The European supply chain for printing ink pigments is currently going through a transition period, which has raised hopes for greater stability in prices and more secure availability of products. But these expectations may turn out to be overly optimistic.

There is currently less reliance on imports. At the upper end of the market, there are larger quantities of pigments being made by European-based producers, although these are becoming more concentrated as a result of mergers and acquisitions.

However, for the moment, there is little evidence that these changes will be able to eliminate the usual problems of volatile prices and frequent shortages of certain organic pigments.

The biggest recent fluctuations in prices has been with titanium dioxide (TiO2), which after weakening for a while, began to rise sharply last year and looks likely to continue to increase for much of the rest of 2017.

Uncertainties about future trends in Europe’s TiO2 market have been exacerbated by acquisitions and disinvestments, which are triggering cuts in capacity.

Doubts about future supplies and costs is forcing printing ink producers to consider once again ways of reformulating with alternative materials so that they can reduce the TiO2 content of their products.

Throughout most printing sectors in Europe, there is a growing preference for more and stronger colors, together with more sophisticated and novel special effects.

Titanium Dioxide

In some cases companies have moved out of pigments altogether or some parts of its market. Huntsman, a major supplier of speciality TiO2 for printing inks, announced last year it was following the example of DuPont by spinning off its pigments operations into the newly created company Venator Corp., which, in addition to TiO2, is making iron and other metal oxides, ultramarines and carbon black. The divestment comes only two years after Huntsman acquired Rockwell Holdings’ TiO2 activities, including its 30,000 tons a year Sachtleben facility in Germany for making titanium dioxide for inks.

Huntsman’s planned withdrawal from the TiO2 sector means that the pigments business of the merged HuntsmanClariant will comprise mainly Clariant’s premium and high performance products for printing inks and other coatings.

The acquisition by Tronos of Saudi Arabian-owned Cristal will leave the European TiO2 market consisting primarily of an expanded Tronos, Kronos, DuPont’s spin-off Chemours and Venator.

Analysts expect there will be soon be further consolidation, probably as a result of expansions by Chinese operators. There has been speculation that Lomon Billions of China, now the world’s fourth largest TiO2 producer, wants a stronger presence in Europe. In October 2016, Henan Billions Chemical Company Ltd merged with Sichuan Lomon Titanium Industry Company Ltd to form Lomon Billions. Henan Billions had previously purchased Huntsman’s TIOXIDE®TR52 titanium dioxide pigment business, which is designed for use in inks, in October 2014, later rebranding the pigment BILLIONS®TR52 pigment.

Overcapacity in TiO2 in China following a slowdown in demand growth in the country has prompted Chinese producers to divert output to European and North American markets, where prices of the pigment have been rising strongly.

Prices have been increasing in Europe since reaching a trough at the end of 2015. By early 2017, they had recovered to the same levels as two years previously. Then ink makers were hit by steep increases after a fire badly damaged a 130,000 ton a year Huntsman plant at Pori, Finland, which makes most of the company’s graphics art grades for the European market.

In the UK, TiO2 prices soared by 22% in the early part of this year, according to the 2017 Raw Materials Survey of the British Coatings Federation (BCF), whose members include ink producers. In addition to TiO2 shortages, a weak UK pound was also a factor behind the increase.

European TiO2 prices for the grade went up so sharply that the shutdown of the plant had much less of an impact on the company’s finances than expected. The first quarter sales for Huntsman’s pigments and additives operation were almost static compared to a year ago, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) dropped by nearly 18% because of the fire.

The tightness between supply and demand in TiO2 in Europe seems destined to continue well into the second half of the year. This will help to reinforce a return to profitability of TiO2 producers, but it will put further pressure on the margins of inks and other coatings makers.

Despite rising prices, TiO2 producers have been continuing to cut capacity in Europe even before they started to reorganize their activities in the wake of the latest acquisitions. Before spinning off its pigments operations, Huntsman has been conducting a phased closure of a TiO2 plant at Calais in northern France.

However, much of the capacity reductions have been focused on commodity materials while producers endeavor to ensure that specialty and more profitable grades make up a higher proportion of their output.

The strategy has been to improve quality through greater uniformity in the sizing, shaping and surface modification of the pigment particles, which helps make printed surfaces more eye catching and visually attractive. Ironically, similar processing methods are being applied by producers of calcium carbonate and other fillers to increase their refraction power so that less TiO2 needs to be used.

Particle Science and REGULATIONS

This emphasis on size and shape of particles and their surface preparation has been employed across the pigments industry, especially dispersions makers. This has been a growing trend throughout the pigments sector in Europe, particularly those for printing ink sectors like packaging, digital printing, textiles and niche segments such as ceramics.

Lanxess has used particle science to develop a highly saturated red iron oxide for printing inks and other sectors with a greater range of shades than with traditional oxides.

Modification of particles is considered to be an important way of improving UV curing of inks. This is particularly the case with the growing application of UV curing in inkjet printing, in which there is already a need for careful sizing, surface treatment and distribution of pigments to avoid clogging of printhead nozzles.

Producers of premium inks have been targeting the digital sector because they can exploit their technological expertise in high performing pigments to take advantage of a market with an above average growth rate.

Clariant has been introducing pigments for both inkjet inks and toners with a high level of color stability and fastness combined with a wide color spectrum. The company has also been extending its range of bio-based pigments for the digital sector as part of its strategy of being a leader in the development of eco pigments.

The technological advances being achieved by ink producers in nanotechnology has been exemplified by the nano pigments applied by Landa Corporation in its new Nanographic presses being introduced in Europe.

BASF has formed a partnership with Landa to use its nano-pigment technology to develop a range of ultra-high transparency pigments to provide a new generation of colors and effects pigments for automotive coatings.

However, a conflict with health and environmental standards could be emerging as printing ink producers start to become more reliant on nanotechnology to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of its pigments.

Already a number of European states have introduced mandatory schemes for the registration of nanomaterials or products containing nano substances.

At the European Union level, producers of chemicals such as TiO2 that are supplied with particles deliberately reduced to a nano size have to provide safety information on these nano forms. This data has to be included in safety profiles of the chemical when it is registered with the EU’s European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) under the Union’s REACH legislation on control of chemicals.

The use of nanoparticles in food packaging inks may also be restricted by legislation being drawn up by the European Commission, the Brussels-based EU executive, in response to a move by the German government to introduce its own regulation on printing inks in direct or indirect contact with food stuffs.

The German government has agreed to suspend its Printing Ink Ordinance to allow the EU to introduce an alternative. But the Germans have threatened to reintroduce the ordinance if the EU legislation does not deal adequately with issues tackled by the German regulation.

The ordinance bans the use of nanoparticles in printing ink substances unless a risk assessment concludes that they are safe as a food contact material.

TiO2 in printed inks and other products is also being threatened by possible EU regulatory controls after the risk assessment committee (RAC) of Helsinki-based ECHA recommended in June that the pigment be categorized as a suspected carcinogen.

Commentators believe that even if ECHA accepts the committee’s recommendation, it is unlikely to be supported by the European Commission, which will make the final decision.

The regulatory dangers hanging over TiO2 and nano pigments will be another long term uncertainty for ink producers in addition to continual worries about prices and availability.

European Editor Sean Milmo is an Essex, UK-based writer specializing in coverage of the chemical industry.