Finance counsels

Fujifilm Sericol USA Inc. is increasing prices on its products because of higher prices for crude oil.

In a release Wednesday, the North Kansas City-based company said it will increase prices 5 percent to 15 percent for screen and flexographic inks used for printing on clothing, ads and packaging product labels beginning Aug. 1. Petroleum is the base for many Fujifilm products, the company's director of marketing, Terry Mitchell, said in an interview. Digital ink prices will not change.

"The raw material price to manufacture has increased exponentially, and that was really the tipping point to add to the increase to the market," Mitchell said.

Fujifilm Sericol sells to a variety of companies ranging from multimillion-dollar corporations to small local companies, Mitchell said free credit reports.

The increase is the first for Fujifilm Sericol since November 2005. The company avoided increases with inventory and freight shipment consolidation, Mitchell said.