Gravure printing is almost evenly divided in the two major areas of Europe and the United States, publishing and packaging, so water-based inks and solvent-based inks are leading the way. However, in mainland China, gravure printing only stands out in the packaging market. Therefore, only solvent-based inks accompany it. This article intends to make a brief analysis of the status quo and development trend of the continent gravure printing ink, and hopes that experts and readers in the industry will not hesitate to enlighten us.
I. Current market players
At present, gravure inks on the market can be roughly divided into two categories: surface inks and in-print inks. The main performance of surface inks in the market is mainly polyamide-based inks for PE films and nitrocellulose-based inks for paper, and some are printed with vinyl chloride for aluminum foil printing. Copolymers are mainly composed of inks and alcohol-soluble polyurethane-based inks for pearlescent film printing. Ink printing inks are mainly chlorinated polypropylene-based inks for BOPP films and polyurethane-based inks for PET and NY films.
For the entire market, the annual consumption of gravure ink is about 100,000 tons, of which about 40% are surface inks; about 60% are printed in India.
In surface printing inks, polyamide inks accounted for 70% of the market share, paper gravure inks accounted for about 20% of the market, he accounted for about 10%. The major markets in the former category are concentrated in South China and East China; the major markets in the latter category include the two markets mentioned above, but also include the Southwest market.
In chlorinated inks, chlorinated polypropylene inks account for 90% of the market share, while the market share of polyurethane inks currently accounts for only about 10%. However, such inks have many advantages, such as good versatility, can be made Environmental protection can also be achieved through technical efforts to create a single solvent system. If we can solve the price problem, there is great potential for development. The geographical distribution of such inks is not obvious.
Second, the highlights and difficulties of the performance of market players
Polyamide type table printing inks have a wide range of brands in the market, with uneven quality, huge price gaps, and a variety of uses. The mainstream manufacturers have a clear understanding of the application of the product and can also make appropriate recommendations to customers. The current market highlights include: pearlescent inks for PVC twisted conjunctiva, clear inks for VMPVC, and table printing inks resistant to cooking; the difficulty of such inks is the poor frost resistance in winter and weak PE film treatment. The adhesion on the surface is not stable, the shallow plate transferability on the white ink is not good enough, and some products with higher heat sealing requirements are incapable of handling.
Paper gravure inks are mainly used for cigarette packaging. In recent years, the entire tobacco industry has been making strategic adjustments. The total volume of the entire industry has not increased, and competition has been due to other printing methods (such as UV offset printing). Therefore, the entire paper concave has not been greatly developed. As far as the ink itself is concerned, the bright spots in the past few years may be only some inks with special decorative effects, such as gold and silver inks and fluorescent inks that are similar to the bronzing effect. It is also worth mentioning that the specifics of the tobacco industry are special. Development of a ketone-free, butyl-free ink. The difficulty of such inks lies in some colors of ink; the leveling property is not good, and the storage of high-density inks is not very stable.
Other notable forms of printing ink include alcohol-soluble milk film inks. The resistance of these inks is much better than that of the conventional surface printing inks used in the past, and can basically meet the requirements of milk packaging; however, due to alcohol solubility, the printing habitability has a higher dependence on the environment, sometimes when printing small layout patterns. It will be more difficult. There is also an alcohol-soluble pearlescent film label printing ink, the key to such inks is to meet the requirements of high-speed automatic packaging lines.
For chlorinated polypropylene inks, because it corresponds to the mainstream BOPP printing in the flexible packaging market, it is currently the largest variety. From the actual use of the situation, the overall is a very mature product. The current major problem is that its residual solvent is too high to meet the requirements of many European and American food companies; in addition, the use of large amounts of aromatic hydrocarbon solvents in the printing process does not meet increasingly stringent environmental requirements; therefore, in the long run, This ink is destined to be eliminated. The main reason why it can survive at present is its low price.
For polyurethane inks, although it is not yet the mainstream of the market, but because it has many advantages mentioned above, if we can solve the price problem, we believe that the ink market will have a revolutionary change in 3-5 years. .
Third, the development trend of market players
In the past two to three years, China's flexible packaging market put forward two major requirements for ink suppliers:
1. Generalization: At present, the ink used in the flexible packaging industry is basically an ink corresponding to a substrate, and the ink between various substrates cannot be used universally, resulting in an increase in the inventory variety, difficulty in management, and an increase in the number of on-site operation procedures. Difficult to digest and so on. In response to this situation, the ink industry has proposed two solutions:
A. Using an ink should correspond to various substrates. This is a very difficult move. At present, we have made some progress, but there are two major difficulties: the composite strength of some substrates is still not satisfactory and the cost is high and the rigidity is large:
B. The use of universal colorants with different binders, plus on-site ink distribution systems, can also meet the general requirements of flexible packaging companies. At present, it is not very difficult on the technical level. If there is a large soft packer working together, the cost barriers will be smaller and the promotion may be faster.
Another benefit of adopting a universal ink system is that color can be standardized.
2. Environmental protection: With the increasing awareness of environmental protection and stricter legal regulations, more and more attention has been paid to the safety and hygiene of materials. The requirements of the gravure ink industry for environmental protection are currently focused on the following aspects:
A. Existing products reduce residue: This kind of work is mainly reflected in BOPP special ink. The main countermeasures adopted are: use solvent-releasing binders as much as possible and add adjuvants to facilitate the volatilization of aromatic hydrocarbons. At present, the best result is that the amount of printed matter is about 1 mg/m2. However, since the binder system itself determines that aromatic hydrocarbons cannot be eradicated from the system, it is an ink that is bound to be eliminated from an environmental perspective.
Removal of aromatic hydrocarbons: the so-called benzene-free, because many large food companies in Europe and America in the internal control quality standards expressly stipulate that all packaging materials must not be added to aromatic materials. In order to meet this requirement, benzene-free ink came into being. This type of ink is theoretically free from aromatic hydrocarbons, but due to the storage, transportation of the raw materials, manufacturing process, and the use of the process will be more or less mixed with a small amount of aromatic hydrocarbon solvents, so the "non-benzene" It should be understood that the content of aromatic hydrocarbons in the system is 1%. In addition, it should be pointed out that due to the normal printing speed, MIBK (methyl isobutyl ketone) is added to remove aromatic hydrocarbons from the ink to adjust the volatilization rate of the ink. At present, there is no clear regulation for the solvent. no. Therefore, flexible packaging suppliers must communicate with customers before use, whether it can accept a certain percentage of residual, because the smell of this solvent is relatively strong. It is also worth pointing out that the printability of this kind of ink is somewhat poor.
B. Alcohol Solvent System: Due to more stringent residue requirements, major companies in the ink industry have also introduced alcohol-soluble inks. These inks do not contain aromatic hydrocarbons, nor do they contain ketone solvents. They contain only esters and alcohol solvents. They are excellent in terms of environmental protection, but the evaporation speed is difficult to adjust, and printability is much poorer. The reproduction of the corresponding exquisite patterns is much more difficult, and at the same time, due to the small amount of use, the production capacity cannot be achieved and the cost is high.
C. Water-based system: Water is an ideal environment-friendly solvent, but water-based inks are currently used only in paper (packaging and publishing). For non-absorbent, low-surface-tension substrates such as films, a market can be developed. Accepted water-based inks have a long way to go, such as the performance of the ink itself, the thermal stability of the substrate, and the cooperation of the equipment. But it can be a medium-term goal to work hard.
D. Solvent-Free System: One of these inks is a hot-melt type ink. Currently, there are laboratory results. However, to enter the market, a lot of work has to be done on raw material synthesis, manufacturing processes, storage methods, and application equipment. Of course, UV gravure can theoretically be included, but no reports of UV gravure applications have been reported yet.
Whether it is generalization or environmental protection, it is only at the initial stage in China. In order to gain something, we also need to work hard with our colleagues in the packaging industry.
I. Current market players
At present, gravure inks on the market can be roughly divided into two categories: surface inks and in-print inks. The main performance of surface inks in the market is mainly polyamide-based inks for PE films and nitrocellulose-based inks for paper, and some are printed with vinyl chloride for aluminum foil printing. Copolymers are mainly composed of inks and alcohol-soluble polyurethane-based inks for pearlescent film printing. Ink printing inks are mainly chlorinated polypropylene-based inks for BOPP films and polyurethane-based inks for PET and NY films.
For the entire market, the annual consumption of gravure ink is about 100,000 tons, of which about 40% are surface inks; about 60% are printed in India.
In surface printing inks, polyamide inks accounted for 70% of the market share, paper gravure inks accounted for about 20% of the market, he accounted for about 10%. The major markets in the former category are concentrated in South China and East China; the major markets in the latter category include the two markets mentioned above, but also include the Southwest market.
In chlorinated inks, chlorinated polypropylene inks account for 90% of the market share, while the market share of polyurethane inks currently accounts for only about 10%. However, such inks have many advantages, such as good versatility, can be made Environmental protection can also be achieved through technical efforts to create a single solvent system. If we can solve the price problem, there is great potential for development. The geographical distribution of such inks is not obvious.
Second, the highlights and difficulties of the performance of market players
Polyamide type table printing inks have a wide range of brands in the market, with uneven quality, huge price gaps, and a variety of uses. The mainstream manufacturers have a clear understanding of the application of the product and can also make appropriate recommendations to customers. The current market highlights include: pearlescent inks for PVC twisted conjunctiva, clear inks for VMPVC, and table printing inks resistant to cooking; the difficulty of such inks is the poor frost resistance in winter and weak PE film treatment. The adhesion on the surface is not stable, the shallow plate transferability on the white ink is not good enough, and some products with higher heat sealing requirements are incapable of handling.
Paper gravure inks are mainly used for cigarette packaging. In recent years, the entire tobacco industry has been making strategic adjustments. The total volume of the entire industry has not increased, and competition has been due to other printing methods (such as UV offset printing). Therefore, the entire paper concave has not been greatly developed. As far as the ink itself is concerned, the bright spots in the past few years may be only some inks with special decorative effects, such as gold and silver inks and fluorescent inks that are similar to the bronzing effect. It is also worth mentioning that the specifics of the tobacco industry are special. Development of a ketone-free, butyl-free ink. The difficulty of such inks lies in some colors of ink; the leveling property is not good, and the storage of high-density inks is not very stable.
Other notable forms of printing ink include alcohol-soluble milk film inks. The resistance of these inks is much better than that of the conventional surface printing inks used in the past, and can basically meet the requirements of milk packaging; however, due to alcohol solubility, the printing habitability has a higher dependence on the environment, sometimes when printing small layout patterns. It will be more difficult. There is also an alcohol-soluble pearlescent film label printing ink, the key to such inks is to meet the requirements of high-speed automatic packaging lines.
For chlorinated polypropylene inks, because it corresponds to the mainstream BOPP printing in the flexible packaging market, it is currently the largest variety. From the actual use of the situation, the overall is a very mature product. The current major problem is that its residual solvent is too high to meet the requirements of many European and American food companies; in addition, the use of large amounts of aromatic hydrocarbon solvents in the printing process does not meet increasingly stringent environmental requirements; therefore, in the long run, This ink is destined to be eliminated. The main reason why it can survive at present is its low price.
For polyurethane inks, although it is not yet the mainstream of the market, but because it has many advantages mentioned above, if we can solve the price problem, we believe that the ink market will have a revolutionary change in 3-5 years. .
Third, the development trend of market players
In the past two to three years, China's flexible packaging market put forward two major requirements for ink suppliers:
1. Generalization: At present, the ink used in the flexible packaging industry is basically an ink corresponding to a substrate, and the ink between various substrates cannot be used universally, resulting in an increase in the inventory variety, difficulty in management, and an increase in the number of on-site operation procedures. Difficult to digest and so on. In response to this situation, the ink industry has proposed two solutions:
A. Using an ink should correspond to various substrates. This is a very difficult move. At present, we have made some progress, but there are two major difficulties: the composite strength of some substrates is still not satisfactory and the cost is high and the rigidity is large:
B. The use of universal colorants with different binders, plus on-site ink distribution systems, can also meet the general requirements of flexible packaging companies. At present, it is not very difficult on the technical level. If there is a large soft packer working together, the cost barriers will be smaller and the promotion may be faster.
Another benefit of adopting a universal ink system is that color can be standardized.
2. Environmental protection: With the increasing awareness of environmental protection and stricter legal regulations, more and more attention has been paid to the safety and hygiene of materials. The requirements of the gravure ink industry for environmental protection are currently focused on the following aspects:
A. Existing products reduce residue: This kind of work is mainly reflected in BOPP special ink. The main countermeasures adopted are: use solvent-releasing binders as much as possible and add adjuvants to facilitate the volatilization of aromatic hydrocarbons. At present, the best result is that the amount of printed matter is about 1 mg/m2. However, since the binder system itself determines that aromatic hydrocarbons cannot be eradicated from the system, it is an ink that is bound to be eliminated from an environmental perspective.
Removal of aromatic hydrocarbons: the so-called benzene-free, because many large food companies in Europe and America in the internal control quality standards expressly stipulate that all packaging materials must not be added to aromatic materials. In order to meet this requirement, benzene-free ink came into being. This type of ink is theoretically free from aromatic hydrocarbons, but due to the storage, transportation of the raw materials, manufacturing process, and the use of the process will be more or less mixed with a small amount of aromatic hydrocarbon solvents, so the "non-benzene" It should be understood that the content of aromatic hydrocarbons in the system is 1%. In addition, it should be pointed out that due to the normal printing speed, MIBK (methyl isobutyl ketone) is added to remove aromatic hydrocarbons from the ink to adjust the volatilization rate of the ink. At present, there is no clear regulation for the solvent. no. Therefore, flexible packaging suppliers must communicate with customers before use, whether it can accept a certain percentage of residual, because the smell of this solvent is relatively strong. It is also worth pointing out that the printability of this kind of ink is somewhat poor.
B. Alcohol Solvent System: Due to more stringent residue requirements, major companies in the ink industry have also introduced alcohol-soluble inks. These inks do not contain aromatic hydrocarbons, nor do they contain ketone solvents. They contain only esters and alcohol solvents. They are excellent in terms of environmental protection, but the evaporation speed is difficult to adjust, and printability is much poorer. The reproduction of the corresponding exquisite patterns is much more difficult, and at the same time, due to the small amount of use, the production capacity cannot be achieved and the cost is high.
C. Water-based system: Water is an ideal environment-friendly solvent, but water-based inks are currently used only in paper (packaging and publishing). For non-absorbent, low-surface-tension substrates such as films, a market can be developed. Accepted water-based inks have a long way to go, such as the performance of the ink itself, the thermal stability of the substrate, and the cooperation of the equipment. But it can be a medium-term goal to work hard.
D. Solvent-Free System: One of these inks is a hot-melt type ink. Currently, there are laboratory results. However, to enter the market, a lot of work has to be done on raw material synthesis, manufacturing processes, storage methods, and application equipment. Of course, UV gravure can theoretically be included, but no reports of UV gravure applications have been reported yet.
Whether it is generalization or environmental protection, it is only at the initial stage in China. In order to gain something, we also need to work hard with our colleagues in the packaging industry.
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