It was confirmed to PrintWeek yesterday (10 January) that prices will on average go up by 2%-8%, depending on the components used to make up each ink. Exact increases will be directly agreed with the US-headquartered manufacturer’s customers.

Cost pressure on raw materials and services has led to the decision. The group will continue to monitor the situation into the new year.

Packaging inks director of strategy and marketing Thomas Gray said: “Since 2017 we have been deploying significant capital and resource to efficiency improvement initiatives across the breadth of our business operations and regions in order to mitigate as much of the cost headwind as possible. However, our efficiency projects can only go so far to offset this margin pressure. Thus, we are forced to look to the market to alleviate some strain.

“Key factors leading to the price increases include a progressively challenging global trading environment with some serious commodity price volatility and political uncertainty. Cost headwinds have been witnessed in pigments, solvents, resins and freight.

“We will continue to bear as much cost pressure as possible and look to innovative solutions to mitigate the impacts of these price rises on our business but in today's global economic environment and global petrochemicals marketplace, nothing is certain.”

In September last year, factors such as the Blue Skies environmental initiative in China led to Flint raising the prices of its conventional and UV sheetfed inks and coatings.