Packaging Strategies recently sat down with David Randall, product manager of metal decorating at Sun Chemical, to discuss how the entire metal packaging supply chain – including inks and coatings – ties into growing consumer demand for eco-friendly packaging.

Sun Chemical makes inks for two-piece cans, with much of the production taking place at the company’s plant in Gallarta in northern Spain.

“The cost structure that we have there in northern Spain is allowing us to win business globally,” Randall said, noting that the bases produced in Spain get finished at Sun Chemical’s U.S. headquarters for metal decorating in St. Charles, Illinois.

Randall said innovations are transforming two-piece inks and resulting in an industry that is more efficient and therefore more eco-friendly.

“The packaging world is transitioning from an analog process to a digital process, and we’re really trying to embrace that as best we can. In doing so, we really reduce a lot of the time it takes to launch a product to market,” Randall said.

The company has what’s called SunColorBox, a series of color management tools that offer a plethora of options for managing color.

“Among those is the SunDigiProof process, which allows us to digitize a specific color and recreate that on a digital printer. This is available across all packaging formats, including metal,” Randall said.

Check out the entire podcast to learn more about Sun Chemical’s decorating solutions for two-piece metal packaging. You can also learn more at the company’s website here.