Ink Industry Hopeful, Despite Adversities

This summer's hurricanes also hurt the availability of titanium dioxide, another ink raw material, Soeldner said. One Louisiana-based manufacturer of titanium dioxide, a company that produces about 7 percent of the chemical's global supply, remains shut down because of hurricane damage. "The plant manufactures primarily chloride grades for the paint industry, but this is forcing some customers to convert over to sulphate grades typically used in inks," Soeldner said. "This exerts additional pressure on the ink grades, where the market is already snug and capacity has been eliminated."