UV inks will continue to grow in the next few years (1)

UV inks are a successful example in the printing ink industry, ranging from the basic technologies developed in response to environmental laws to the selection of high technologies for high productivity and performance in printers. Today, the UV ink industry is one of the areas of growth in the entire ink industry, driven by the development of new applications in the inherent field by printers and factors such as UV ink jets and hybrid inks. And UV inks will continue to grow in the coming year.

2003 Review

In fact, although the economy has indeed impacted market growth, the UV ink market has developed better than any other area of ​​the ink industry.

Ed Dedman, SICPA North American market development experience, said, “The UV ink market continues to grow, but at a more gradual and steady pace. Before 5-10 years ago, all 'experts' stated that UV inks will grow at a double-digit speed and dominate the market. Although this is not the case, UV inks are still developing every year."

Glenn Webster, Sun Chemical's UV liquid ink market manager, said, “We are seeing more and more printers buying printers with UV curing capabilities. Although the growth of UV inks is somewhat slow, it is still growing. The slowing of growth is due to In an economic environment, once the economy recovers, the rate of growth will accelerate."

Webster added that most of the UV printing has grown in narrow (up to 15”) and medium (16-30”) markets.

Kolorcure president Brian Templeman said, “Despite the weak economic situation, the UV ink market continues to grow. The biggest increase is in lithography and flexo printing. In the past few years, the packaging industry has been very strong. Printers are always seeking to improve quality. And efficiency, UV inks can solve many of these problems."

Dr. Don P. Duncan, director of research and development at Wikoff Color Corporation, said: "Over the past year, the total sales of UV inks and coatings have been close to flat, but there has certainly been no decline."

Hal Clifton, INX International Ink's domestic sales manager for narrow-format printing inks, points out that labels, trademarks, folding cartons, and advertising markets are the markets with the greatest growth opportunities for UV inks.

"The use of UV inks in certain market segments may also increase," said Tony Bean, Sun Chemical's marketing manager for UV inks. The areas in which UV inks use may grow most are the wide flexo of non-food flexible packaging, and plain films. Plastics, folding cartons and preformed plastic containers. The application of mixed inks is also continuing to grow.”

Mixed ink

Mixed inks have come a long way since they were introduced a few years ago. For example, Bean describes people's interest in mixed inks as "very significant," pointing out that at the recent Graph Expo 2003 there were thousands of queries on mixed inks.

John Priesmeyer, product manager for UV inks at Flint Ink, said, “The mixed ink has become an important part of the entire UV ink market and people are very interested in it. This is because the mixed ink is more 'printer friendly' and does not require special ink rollers. , blankets and processes have also led to a general interest in UV technology."