Water-based gravure ink has a short development time and low market penetration rate

Water-based ink is a uniform slurry composed of binders, pigments, additives and other substances. Water-based gravure ink is a subdivision of water-based ink used in the field of gravure printing. It is made of water-soluble resin, pigments, solvents and additives through compound grinding. Water-based gravure inks can be divided into composite inks, surface printing inks, label inks, etc. according to the main application areas of printed matter; according to the substrate material of printed matter, they can be divided into plastic inks, paper inks, composite film inks, etc.

Water-based gravure ink can be used for printing various magazines, newspapers, and books, as well as for securities printing and packaging printing of food, beverages and other products, and has good anti-counterfeiting effects. Water-based gravure printing ink has the advantages of low carbon, environmental protection, good printing effect, quick adaptability to printing requirements, non-flammability and non-explosion. It is in line with the development direction of the transformation and upgrading of the ink industry, and is an industry supported by national policies in recent years. The “Comprehensive Work Plan for Energy Saving and Emission Reduction during the 14th Five-Year Plan” proposes that by 2025, the proportion of solvent-based industrial coatings and inks used will be reduced by 20 percentage points and 10 percentage points respectively, and the use of solvent-based adhesives will be reduced by 20%. Water-based ink is a substitute for solvent-based ink. National restrictions on the use of solvent-based ink will bring development space for water-based gravure ink.

However, due to the short development time of water-based gravure inks, and there are still some problems compared to solvent-based inks, such as slow printing speed, high re-plate costs, repeated plate washing, etc., the current penetration rate of the water-based gravure ink industry is still very low. According to the released “2023-2028 China Water-based Gravure Ink Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report”, water-based gravure printing Ink only accounts for about 15% of the entire gravure ink market.

                                                                                                        The market scale is small, the development time is short, and the product maturity is low. There are currently only a few companies in the water-based gravure ink industry. There are two major types of domestic water-based gravure ink manufacturers. One is water-based gravure ink manufacturers, such as Shanxi Jingjingke Industry and Trade Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Bright Ink Coating Co., Ltd., etc. These companies have been involved in water-based gravure ink for a long time. In the early days, water-based gravure ink products were mainly surface printing inks; the other type was represented by large domestic ink companies such as DIC, Toyo Ink, Bauhinia Bauhinia, Haocai Ink, Letong Chemical, etc. These companies all paid more attention to brand building. China’s water-based gravure ink market occupies a high proportion.

Industrial analysts said that water-based gravure inks are environmentally friendly products and comply with the “Guidance Catalog for Industrial Structural Adjustment” and “Pollution from the Printing Industry” Policy requirements such as “Guidelines on Feasible Technologies for Prevention and Control” and “Technical Guidelines for the Development of Emergency Emission Reduction Measures for Key Industries in Heavy Pollution Weather (2020 Revised Edition)”. Driven by policies, the penetration rate of China’s water-based gravure ink market will continue to increase.