Specialty Ink Market Analysis

Global Specialty Ink Market Overview

Specialty Ink Market Size was valued at USD 0.53 Billion in 2023. The specialty ink industry is projected to grow from USD 0.56 Billion in 2024 to USD 0.83 Billion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.97% during the forecast period (2024 - 2032). The demand for creative packaging solutions has been rising, digital printing technology is becoming more prevalent, and consumers' preferences for environmentally friendly and sustainable products are market drivers that are contributing to the steady growth of the speciality ink market ly in recent years.

Source: Secondary Research, Primary Research, MRFR Database and Analyst Review

Specialty Ink Market Trends

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  Rising demand from packaging sector is driving the market growth

  
  

Increasing from USD 36.8 billion in 2016 to USD 42.2 billion in 2021, the worldwide packaging sector is predicted to rise, according to a report released by PMMI, the Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies. This is because of the rising need for packaging that is anticipated to result from the growing population, greater sustainability concerns, and more disposable income in developing nations. Production of labels and electrophotography are both quickly incorporating digital printing. The growing use of digital printing in the packaging business is predicted to bring about a dramatic shift during the next ten years. Furthermore, digital printing has become quite popular among many brand owners because of its short turnaround time. The possibility for more uses in flexible packaging, corrugated packaging, and folding cartons has expanded as a result of recent advancements in digital printing, including digital carton cutting, creasing, and other completion technologies. Rigid packaging has grown over the past few years as a result of advancements in the food sector and the expanding populations of nations like China, India, and the United States. As a result, it is anticipated that over the projection period, the demand for specialty inks from the packaging industry will increase rapidly.

A prominent market driver in the speciality ink sector is the rise in consumer desire for environmentally friendly and sustainable inks. Environmental problems like pollution, climate change, and resource depletion are becoming more widely recognized. Businesses, governments, and consumers are all actively looking for methods to lessen their influence on the environment and implement more sustainable practices. Inks in particular are becoming more and more in demand as a result of this. Additionally, governments and regulatory agencies everywhere are enforcing stronger rules and guidelines for environmental preservation. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), toxic chemicals, and other substances are frequently the focus of these laws in a variety of businesses. Such laws apply to inks because they are a chemical product. The environmental impact of the things people buy is also becoming a growing concern for customers. They favor sustainable, non-toxic, and green items over other types. As a result of the shift in consumer tastes, businesses are using eco-friendly inks and implementing sustainable practices throughout their supply chains. Thus, driving the specialty ink market revenue.

ALTANA is greatly expanding its Cubic Ink 3D material range for high-performance resins in October 2023. This extension makes ALTANA a supplier of system-open, manufacturer-independent materials suitable for DLP, LCD, and SLA, as well as inks for jetting.

Specialty Ink Market Segment Insights

Specialty Ink Type Insights

The  specialty ink market segmentation, based on type includes Thermochromic and Photochromic. The thermochromic segment dominated the market. Thermochromism is a feature that causes materials to alter their color as a result of temperature variations. Depending on the temperature of the environment, this change in color enables the material to go from a solid to a liquid and back again at a varied rate. Thermochromic inks are a specialized kind of ink that contain pigments that change significantly when exposed to heat.

Figure 1:  Specialty ink Market, by Type, 2022 & 2032 (USD Billion)

Source: Secondary Research, Primary Research, MRFR Database and Analyst Review

Specialty Ink Resin Type Insights

The  specialty ink market segmentation, based on resin type, includes Modified Resin, Acrylic, Cellulose, Polyamide, Polyurethane, Hydrocarbon and Others. The polyurethane category generated the most income. The kind of specialty ink generated depends significantly on the resins' composition. The production of lithographic solvents uses hydrocarbons and modified rosins, while the production of gravure and solvent-based flexographic goods uses polyurethanes.

Specialty ink Regional Insights

By region, the study provides the market insights into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World. The North American specialty ink market area will dominate this market. The demand for specialized substrates has grown significantly with the rise of 3D printing in American industries like healthcare and development. The market is expected to track progress, especially in light of recent breakthroughs in local development. For instance, a U.S.-based development company called Sunconomy has teamed up with the Russian 3D printer company Apis Cor to produce 3D-printed homes all around the country. According to trends in the specialty ink industry, a 3D printer uses eight kilowatts of energy while it is operating and produces almost no waste because it also fabricates more materials.

Further, the major countries studied in the market report are The US, Canada, German, France, the UK, Italy, Spain, China, Japan, India, Australia, South Korea, and Brazil.

In March 2023, Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co., Ltd., the Japan-based parent company of the specialty chemicals company Toyo Ink Group, announced that it and its consolidated subsidiary Toyo Ink (Thailand) Co., Ltd. concluded a share purchase agreement to acquire Thai Eurocoat Ltd., Thailand’s largest producer of outer coatings for unprinted cans intended for food industry use exclusively.

Figure 2:  SPECIALTY INK MARKET SHARE BY REGION 2022 (USD Billion)

Source: Secondary Research, Primary Research, MRFR Database and Analyst Review

Europe specialty ink market accounts for the second-largest market share. The region is anticipated to maintain its dominance over the course of the forecast period as a result of rising demand from end-use sectors including printing & publication, flexible packaging, safety & security, and others. Production of specialty ink is expected to be boosted in this area by elements including cheap labor costs and access to raw materials. Further, the German specialty ink market held the largest market share, and the UK specialty ink market was the fastest growing market in the European region

The Asia-Pacific Specialty ink Market is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR from 2023 to 2032 due to a large number of flexo presses, particularly those headquartered outside of China that primarily serve the domestic market, significant product demand from the flexographic printing application segment is driving overall regional growth. The growing demand for inventive packaging solutions across a variety of industries, including personal care, food and beverage, and healthcare, is also a major driver of the specialty ink market in this area. Moreover, China’s specialty ink market held the largest market share, and the Indian specialty ink market was the fastest growing market in the Asia-Pacific region.

Specialty ink Key Market Players & Competitive Insights

Leading market players are investing heavily in research and development in order to expand their product lines, which will help the specialty ink market, grow even more. Market participants are also undertaking a variety of strategic activities to expand their  footprint, with important market developments including new product launches, contractual agreements, mergers and acquisitions, higher investments, and collaboration with other organizations. To expand and survive in a more competitive and rising market climate, specialty ink industry must offer cost-effective items.

Manufacturing locally to minimize operational costs is one of the key business tactics used by manufacturers in the  specialty ink industry to benefit clients and increase the market sector. In recent years, the specialty ink industry has offered some of the most significant advantages to market. Major players in the specialty ink market attempting to increase market demand by investing in research and development operations include IIMAK (U.S.), Sun Chemical (U.S.), Toyo Ink International Corp. (U.S.), TOKYO PRINTING INK MFG CO., DAIHANINK Co., Siegwerk Druckfarben AG & Co. KGaA (Germany), Huber Group Holding SE (Germany), Bordeaux Digital PrintInk Ltd. (Israel), T&K TOKA Corporation (Japan), and Royal Dutch Printing Ink Factories Van Son (the Netherlands).

One of the top experts in the world for printing inks, coatings, and press room chemistry is Hubergroup. High-quality products are produced by the prosperous, family-owned business with more than 255 years of experience and skill for use in packaging, commercial printing, and news printing. Electricity is produced by Huber Group Holding SE using renewable resources. The business provides services in the areas of real estate, property management, health care, electronics, and mobility. International clients are served by Huber Group Holding.

Pigments and printing inks are made and sold by Sun Chemical Corporation. The business provides covert, semi-covert, and overt inks in addition to heatset process, coldset black and color, water-based, solvent-based, energy curable, and sheetfed inks. Serving clients ly is Sun Chemical. In order to surpass customers' expectations, Sun Chemical and DIC are always promoting and creating sustainable solutions. The DIC Group firms serve a wide range of international clients with combined annual revenues of over $8.5 billion and more than 22,000 workers ly.

Key Companies in the specialty ink market include

• IIMAK (U.S.)


• Sun Chemical (U.S.)


• Toyo Ink International Corp. (U.S.)


• TOKYO PRINTING INK MFG CO.


• DAIHANINK Co.


• Siegwerk Druckfarben AG & Co. KGaA (Germany)


• Huber Group Holding SE (Germany)


• Bordeaux Digital PrintInk Ltd. (Israel)


• T&K TOKA Corporation (Japan)


• Royal Dutch Printing Ink Factories Van Son (the Netherlands)

Specialty Ink Industry Developments

May 2021: The California-based Avient Corporation recently unveiled a line of plastisol special effect inks and additives that are thought to be the best-performing specialty inks. These effects include glitters, gels, dazzling shimmers, and performance-improving modifiers that are well-liked in the market.

May 2021: Prism Inks has created next-generation DTF inks that are thought to be superior to DTG systems in terms of washability and photographic quality. These DTF inks have a very low transfer percentage of only 5%, can image both vector and raster graphics, can transfer to a wide range of substrates, and produce stunning results.

April 2018: With Metro Trains Melbourne (MTM), Bombardier announced an agreement to provide 10 years of support services for their rail control scheme, which was delivered for Melbourne's new Metro Tunnel Project. With this arrangement, Melbourne's metropolitan conveyability would be reduced. The breadth of partnering organisations offered by Bombardier would improve the efficiency of the train network and, rarely, enhance the traveller experience.

December 2022, specialty chemicals group ALTANA acquired a stake in the tech startup SARALON. The young company concentrates on making inks that print electronics with readily made components to printers for building up print capacities quickly and easily.

Specialty Ink Market Segmentation

Specialty Ink Type Outlook (USD Billion, 2018-2032)

• Thermochromic


• Photochromic

Specialty Ink Resin Type Outlook (USD Billion, 2018-2032)

• Modified Resin


• Acrylic


• Cellulose


• Polyamide


• Polyurethane


• Hydrocarbon


• Others

Specialty Ink Regional Outlook (USD Billion, 2018-2032)

• North America
  
  
  
  • US
  
  
  • Canada
  
  
  
  


• Europe
  
  
  
  • Germany
  
  
  • France
  
  
  • UK
  
  
  • Italy
  
  
  • Spain
  
  
  • Rest of Europe
  
  
  
  


• Asia-Pacific
  
  
  
  • China
  
  
  • Japan
  
  
  • India
  
  
  • Australia
  
  
  • South Korea
  
  
  • Australia
  
  
  • Rest of Asia-Pacific
  
  
  
  


• Rest of the World
  
  
  
  • Middle East
  
  
  • Africa
  
  
  • Latin America