Printing Inks Market

The printing inks market is an industry that embodies the strength of global as well as regional economies. With a high relationship to a country's GDP, the printing inks market is recurring in nature, with economic ups and downs amplifying the demand patterns.

Ink is used to print on thousands of different surfaces and has to withstand extremes of temperatures, humidity and weather conditions, being handled without rubbing off, or deliberately coming off when needed. In some of its more specialist applications ink conducts electricity, changes colour depending on temperature and helps protect against counterfeit and fraud. On food packaging it displays dietary information, or storage and handling instructions which can for example reduce the chance of wasted produce. In its most serious role, ink educates and informs, updating us on world events and warning us of danger.

The printing inks market is projected to reach US $18.2 billion by the year 2017, driven by the mounting popularity of environmentally friendly inks, and improving technology innovations that are opening up newer growth avenues including relatively new markets such as UV and ink jet inks.

The printing inks market continues to face severe pricing pressures, which have risen from spiking raw material costs, a situation that is expected to continue into the near future. The printing inks market is also witnessing a transition towards high-value digital and energy-cured inks. The US continues to remain the single largest regional market, in terms of volume as well as value sales.

The European printing inks market is driven by rising sales of UV as well as free radical and cationic inks. Across Europe there are almost 100 manufactures working in the printing inks market, employing an estimated 13,000 people, it's clear to see that the printing inks market is not only an essential source of education and communication, but also that it is a key contributor to the European economy. The printing inks market costs Europe more than €3.5bn on an annual basis, with more than 1 million tonnes of ink being consumed by printers each year, a figure which is equal to 2kg of ink for every person within Europe.

The value of the entire printing inks market across Europe has been estimated to be over €150 billion per year. This doesn't take into account the revenue generated by other printed material, such as newspaper and magazine advertising which has an income exceeding €40 billion per annum and book sales in Europe which exceed €23 billion per annum.

Across Asia, China and India represent the fastest growing printing inks markets. Asia is projected to record the fastest CAGR of 5.5% over the analysis period. Publication and commercial printing is a growing business in Asia, fuelled by developing markets such as China and India. Opening up of these economies has ushered in ample opportunities for demand expansion.

Technological advancements have revolutionised the printing inks industry with printing presses making use of faster and highly automated equipment. Environment friendly inks such as vegetable oil based inks and water-based inks are gaining popularity, given the growing concerns over ecological pollution.

Major players within the printing inks market include: DIC Corporation, a global leader in printing inks which has expanded its mainstay organic pigments and synthetic resins businesses while at the same time cultivating world-class related core technologies, and Flint Group, a printing inks company dedicated to bringing colour and function to the printing and packaging products that consumers touch, see and use each day. Lesser known companies include: Brancher Company, CROMOS S.A. TINTAS GRAFICAS, Dainichiseika Color & Chemicals Mfg. Co., Ltd., Encres Dubuit SA, Environmental Inks and Coatings Corp., Epple Druckfarben AG, Huber Group, Royal Dutch Printing Ink Factories Van Son, Ruco Druckfarben/AM Ramp & Co. GmbH, Sanchez SA de CV, Siegwerk Druckfarben AG & Co. KGaA, Sicpa Holding SA, T & K Toka Co. Ltd., Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg. Co. Ltd., Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co. Ltd., and ZELLER+GMELIN GmbH & Co. KG.

For more information on the printing inks market, see the latest report: Printing Inks Market Report