Ink Matters

Package printers want ink options for less, according to the 2004 packagePRINTING Annual Ink Usage Survey.

by Kate Sharon

PACKAGE PRINTERS WANT one ink supplier with superior products, and plenty of options, at bargain prices, according to the 2004 packagePRINTING Annual Ink Usage Survey.

That's not a novel concept, but it's one of many areas where 2004's survey results differed from last year's. Other areas where most of this year's respondents had a different point of view than last year's included the most important ink issues and capabilities, and what specialty inks they employ.

With help from industry ink suppliers, packagePRINTING set out to give some perspective on this year's ink usage survey results.

One's enough

Good ink supply management is a matter of finding which ink company's products work best and who is willing to bargain, according to this year's survey, where more than 60 percent of respondents reported working with one supplier in 2003. That's compared to 2002, when an overwhelming 84 percent of surveyed printers said they used multiple ink vendors.

Most printers surveyed cited increased consistency, customer service, and technical support as their reasons for using one supplier. However, ink vendors, who were included in the survey for the first time this year, said there's more to a one-on-one relationship with a vendor.

"The advantage of using one supplier is that it enables printers to leverage more buying power, creating increased synergy—benefiting both parties," said Don Matthiesen, marketing manager at Environmental Inks & Coatings (Morganton, N.C.). "The vendors secure more volume, which gives them the ability to better support the printer."

In addition, said John Signet, Water Ink Technologies (Lincolnton, N.C.) marketing manager: "I think one of the reasons printers focus on one or two vendors is that they are trying to realize the benefits of having a supplier who is more committed and more involved with their business. By working closely with one or two suppliers printers will, in most cases, see a consistently high level of product quality, better service, and reduced waste."

Another factor, said Akzo Nobel Inks (Plymouth, Minn.) Marketing Manager Deanna Whelan, is that more ink companies are now better able to act as a one-stop shop for printers. In addition to supplying the needed inks, ink companies can also provide complementary coatings, overprint varnishes, and adhesives, Whelan said.

This might be evidenced by the fact that nearly 90 percent of ink vendors who responded said they offered complete ink-system solutions like ink kitchens or ink/color management solutions. More than two-thirds of the suppliers who offer those products reported an increase in total sales of their systems.

A different focus

Over the past three years, printers have varied their stance on which ink issues and capabilities are most important to them. This is especially true with environmental concerns.

In 2001, printers ranked environmental concerns tenth on the list of the top 12 most important ink matters. A year later, environmental ink issues were in the top five. But once again, in 2004, environmental concerns fell to No. 11.

Furthermore, when suppliers were asked what their customers' top ink capability concerns were, environmental concerns were ranked last.

That's not necessarily an accurate depiction of the circumstances, said Matthiesen. "[Environmental concerns] may have dropped some from last year, but companies are still required to monitor VOCs. The government hasn't changed its regulations and companies still have to comply with the EPA's rules, and OSHA still mandates that companies monitor flammable substances."

"I'd say that both [ink users and suppliers] still place a lot of importance on environmental issues," added John Kalkowski, Sun Chemical (Northlake, Ill.) marketing manager. "But I think right now, after a couple of years of recession, they are thinking about survival—it's a case of day-to-day economics."

Topping the list at No. 1 and 2 this year as printers' most important ink concerns, were ink price and on-press availability. The rest of the list followed as, in descending order: dry time, technical assistance, color choice, R&D capabilities, ink availability, industry knowledge, ease of use, inventory, environmental concerns, and handling concerns.

Mixing it up

Hybrid inks, a combination of conventional inks and UV/EB inks or coatings, were popular with survey respondents up until last year when less than 8 percent of printers said they used them.

The 2004 hybrid inks survey results followed in the same vein as 2003. Pointing to lack of experience and ink price, under 18 percent of respondents reported using hybrid inks. Those that did said they used the inks in combinations of poly/nitrocellulos, and hybrid ink plus primer plus UV inline.

Of those not currently using hybrids, one-sixth said they planned to use the inks within the next six months, mostly due to hybrid ink's increased speed, wider substrate choice, and ability to process inline.

The apprehension about hybrids is somewhat understandable, but only to a point, Kalkowski said. "A couple of factors that printers are concerned about is No. 1: they don't have experience with the inks; No. 2: there's a capital investment required to get into it; and No. 3: the price per pound is high. But what printers aren't thinking about is the quality of being able to do inline processing.

"With hybrid inks, you have instant drying, which means you may not have to stack down the material for two days before coating or laminating it. That saves on time and warehousing, and you can tell instantly whether your product is good."

Possibly in response to a lack of demand, ink vendors were split nearly 50-50 between those that offer hybrids and those that don't. However, of the companies not selling hybrid inks, 50 percent said they planned to start offering them within the next six months.

Standout specialties

Specialty inks, and their ability to provide standout effects, are being widely used throughout the package-printing industry as more and more packages are being used to sell their products. Thus, specialty inks are readily available, with 100 percent of the suppliers who responded to the survey reporting that they offered the inks. An almost equally impressive number of printers reported using the inks, as 82 percent said they employed specialty inks.

Metallic inks continue to be the No. 1 most used specialty ink, with 59 percent of respondents using the eye-catching inks. Swapping positions from last year's results were custom colors and fluorescent inks, which came in second and third with 41 and 35 percent usage, respectively. Thermochromic inks moved up the list to fourth place with 11 percent usage.

Hot stamping ink, photochromic, and pearlescent all dropped down the list, with 5 percent reported usage. In a change from last year, none of the survey respondents reported using phosphorescent or reflective inks. However, a majority of suppliers reported that they sell as much phosphorescent ink as both fluorescent and pearlescent inks.