The gap between China's ink and the world advanced level (middle)

Ink market development forecast

In macro terms, by the end of 2005, the development target of China's ink market was to reach an annual average consumption of 300,000 tons of ink, including:

1 Lithographic printing ink still occupies the dominant position in the market, and the market demand has steadily increased. The market share is generally about 50%. With the rapid development of China’s newspaper industry, the growth rate of web offset printing inks for news publication and printing will be higher.

2 The demand for the gravure printing ink market is stable. Given the rapid rise of food and other plastic packaging, the demand for plastic printing inks, food packaging printing inks, aromatic-free inks, and water-based inks will increase.

3 The market demand for letterpress inks will drop significantly. Nowadays, there are very few lead edition stamps. Toppan printing has been replaced by plastic stamping and flexo printing. Among them, the proportion of flexo printing inks has increased significantly with the rapid development of packaging printing.

4 The demand for screen printing inks is on the rise. The development of the outdoor advertising industry will increase the demand for light-resistant screen printing inks, and the amount of screen printing inks for materials such as glass, plastics, and metals will increase.

5 Due to the rapid development of various high-end packaging printing, bill printing, document printing, securities printing and banknote printing, the market demand for special anti-counterfeit inks and special inks is still on the rise from the overall perspective. Anti-counterfeiting inks, UV inks, The demand for fluorescent inks, pearl inks, and jet inks will increase substantially.

By the end of 2005, the annual consumption of ink in China will reach 300,000 tons, but the per capita consumption of ink is still less than 1/24 of the world's top 3 average levels, and the per capita consumption of printed materials is still less than 1/20 of the developed countries, paper and cardboard. The per capita consumption is still less than 1/13 of that of the United States. This shows that China's ink market has great potential for development. In the new situation in which China has joined the WTO and gradually integrates into the global economy, in addition to increasing production, China's ink industry should pay attention to adjusting the industrial structure, increase research and development, increase product technology content, increase variety, improve grades, and improve quality. The stability and uniformity of the product make it adaptable to the development needs of today's multi-color, high-speed, fast-drying, non-polluting and low-consumption modern printing. Improve the overall level of China's ink, and enhance domestic ink in the international market, the ability to drive the rapid development of the ink industry.

UV/EB ink report

As more printers change from traditional printers to hybrid printers, UV inks and electron beam cured inks will continue to grow. The ultraviolet (UV) ink market has continued to grow in the past year. This growth has been attributed to several important factors, including the increasing quality requirements of customers and the increase in the number of new UV ink printers.

According to Thor Jondahl, project chemist at INX International Ink, the total value of the UV ink market in 2002 was US$ 360 million, including various UV printing inks. The market share of UV silk screens is as high as 40%, and sheet-fed offset printing and embossing together account for 38%. As more and more printers invest in hybrid presses, the UV market will only increase.

Ron Zessack, product manager of Eco Ink & Coatings (EIC) UV, said: “The UV market has continued to grow in the past year. This comes from the higher quality requirements of the flexo market and the increasing number of new machines are starting to use UV inks. Improves the importance of UV inks. The new hybrid presses have better light design and curing units, enabling high-speed printing for better print quality."

DonMatthiesen, director of marketing and communications at EIC, said: "The market growth of UV products is reflected in the increase in the sales of new UV printers. UV inks have a stable printability and can increase printing productivity. This is the basis for making money today. UV ink It is durable for most products and combines the speed of a flexo press with the white opacity of rotary screen printing to produce high-impact label products."

Steve Lundahl, product manager for the narrow-width and energy-curing group at SICPA North America, said: “We have seen growth in the market. We have seen this not only from the current and potential customer inquiries, but also from the continuous increase in sales by printer manufacturers. Peeked into the efficiency of the connection."