Think Ink

To get a picture of current trends and market drivers for packaging inks, packagePRINTING talked to executives from several ink manufacturing companies.

pP: What growth do you see for the different ink categories (water-based,solvent-based, energy-cured) over the next several years?

Michael Impastato, VP, business development, Flint Group—A number of years ago, we saw movement between water, solvent, and radiation-cured inks, allowing some of these ink chemistries to grow at significantly higher rates than the underlying market. In most cases, this has moved back to an equilibrium, with the underlying markets driving the growth of each ink chemistry. Although most market segments in packaging can be serviced by water, solvent, or radiation-cured inks and coatings, it is typical that one type of ink chemistry is primary in most markets.