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

Epple Druckfarben AG, Neusäß, and Sun Chemical, a leading producer of printing inks, today announced that they have signed an exclusive agreement to combine their resources to make Epple’s class-leading, migration harmless 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 Executive 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.”

[Caption image 1] Felipe Mellado, Chief Marketing Officer and Member of the Board at 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.“ © Sun Chemical

[Caption image 2] Dr. Carl Epple, Member of the Executive Board Epple Druckfarben AG: „We look forward to cooperating with Sun Chemical around the marketing and potential future development of the inkset for the benefit of common customers and printers.” © Epple Druckfarben AG

[Caption image 3] BoFood® Organic for inside printing of food packaging was honoured with the German Packaging Award 2018 and the WorldStar Packaging Award 2019. The ink system offers new possibilities für innovative packaging concepts. © Epple Druckfarben AG

COMPANY INFORMATION EPPLE

Epple Druckfarben AG stands for unique perfection in every detail. Since 1870, Epple has em-bodied permanent further development and the highest of quality demands. As the leading producer of offset printing inks, Epple has demonstrated its power of innovation with early development of mineral oil-free eco-series and special types of ink for very long washing intervals in perfecting printing. This has also been demonstrated in the sector of inks for foodstuff packaging with the patented products BoFood® MU and BoFood® Organic. PURe® is setting new standards as a third technology offset ink system, which completely avoids the use of metal dryers or photo initiators. Both sustainability and flexibility in business are top priorities at the medium sized family-run company. Unlike practically any other company, Epple is in the position to provide tailor made solutions for the individual requirements of their global customers.

COMPANY INFORMATION 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 www.sunchemical.com.