TH-INK-ING ABOUT COLOR

Specialty inks stand firm

Overall, 88 percent of survey respondents reported using specialty inks during 2001. As for the most popular type, metallics are still running the show. Last year, a quarter of respondents reported putting metallic ink to work; this year, the number has risen to 33 percent. So which inks lost ground? The use of custom colors slipped from 30 percent to 17 percent. Like last year's stats, the top four types of specialty inks—metallics, fluorescents, custom colors, and pearlescents—still make up 80 percent of specialty ink usage. (The balance consists of phosphorescents, hot stamping inks, photochromics, reflectives, and thermochromics.)