The front corrugated box printing methods include: offset printing, flexo printing, gravure printing, and the recent rise of inkjet direct printing technology. Due to the different printing methods, the printing inks used are also different. General offset printing using oily ink, gravure printing using oil ink or water-based ink, and flexo printing using water-based ink, and now the domestic application of domestic corrugated carton flexible printing 90% water-based ink, gravure printing 60% using water-based ink.
Advantages of water-based inks used in flexographic printing
With environmental and safety advantages. Ink printing on many paper products can be designed as low VOCs or zero VOCs, no pollution to the environment, no human health
Has the advantage of low flammability. Not easy to burn, good safety;
Has stability. Due to the low volatility of water, it has better viscosity stability, bright color, and does not corrode plate material;
A new generation of water-based products is easier to clean than solvent systems. The use of soapy water or weakly alkaline lotion scrubbing can complete the cleaning of the printing press parts, thereby increasing production efficiency.
The operation is simple, the price is cheap, the adhesion after printing is good, the water resistance is strong, and the drying is rapid. The printing speed can reach 150m-200m per minute.
Distribution and Prospect of Domestic Waterborne Ink Purchase Area
According to relevant statistics, the main procurement capabilities of water-based inks are concentrated in South China and East China. From 2001 to 2004, the proportion of water-based ink purchases in South China was 41%, that of East China was 35%, and that of North China was 14%. Others The regional procurement ratio is 10%. In 2006, South China grew to 50%, while other regions rose to 13%, while East China and North China also increased significantly. In 2001-2004, water-based inks were basically domestically produced, mainly due to the domestic water quality; the quality of inks had basically passed, which could meet the requirements of carton printing: and the price had an absolute advantage, so most companies chose domestically produced products. Ink. It is estimated that by 2006, the origin of water-based inks will still be mainly made in China, except in South China, which is dominated by imported products, with a ratio of 55%.
Domestic ink-and-wash manufacturers occupy 80% of the market share of corrugated cartons, and well-known manufacturers with a certain scale in the country include: Guangdong Zhaoqing Tianlong Ink, Oriental Ink, Shanghai Shiao, Shanxi Essence Industry and Trade, etc.; joint ventures, foreign ink manufacturers : Tianjin Toyo Ink, Fulin Ink, and Pacific Ink are very good manufacturers of ink and wash products in the corrugated box industry. In addition, with the continuous development of flexo printing, many small-scale ink-jet printing plants have been established one after another, resulting in a certain competition in the ink-and-wash market. In the midst of a strike, the user’s choice will generally be based on the manufacturer’s technical strength, product quality, and reputation. Degrees are metrics.
In the flexo package printing, most of the current domestic and foreign use of water-based ink printing. The widespread use of flexographic water-based inks is one of the important factors for the rapid development of flexographic printing. According to statistics from relevant departments, China has an average of more than 1,000 carton factories in each province. According to 10% of water-based inks used to print high-grade cartons, each household uses 10 tons of ink, and each province needs about 1,000 tons of water-based ink per year. This does not include Flexo, gravure printing and other printing and packaging products. Therefore, water-based ink has a broad market.
China has become a hot spot in the world ink industry
With China becoming the fastest-growing economy in the Asia-Pacific region, major ink manufacturers in the world have undertaken major investment activities in China, such as: Toyo Ink, Sakatalnx, D, C, Flint Ink, and Tung Wah Group of Ink. Flint Ink's news ink factory in Beijing, Toyo Ink announced that it will invest 5 billion yen (about 345 million yuan) to establish a new sales and manufacturing company in Shanghai Hanjiang Industrial Park - Shanghai Toyo Ink Manufacturing Co., Ltd., the new company will provide a range of Toyo Ink's existing products including packaging materials. Another Japanese ink giant Sakatalnx Co., Ltd. also established a subsidiary in Shanghai that is engaged in ink production and sales. The company's name is Sakata Ink Shanghai Co., Ltd. The company mainly produces packaging liquid inks and gravure inks, and plans to produce 3,600 tons per year. Sakata, nX Corporation also established the mid-term business plan for 2004-2006. Through this plan, the company will increase its ink sales in the Asia Pacific region from 6.7 billion yen in 2003 to 10 billion yen in 2006. T&K TOKA inks will invest 2.1 billion yen (approximately 145 million U.S. dollars) in the next five years to substantially increase the number of Chinese subsidiaries (Hang Wah Ink Chemical Co., Ltd. rents Tung Wah Group Guangzhou Ink Co., Ltd.) Offset inks With the production capacity of UV inks, the completion of this investment will increase the production capacity of the China subsidiary of Tung Wah Group of inks by 90% to 30,000 tons per year. In comparison, the quality of foreign ink products is higher than that of domestic ink manufacturers, but their prices are often 3 to 5 times that of domestic inks. Therefore, in the case where many customers do not explicitly specify the use of imported or joint venture ink, manufacturers generally use domestic high-grade ink for printing production. However, according to the development trend of corrugated cartons, the direct offset printing is a fine corrugated printing solution. Therefore, the performance of water-based inks must be continuously improved in order to compete for the offset ink market.
As we all know, the profit of the carton has been minimal. Therefore, carton factories and printing factories have relatively tight control over their costs, and they often desperately lower ink prices when purchasing. At present, the price of ink and wash is low, and the profit margin is relatively small. Generally, the ink-and-rollery factory is poor enough to cope with reducing costs. There is no time and sufficient funds to develop products and improve product quality to better serve carton factories. (Usually the cost of ink in a carton is less than 0.03%, and spending so much time and energy on ink prices is not worth it.)
(to be continued)