Sun Chemical and Epple collaborate to make direct food contact inks available globally

Sun Chemical today announced that it has signed an exclusive agreement with the innovative German printing inks manufacturer Epple Druckfarben to combine their resources to make Epple’s class-leading series of sheetfed offset inks for direct food contact, BoFood® Organic, available to a global audience.

BoFood Organic is a worldwide patented sheetfed offset ink for printing on the inside of folding carton food packaging, also allowing direct food contact. All the raw materials used in the manufacture of the ink have been approved for use in foodstuffs.

Under the agreement, ownership of the intellectual property in BoFood Organic remains with Epple, which has granted Sun Chemical a licence to market BoFood Organic under the name of SunPak® Organic, reflecting the ink’s food-safe qualities. The two companies have also agreed to work together to further develop the platform technology for other potential applications.

Commenting on the agreement, Dr. Carl Epple, Member of the Management Board, Epple Druckfarben, says: “We see ourselves as pioneers in the development of sustainable sheetfed offset printing inks and are particularly proud of having created a worldwide patented offset ink that has been approved for printing on the inside of food packaging. It’s therefore gratifying that Sun Chemical, the world’s largest manufacturer of printing inks, has recognised the quality of our technology and we look forward to cooperating with them around the marketing and potential future development of the inkset for the benefit of common customers and printer.”

Felipe Mellado, Chief Marketing Officer and Board Member at Sun Chemical, comments: “Having carried out the necessary due diligence to ensure that, as with all the products we offer, Epple’s food-safe ink technology conforms to the high standards our customers expect from Sun Chemical, we are delighted to be collaborating with Epple to market the technology under the SunPak® Organic name and look forward to a fruitful relationship for both parties.

About Sun Chemical
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 and over 20,000 employees supporting customers around the world.

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 Web site at sunchemical.com.