Rapid Change: Ceresana Analyzes the Global Market for Printing Inks

17-May-2016 - Germany

Printing is declared dead oftentimes. Yet, ink on dead trees is still a good business. According to a new market study by Ceresana, the global market for printing inks, which includes toners for electrophotography, will increase its volume to about USD 25.7 billion until 2023. In 2011, it had been at a level of less than USD 20 billion. However, not all manufacturers can benefit from this growth. The printing industry is undergoing some radical changes: While traditional businesses decline, online printing plants are seeing a rapid ascent; traditional printing processes are replaced increasingly by digital publishing processes.

Indians still Favor Hard Copies

In large parts of Western Europe and North America, digitization has already advanced; circulations of newspapers, magazines, and books partly decrease significantly. However, there are some regions of the world where increasing numbers of newspapers are printed. India is one of these exceptions: Ceresana forecasts that the demand for inks for newspapers in this country will increase by over 9 % per year in the upcoming eight years. Yet, publication printing will decrease everywhere on the long term.

Packaging as Means of Salvation

Packaging printing is gaining importance for manufacturers of printing inks. There is no digital replacement for packaging. Demand even increases: The labeling obligations become stricter; internet increases demand for shipping packaging. In the case of North America, Ceresana expects demand for printing inks for packaging to grow by 1.7 % per year until 2023. We expect conductive printing inks to gain importance for intelligent packaging and printed electronics in the upcoming years.

Digital Printing Ousts Competitors

The requirements for printing plants increase constantly. 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 does not need printing plates. Digital printing systems can fully demonstrate their strengths in the case of job printing of advertising inserts and other occasional printed materials. Digital production also starts to prevail in label printing, in other packaging applications, as well as in book and newspaper printing. Currently, especially inkjet printing systems account for high growth rates.

Printing Greener

Growing environmental awareness leads to an increased promotion of development of UV and other radiation curing printing inks. Demand for these new products develops very dynamically which is a disadvantage for conventional inks based on solvents. This leads to a reduction of contamination caused by volatile organic compounds and enhances characteristics such as higher stability and/or heat resistance, improved cleaning properties and reduced flammability. Sales of UV-curing printing inks will presumably rise by 13% p.a. Printing inks based on water are gaining market shares as well.

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/158046/rapid-change-ceresana-analyzes-the-global-market-for-printing-inks.html