Market study on printing inks in Europe
The market research institute Ceresana has published a new study about printing inks. The analysts looked at the market situation of 21 european countries, the various application areas and the demand for printing inks.
A crucial question for many players in the printing ink industry is: How to operate successfully in a shrinking market; where can growth areas still be found? Decisions should be supported by solid information and well-considered. This study provides transparency for the European printing ink market and makes future scenarios quantifiable. The rapid ascent of online printing plants such as “flyeralarm” has revolutionized the printing industry in recent years. In increasing numbers of segments, digital printing can serve customers faster and more efficiently than analogue printing processes. Besides substitution effects between the particular printing processes, especially publication printing is exposed to a high competition with digital publishing processes. In this study, toners for electrophotography (laser printing) are also treated as printing inks. Analysts of Ceresana expect the European market for printing inks to decrease to a level of 1.17 million tonnes until 2024.
Growth market Eastern Europe
In various Eastern European countries, total demand for printing inks is expected to increase in the upcoming years. Publication printing also has to face the problems of decreasing print circulations, a lack of advertising budgets, and the migration to competing digital products. However, the losses in this segment will be more than compensated by a very dynamic packaging market. In Russia for instance, the demand for printing inks in the segment newspaper printing will most presumably decline by about 3.8 % per year, but the demand in the segment packaging printing will increase by 4.2 %.
Digital printing: Trend towards inkjet unbroken
There is a trend towards smaller circulations, a higher number of printing orders and personalized contents in an ever shorter time which favors digital printing that enables enormous time savings due to a fast production, adaption, and transmission. Digital printing systems can demonstrate their strengths in the case of job printing of advertising inserts and other occasional printed materials. Digital printing is also gaining ground in letterpress, label printing, and other packaging applications, especially since steel, aluminum, and plastics can now also be printed on. The technological progress is constantly increasing the printing quality and speed, while the costs are declining: Digital printing is becoming competitive in more and more application areas. Investments in new inkjet systems are reaching new record levels across Europe.
Packaging printing: Demanding but worthwhile
Packaging printing is gaining importance for manufacturers of printing inks: There is no digital replacement for packaging. The packaging effort even increases. The labeling obligations become stricter. Internet trade strengthens the mail order business and thus the demand for shipping packaging. These are very good conditions for further growth: For the upcoming eight years, analysts at Ceresana expect demand for packaging inks to increase at 2.0 % per year. Regulations regarding the migration of pollutants are an important aspect in food packaging.
Green Printing: UV-curing printing inks are in demand
A growing health and environmental awareness is leading to the development of new printing inks and processing methods, for example the use of UV and other radiation-curing printing inks. Complete curing prevents photoinitiators from being released by low-migration UV inks. More and more effective barrier layers are being integrated in packaging to prevent the migration of printing inks. While the demand for conventional solventborne products is declining, the market for modern inks low in harmful substances is developing dynamically.
Image source: Pixabay
