Analysis of U.S. UV Ink Market Status

In the US ink market. The sales of energy-curable inks and varnish have grown substantially due to the use of UV-curable inks in areas such as screen printing, offset printing, embossing, and web-based narrow-web flexographic printing. In recent years, the U.S. ink industry as a whole has been in a sluggish state with only a few exceptions. Still maintaining a trend of contrarian growth, Energy Secretary ink is one of them.

Although energy-curable inks are promising, However, this market still bears the pressure of rising raw material prices. The recent shortage of acrylic resin in the market caused the shortage of raw materials for the ink industry and drove up the price of ink. Since 2004. Many raw materials prices have risen to varying degrees, and this trend may continue to continue, so it can be predicted. The ups and downs of raw material prices will eventually have a negative impact on UV inks and inks.

Folding cartons and labels are two of the most important application areas for UV inks. Among them, the printing of folding cartons mainly uses sheet-fed offset printing, while the label printing adopts a typical web-fed narrow-width flexographic printing method. In gravure printing, the use of UV inks is seldom negligible in the market. Similarly, UV inks are rarely used in wide web flexographic printing. At present, a combination printing machine that integrates various UV printing methods is increasingly popular with users. Due to odor problems in some free radical UV inks, some printing companies have begun using cationic UV inks and varnish for printing and glazing on scent-sensitive flexible packaging products. However, compared with traditional free radical UV inks. The scope of application of cationic UV inks is still very narrow. Currently, UV digital ink jet printing is a new field in the field of energy-curing ink and varnish applications and it is a promising field that has maintained a rapid growth momentum. The factors that promote the rapid growth of UV digital inkjet printing inks include the following main reasons in addition to VOC-free and reduced energy consumption.

(1) UV digital ink jet printing ink has a wider adaptability. Can print on a variety of substrates.

(2) Compared with traditional water-based or solvent-based inkjet printing inks, UV digital inkjet printing inks print faster. Can significantly increase production efficiency.

(3) The stability of UV digital ink jet printing ink is very good. Does not block the inkjet head.

(4UV digital inkjet printing inks have very strong resistance, such as abrasion resistance, light resistance, and the like.

(5) UV digital inkjet prints can also be processed after line printing. Such as pressure bumps and so on. Advances in technology have also driven the further development of the chemical industry and UV/EB applications. For example, on the market, UV inks with lower odor, more stable hue and more stable color have been introduced: UV lamps with higher intensity have been introduced, and the UV curing system has better cooling effect: new UV lamps with instant switching function Also in development. These new features may allow UV curing to have some new features close to field cure: use of photosensitive resins and oligomers to absorb UV energy and catalyze photopolymerization. The amount of external photoinitiator can be reduced.

now. Many printing companies are not very interested in new products that cannot bring great benefits to them. Although the current price of UV/EB ink is relatively expensive, the production efficiency has reached a completely new level.

Improve production efficiency is the main advantage of energy curing inks and varnish, and faster printing speeds. The greater consistency and visual quality of the broader substrates is also a factor contributing to the increasing use of UV/EB inks and varnish.

In addition. Although UV/EB inks are environmentally friendly without VOCs, they are still a big problem in the food packaging industry. Now UV technology is nearing maturity. The amount of UV inks has also increased significantly. Therefore, printing companies are looking forward to the decline in the price of UV inks. However, the rise in the price of raw materials has become an important obstacle, making it difficult for printing companies to realize this desire. in contrast. UV ink prices may continue to rise. The instability of raw material prices will still be an important factor affecting the price of UV inks.



Source: Printing Technology