Archroma, Reinach, Switzerland, a global supplier of color and specialty chemicals and the former textile, paper, and emulsions businesses of Clariant, has announced the launch of Leucophor® SKH liquid, which it says "offers papermakers a new opportunity to achieve cost-effective, high-brightness ColorLok® grades of office paper." The new optical brightening agent (OBA) is the latest addition to Archroma's innovative Leucophor range.
Leucophor SKH is a urea-free, hexasulfonated OBA capable of delivering the highest levels of brightness, Archoma notes, adding that it sets a new benchmark of cost performance when used in combination with ColorLok technology in size-press applications. At the same time, Leucophor SKH maintains excellent performance in standard size-press applications.
Andrew Jackson, global head of product management, OBA, at Archroma said that "Archroma’s Paper Solutions Business constantly improves and innovates both its products and services based on market needs. Leucophor SKH is an exciting development; it brings to market a new solution for achieving high brightness in ColorLok papers at an affordable price. We look forward to working together with our customers to use this innovative OBA technology to bring down application costs."
Leucophor SKH is currently available in the U.S., with rollouts in Canada and Latin America expected to follow shortly. It is anticipated that Leucophor SKH will be available in Europe from mid-2014.
ColorLok technology is a new standard developed by HP and International Paper that improves ink drying speed and definition on office papers, creating extra sharpness, bolder blacks, and more vivid colors. ColorLok grades of paper are compatible with inkjet, laser, and copier machines.
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