At the FESPA Global Print Expo 2025, held from May 6–9 at Messe Berlin, Sun Chemical, a prominent 200-year-old ink specialist, showcased its latest innovations in sustainable digital inks. The company’s booth was a hub of activity, attracting printers, converters, and OEM partners. Product Marketing Manager Simon Daplyn provided insights into Sun Chemical’s new offerings and its broader sustainability strategy.
Sun Chemical introduced three innovative digital ink lines, each designed to address specific industry needs while reducing environmental impact:
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Xennia Sapphire™ Pigment Inks:
These inks are available in low-, medium-, and high-viscosity formulations tailored for Epson, Kyocera, and Ricoh textile printheads. Developed for fabric printing, Xennia Sapphire inks eliminate the wash-off stage by using dry heat to bind color particles to the fabric. This process significantly reduces water and energy consumption, lowers wastewater treatment costs, and maintains excellent color strength and fabric hand-feel. The product is particularly relevant given tightening water-use regulations in textile hubs like Turkey and Pakistan, where pigment printing is becoming a preferred solution. -
Streamline Toccata™ Aqueous Inks:
Formulated for blue-back poster papers, these inks cater to high-volume outdoor advertising. They offer quick drying, high vibrancy, and resistance to cracking and scuffing during post-process handling. Streamline Toccata is also suitable for printing on corrugated boards used in point-of-purchase displays, making it versatile for both outdoor and indoor applications. - Room-Temperature UV Inks for Epson i3200 Printheads:
This ink set leverages ultra-low viscosity and LED curing technology to eliminate the need for heating, a common requirement in traditional UV fluid systems. By operating at room temperature, the inks reduce overall power consumption and expand the range of applications for wide-format printing, including direct-to-film and graphics workflows.
A key focus for Sun Chemical is its shift toward localized production. By leveraging manufacturing facilities in China, the United States, and Europe, the company aims to reduce delivery lead times, cut shipping emissions, and ensure timely access to inks for customers. Simon Daplyn emphasized that this localized production model aligns with customer demands for shorter lead times while also contributing to significant reductions in freight emissions. Sun Chemical plans to complete this three-continent production mirroring for priority ink lines by Q2 2026.
Looking ahead, Sun Chemical will focus on scaling the Xennia Sapphire pigment inks through roll-to-roll OEM partnerships, piloting Streamline Toccata with leading poster printers, and commercializing the room-temperature UV ink set in various workflows. These efforts are part of the company’s broader commitment to sustainability, which includes reducing water and energy use in ink chemistries and achieving carbon-neutral operations by 2050.
Sun Chemical, a subsidiary of the DIC Group, is a global leader in printing inks, coatings, pigments, and advanced materials. With over 22,000 employees across the Americas, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific, the company continues to innovate while advancing its sustainability goals, ensuring it remains at the forefront of the printing and packaging industries.
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