understanding of advanced graphic arts technology, the PIA/GATF InterTech Technology Awards honor excellence in innovative technology for the graphic communications industry. The nomination criteria stipulate that the technology be recently developed but out of beta testing and be proven in industrial application, but not yet in widespread use. The technology must also be expected to have a major impact on the graphic communications industry over the next five years. Over 80 percent of past recipients have experienced commercial success in the marketplace.
PIA/GATF sponsors the award and coordinates the award process as a service to the graphic communications industry; however, InterTech Technology Award recipients are chosen by an independent, anonymous panel of judges. The judges, distinguished within the industry, all have experience in evaluating or commissioning new products or technologies and possess expertise in a wide range of fields, including premedia, printing, binding and finishing, and related software and services.
About Sun Chemical
Sun Chemical, a member of the DIC group, is the world's largest producer of printing inks and pigments and a leading provider of materials to packaging, publication, coatings, plastics, cosmetics, and other industrial markets. With annual sales over $4 billion, Sun Chemical has 12,000 employees supporting customers around the world. The Sun Chemical Group of companies includes such established names as Coates, Hartmann, Kohl & Madden, and US Ink.
Sun Chemical Corporation is a subsidiary of Sun Chemical Group B.V., the Netherlands, and is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, U.S.A. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.sunchemical.com. |