Sun Chemical launches enhanced nitrocellulose alternative portfolio for flexible packaging

Packaging Solutions

Sun Chemical has enhanced its portfolio of nitrocellulose alternative inks designed specifically for flexible packaging applications, supporting converters, retailers, and consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies in navigating today’s changing market dynamics and stricter packaging regulations. The inks address the known challenges of solvent based inks and coatings containing nitrocellulose, while being fully compatible with recycling processes, in line with RecyClass and Ceflex design guidelines.

The expanded portfolio underscores the company’s commitment to innovation that balances sustainability, performance, and supply security. Nitrocellulose (NC) has long been used in solvent based inks and coatings, but today faces supply issues, rising costs, and sustainability concerns. Its thermal instability during high temperature recycling causes odour, discolouration, and contamination, affecting the quality of recyclate, reducing its potential for reuse.

Sun Chemical offers a broad portfolio of NC alternative inks, coatings, primers, and adhesives, optimised to work together as a complete system. Available for both flexo and gravure printing, the portfolio includes:

• SunSpectro SolvaCycle solutions for surface printing.

• SunStrato DuraCycle, SunStrato Duratort, and SunStrato Duralam for lamination printing.

• SunUno SoliCycle, a versatile multipurpose option that can be used for both surface and lamination printing.

These solutions are guided by customer needs and market requirements, and backed by the company’s innovation, expertise, and continued investment in research and development. In addition, its modular system, based on polyurethane (PU) concentrates, allows converters to make a smooth transition from NC/PU inks to NC free alternatives, ensuring supply continuity and stability on press.

By replacing NC, the NC alternative portfolio reinforces value for converters and brand owners across four key elements. First, the ink helps converters mitigate risks from supply chain volatility. Beyond risk reduction, the inks deliver added value through total cost of goods benefits, such as lower eco modulated Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) fees, ensuring efficiency. They also support sustainability by enabling recyclability in line with packaging design guides and meeting end of life requirements, while helping reduce regulatory costs and ensuring the availability of quality recyclate to meet plastic tax requirements. Importantly, product and consumer safety remain paramount. As a trusted supplier, Sun Chemical provides NC alternative inks that maintain the full colour gamut needed to support branding requirements, ensuring aesthetics and quality are never compromised.

These benefits are particularly relevant for converters of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) flexibles and multi-laminates across Europe, especially those supplying users in chilled foods (such as dairy, cheese and yoghurts), frozen foods, laundry products, confectionery, bread bags, and horticulture.

With global supply capabilities across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and Asia, the company’s ensures consistent solutions are tailored to local market needs. Its resins and pigments deliver optimised press stability and colour gamut to match customer requirements. Working closely with its customers, Sun Chemical has already supported successful transitions across multiple regions with its NC alternative solutions. Through these transformative solutions, the company continues to help its customers stay ahead in an ever changing industry.

Mehran Yazdani, president, packaging and advanced materials, commented:‘Our NC alternative solutions offer customers a clear pathway to sustainable growth. By mitigating supply risks, enabling efficiencies, and supporting end of life recyclability targets, we are giving our customers the solutions they need to meet evolving brand, retailer, and regulatory demands, without compromise on quality or safety. This enhanced portfolio reflects Sun Chemical’s long term investment in innovation, expertise, and collaboration with converters to deliver value beyond ink and to allow them to ‘Experience. Transformation’.’