Sun Chemical announced WetFlex on August 1, 2006—a flexographic printing process allowing wet-on-wet trapping of energy-curable UniQure inks on central-impression presses, followed by inline curing with a single electron-beam (EB) unit at the end of the press. The approach eliminates inter-station hot-air drying, reduces volatile organic compound emissions, and targets food packaging applications where odor and migration control matter.
Sun developed WetFlex with print partner Comexi of Girona, Spain, and EB specialist Energy Sciences. Felipe Mellado, Sun Chemical Europe marketing and technology corporate vice-president, noted live trials were underway and European manufacturing of UniQure process colors—yellow, cyan, magenta, and black—was progressing. Retrofit onto existing Comexi CI presses was positioned as feasible for converters already invested in solvent flexo infrastructure.
UniQure inks are solvent-free, water-washable, and suitable for multi-color process work on paper, plastic, and foil. Sun cited high gloss, low odor, reduced carbon dioxide emissions, and compatibility with inline coating as advantages over conventional solvent flexo drying chains. Industry estimates placed standalone EB unit investment around $500,000, a capital hurdle for mid-size converters weighing total cost of ownership against VOC compliance and energy savings.
WetFlex joined a broader industry shift toward energy-curable flexo alternatives developed by major ink suppliers during the 2000s. For flexible packaging printers running CI flexo on thin film laminates, the process offered a pathway to retain wet-trap color quality while removing oven banks between print stations—potentially shortening press footprints and simplifying register control on extensible substrates.
Converters evaluating EB flexo in 2006 weighed press compatibility, EB shielding requirements, and food-contact approval timelines. WetFlex nonetheless signaled that solvent flexo's dominance in high-quality flexible packaging would face credible EB and UV challengers before the decade ended—particularly as Gidue, Sun Chemical, and IST Metz later combined inert-atmosphere UV curing with low-migration ink systems.