US demand for printing inks is forecast to increase only 1.8 per cent annually to $4.8 billion in 2013 as downward pricing pressures continue to limit market value.
However, demand will benefit from shifts toward more environmentally friendly ink formulations and digital inks, as well as increased use in the packaging market.
Additives and colorants are expected to experience advances, reflecting demand for better performing printing inks with brighter colors.
These and other trends are presented in Printing Inks, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland, US-based industry research firm.
Lithographic inks will continue to be the most widely used inks in the industry, benefitting from the strong position of lithography printing, which offers advantages such as longer plate life, higher quality print performance and lower ink consumption than other printing processes.
However, gains will be limited by competition from flexographic formulations, particularly in packaging applications.
Of the lithographic inks, web offset types will continue to account for the majority of demand while sheetfed offset inks are expected to register more rapid growth.
Digital inks represent the fastest-growing product segment in the US printing ink industry.
Advances will be fueled by improvements in digital technology, such as print quality and speed, which will open up new applications to digital inks.
Increases also reflect a trend toward customization and shorter run lengths in applications ranging from commercial printing of inserts and direct mailings to the printing of specialized designs for the textile industry.
However, more rapid market penetration will be limited by the cost of adopting the new technology, including the purchase of new equipment and training of personnel.
Additionally, runs of digital printing applications tend to be short and, hence, the quantity of ink consumed is small relative to conventional printing inks.
Packaging represents both the largest and the fastest-growing market for printing inks. Gains will be fueled by growth in the flexible packaging segment, as more advanced ink formulations are required for the brighter colors and wider range of substrates used in this sector.
Water-based and energy-curable inks will benefit from greater concern for environmental issues as well as improvements to these formulations which make them suitable for use in an increasingly wide range of applications.
Demand will be further aided by rapid growth in the use of digital inks in the packaging market and greater use of brand protection products such as security inks.
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