DIC member Sun Chemical will instigate a global price rise across its offset inks and coatings from March 1.

Sun Chemical says the increase will be in the high single digits and will vary depending on the product composition and product line. The company says it will communicate specific price rises directly with customers.

Sun Chemical says costs have risen for the last 12 months and further increases are expected for the remainder of this year. The company says the rise is mainly due to production and environmental restrictions on key materials, especially in China where there has been a number of escalations in the prices of oil, solvents, distillates and pigments.

[Related: Flint Group to raise prices]

Felipe Mellado, chief marketing officer at Sun Chemical says, “The high levels of raw material costs are unprecedented and as a result make it necessary for us to keep our ink prices under review. We work proactively with our supply chain partners to manage and minimise costs, but due to the economic reality, cost pressures have been constant and significant price increases are being passed on to the inks industry. To ensure we maintain high levels of product quality and service, it has become necessary to increase customer prices.”

Rival major producer Flint Group recently also implemented a global price increase of up to 9 per cent across its offset and publication gravure inks, coatings and pressroom consumables. Both Flint and Sun Chemical have already increased costs earlier this year, seeing a rise in costs for packaging inks in January.

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