David Savastano, Editor03.29.16
Industries evolve as the years go by, and the printing and ink industries are no exception. As the digital printing and packaging markets grow, leading ink companies are looking for more ways to support their customers.
In The North American Top 20 Report, which starts on page 21, ink industry executives discuss how they are responding to the changes they are seeing in the printing and ink fields.
One approach is through acquisitions; during the past year, Flint Group acquired Xeikon and Advanced Color Systems, EFI purchased Reggiani Macchine and Matan, and Sensient bought Xennia. Another approach is through new product development, which all ink companies must do in order to move forward.
The European printing ink business is seeing similar trends. As European editor Sean Milmo reports in his annual European Ink Review, the fastest growing print sector in Europe may be industrial inkjet printing, which a survey commissioned by InPrint anticipates a 36% cumulative average increase from 2014-2020.
For conventional ink manufacturers, pigments are the most expensive part of their formulations. In The 2016 Pigment Report, written by associate editor Catherine Diamond, industry leaders discussed the changes they are seeing in this $30 billion industry. Not surprisingly, pigment suppliers are reporting growth in packaging, inkjet and UV ink segments, while the publication and commercial fields remain flat in terms of sales.
One interesting new market for ink manufacturers is conductive inks and pastes, which is estimated to be a $2.3 billion segment. In The Conductive Ink Market, analysts and conductive ink manufacturers I spoke with talk about the opportunities they are seeing in this field, with wearables, sensors and smart packaging seen as markets with excellent potential in the coming years.
There are growth opportunities ahead for printers, and their ink suppliers are working to put themselves into a position to grow with their customers as well.
In The North American Top 20 Report, which starts on page 21, ink industry executives discuss how they are responding to the changes they are seeing in the printing and ink fields.
One approach is through acquisitions; during the past year, Flint Group acquired Xeikon and Advanced Color Systems, EFI purchased Reggiani Macchine and Matan, and Sensient bought Xennia. Another approach is through new product development, which all ink companies must do in order to move forward.
The European printing ink business is seeing similar trends. As European editor Sean Milmo reports in his annual European Ink Review, the fastest growing print sector in Europe may be industrial inkjet printing, which a survey commissioned by InPrint anticipates a 36% cumulative average increase from 2014-2020.
For conventional ink manufacturers, pigments are the most expensive part of their formulations. In The 2016 Pigment Report, written by associate editor Catherine Diamond, industry leaders discussed the changes they are seeing in this $30 billion industry. Not surprisingly, pigment suppliers are reporting growth in packaging, inkjet and UV ink segments, while the publication and commercial fields remain flat in terms of sales.
One interesting new market for ink manufacturers is conductive inks and pastes, which is estimated to be a $2.3 billion segment. In The Conductive Ink Market, analysts and conductive ink manufacturers I spoke with talk about the opportunities they are seeing in this field, with wearables, sensors and smart packaging seen as markets with excellent potential in the coming years.
There are growth opportunities ahead for printers, and their ink suppliers are working to put themselves into a position to grow with their customers as well.