The use of energy-curable technologies (UV, UV LED and EB) has successfully grown in the graphic arts and other end use applications throughout the last decade. There are a variety of reasons for this growth –instant curing and environmental benefits being among two of the most frequently cited – and market analysts see further growth ahead.
In its report, “UV Cure Printing Inks Market Size and Forecast,” Verified Market Research puts the global UV curable ink market at US$1.83 billion in 2019, projected to reach US$3.57 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 8.77 % from 2020 to 2027. Mordor Intelligence placed the market for UV cured printing inks at US$1.3 billion in 2021, with a CAGR of more than 4.5% through 2027 in its study, “UV Cured Printing Inks Market.”
Leading ink manufacturers confirm this growth. T&K Toka specializes in UV ink, and Akihiro Takamizawa, GM for its Overseas Ink Sales Division, sees further opportunities ahead, particularly for UV LED.
“In graphic arts, the growth has been driven by the switch from oil-based inks to UV inks in terms of quick-drying properties for improved work efficiency and compatibility with a wide range of substrates,” Takamizawa said. “In the future, technological growth is expected in the UV-LED field from the perspective of reducing energy consumption.”
Fabian Köhn, global head of narrow web product management for Siegwerk, said that energy curing remains a strong growth application within the graphic arts industry, further driving UV/EB ink market growth on a global basis, especially in narrow web and sheetfed printing for labels and packaging.
“The decline in 2020, due to the pandemic situation and related uncertainties, has been made up for in 2021,” Köhn added. “Saying this, we expect the demand for UV/LED solutions to continue to grow across all print applications going forward.”
Roland Schröder, product manager UV Europe at hubergroup, noted that hubergroup is seeing strong growth in UV sheetfed offset printing for packaging, although UV LED sheetfed offset is currently unable to meet the technical requirements.
“The reasons for this are the small number of available photoinitiators and the currently still narrow LED absorption spectrum,” Schröder said. “A broader application is therefore only possible to a limited extent. The market for UV commercial printing is already satisfied in Europe, and we are currently not expecting any growth in this segment.”
Post time: Nov-25-2024
