Offset printing ink market fights with harsh economic conditions

Looking to the future Increasing productivity and saving costs are still the dominant focus of the offset ink market.

“The thermosetting ink market is still largely affected by people’s demand for increased productivity,” Dr. Rooney said. “Especially with the introduction of new computer-to-platemaking technologies, prepress workflows have become more fluid and have a direct impact on the production of chemicals and It interacts with the ink."

“The shorter and shorter job lengths of presses, quick start-ups, reduced downtime, and reduced waste will all bring advantages and benefits to companies,” said Dr. Rooney. “The digital printing of similar products has brought great results to sheetfed printing. Pressure, and in many cases digital technology has been integrated into the traditional lithography technology, resulting in a technology-mixed device that requires a new type of printing ink."

“Another, more prevalent trend affecting the printing industry is that printing companies want to reduce their overall cost through their own supply chain. Today's printing companies need suppliers with both resources and knowledge to help them with the lowest overall cost possible. Produce the best possible product," said Mr. Mistretta.

“The trend toward product standardization in both markets was very strong in 2003,” said Andrew Matthews, product manager for thermoset products at Flint Ink. “In addition, existing trends such as consolidation and improvement of production efficiency will be further expanded.”

“Under the influence of the current political and economic environment, the future development trend of the web offset printing market in the United States is still uncertain.” Mr. Mistretta said, “The company will continue to research and develop new technologies and sophisticated processing technologies to ensure customers continue to increase market competition. Under conditions, we will continue to maintain our advantages. Companies that want long-term development will continue to focus their internal focus on improving efficiency and reducing costs and costs in operations. Companies like Sun Chemical Ink will help them."

Mr. Watkins believes that as the quality of flexographic printing continues to improve and costs continue to fall, sheet-fed offsets are likely to continue to lose market share in folding cartons and trademark markets.

“It is still necessary to develop new inks to improve the printing shop's operating performance and the appearance of printed products,” Mr. Watkins said. “The ink must reduce the overall cost of the finished product by reducing the print preparation time and reducing the printing operation waste. These savings are often the difference between a print company's profitability or loss."

The continuous merger of printing companies will bring more pressure to ink suppliers.

"Because of the continuous merger of companies, the number of thermosetting ink customers and suppliers will be reduced." Mr. Matthews said, "Acquiring business growth through acquisitions will be the only way for future business growth."

“With the continuous integration of printing companies and the continuous development of digital technology and the Internet, all companies in the industry are working hard to increase production efficiency, and do not disconnect new products that are suitable for the development of the industry,” said Mr. Polasik.

In addition to these predictions, many experts in the industry have seen some good signs of development.

“The trend of economic development will shift, and offset printing companies and suppliers will no longer develop slowly as before,” Mr. Polasik said. According to Mr. Ramaker of INX Corporation, the offset printing market will remain a mature market area and will maintain a limited and stable development in addition to special professional products.

Although future development prospects are still uncertain, most ink suppliers and printing industry officials agree that there will be a recovery soon. "It is no longer a question of whether recovery will take place at present, but rather how strong this recovery will be compared with the economic downturn of the previous period," Mr. Basore said.

(Source: Bisheng.com)