Additives are a critical component of printing inks. They provide a wide range of characteristics for the finished inks. Waxes, surfactants, dispersing agents and rheology modifiers are essential in the ink manufacturing process.

Ink World estimates that the global ink industry is $25 billion, and estimates from research firms place the ink additives markets in the range of $2 billion. According to Research and Markets’ report, “Ink Additives Market by Type (Dispersing & Wetting Agents, Foam Control Additives, Slip/Rub Materials, Rheology Modifiers), Process, Technology, Application (Packaging, Publishing, Printing), and Region - Global Forecast to 2023,” the global ink additives market is projected to reach $2 billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 5.2% between 2018 and 2023.

Meanwhile, in its report, “Ink Additives Market (By Type: Rheology Modifiers, Wetting Agents [Defoamers, Dispersants], Others; By Printing Process: Flexography, Lithography, Digital, Gravure, Others; By Printing Inks: Solvent-based, Water-based, UV-cured; By Application: Publishing, Packaging, Commercial Printing, Others) - Global Industry Analysis, Market Size, Opportunities and Forecast, 2019 – 2026,” Acumen Research and Consulting is more bullish on the market, estimating its sales as $3.4 billion by 2026, with a CAGR of 5.5%.

Leading additive suppliers reported that the past year, pre-COVID-19, was fairly stable. Shamrock Technologies VP Joon Choo said that 2019 was a year of stabilization in terms of the volumes and types of additives that Shamrock supplies to the graphic arts segment.

“The publication segment saw a continued downward trend with customer consolidation, while packaging continued to grow,” Choo observed.

David S. Grabacki, president, keim additec surface USA, LLC, reported growth in his markets.

“Across all of our products, Keim USA has seen a predictable increase in demand for micronized waxes, water-based wax dispersions and highly efficient non-wax additives for graphic arts – but this was dependent on the markets our specific customers addressed based on their individual strategies,” Grabacki said.

“The additives in graphics arts business grew for us, although there has been pressure on cost-cutting. We have successfully partnered with customers to address this trend,” Robert Ruckle, global marketing and sales manager for Siltech, noted.

Albert Frank, head of global end-use graphic arts, BYK, said that in general, business was quite stable.

“We see a decrease in additives demand for offset printing and an increase in the inkjet inks market, especially for packing and textiles applications,” Frank added.

Jerry Trauth, product manager wax, additives/ink applications for Kustom Group, reported that Kustom Group’s additives line grew in 2019, fueled by continued strong sales of its Liquid Photoinitiator (PI) Blends, particularly its PIs for LED cure along with PIs for non-yellowing applications. “Our wax compounds for sheetfed including energy cure products have also performed well,” Trauth added.

Impact of COVID-19

The trajectory of the year changed dramatically with the COVID-19 pandemic. Industries are seeing tremendous disruption and shifts. For example, the ink industry is seeing greater interest in packaging inks as people stay home and make their own meals.

“COVID-19 has slowed down shipments both ways, but we are seeing increased demand in some segments related to support of essential businesses, especially health-related industries,” Choo reported. “Shamrock had to re-open our China plant earlier than most during the lockdown in order to be able to make products to support glove manufacturing. Printing is also required for all these segments, so we actually see an uptick in the short term demand.”

Michael P. Gerkin, Kustom Group’s president and CEO, said that the pandemic has created a very challenging time with a lot of uncertainty.

“We are seeing certain industry segments blowing up (packaging) while others are slower,” Gerkin added. “Currently we are not seeing any major raw material shortages, but we have longer lead times. These lead times are mostly due to transportation. If material is coming from or through a high-risk area or port (LA, New York, Miami or San Francisco), lead times have increased. Communication is key during these unforeseen times.”

“From a raw materials standard standpoint, there is only a minor impact on the business,” said Frank. “Customer demand is increasing in some parts of the graphic arts business, especially if it comes to hygiene paper and packaging inks. However, the publication market is apparently decreasing.”

“Firstly, we can confirm that none of our products or raw materials are produced in China, so our supply chain remains strong,” Grabacki reported. “Next, our purchasing department is continuously in contact with our suppliers and for the time being there is no indication of any kind of shortage. However, the situation must be checked continuously according to the current situation. Regarding logistics, we currently do not face a gap of capacities, depending on the daily development or decisions taken by the government. So far, business continues to be increasing year-over-year.”

“In the US and Canada, chemical manufacturing is considered essential so we are operating at full capacity with social distancing and sanitation protocols in place to protect our employees,” Ruckle said. “Our raw material stream is solid with nearly all of our supply coming from North American or Western European suppliers. On the demand side, it is too soon to tell. Our coatings business was down a bit in March, perhaps portending a weak April. Our other business segments saw rapidly increased demand in health care and medical which we have been able to supply.”

Sustainability and Additives

Sustainability is an important topic for virtually every industry, and the ink industry is no exception. Additives suppliers are playing a key role in terms of sustainability.

“As from the very early beginning, we focused on the production of environmentally friendly ink and coatings additives, typically with a relatively low amount of emulsifiers and keeping an eye on various food contact regulations, to fulfill the needs of customers,” Grabacki noted. “Currently, our amine-free additives together with high FDA status are of especially big interest at our customers.”

“Indeed, sustainability is a focus area for all of us in the industry, and some requirements are demanded more by downstream stakeholders and regulators,” Choo noted. “Come July 4, 2020, ECHA will require that all PTFE-containing micro powders will need to comply with European Regulation 2017/1000, which Shamrock has been preparing for since two years ago.”

“Customers in the graphic arts sector are increasingly asking for additives based on sustainable/renewable resources,” Frank reported. “BYK has over 100 sustainable products for the printing ink industry. We are continuously developing new sustainable products by partnering with our customers. However, challenges for these materials are to fit into existing formulations/application methods and to perform at the highest levels. Availability and cost of sustainable raw materials remain a huge challenge.”

Trauth said that Kustom Group has worked closely over the years with many of its customers to develop more sustainable products, processes and packaging options.

“We offer products such as bisphenol A free, Prop65 free, Swiss compliant, Nestle compliant, low VOC, and high bio-renewable content (BRC) products,” Trauth reported. “Our mixers are equipped with soft-start devices to reduce electricity use. We also use recycled drums and buckets whenever possible.”

“We have not been asked by customers but have multiple programs in our plants to reduce utility usage, recycle solvents and otherwise reduce our footprint,” Ruckle said.

New Additives

To meet customers’ needs, additives manufacturers are developing a wide range of new products for the ink industry. Ruckle reported that Siltech’s new Silmer ACRN and ACRT derivatives provide more cross-linking in UV cured formulations.

For example, Shamrock Technologies has developed REACH-complaint waxes. “Shamrock launched the new ‘RC’ (Reach Compliant) products towards the end of 2019, and is now steadily supplying customers with RC grades that are tested on a per-lot basis for specific applications,” said Choo.

Frank observed that modern solvent-borne printing inks are becoming increasingly polar, which is why it is particularly challenging to find suitable, compatible dispersing additives for NC-based printing inks.

“At the same time, PU and vinyl systems result in increased polarity as well as a faster printing process,” Frank added. “The quicker processing speeds, therefore, require faster-drying printing inks. This can be achieved by using a solvent that evaporates more quickly, or by applying less printing ink. However, if less printing ink is applied, then higher pigmentation will be needed to achieve the same coloristic properties. BYK has responded to market demand and developed DISPERBYK-2023. This additive offers optimal dispersion and stabilization of organic pigments, as well as outstanding compatibility across a wide polarity range.”

Trauth highlighted some of Kustom Group’s new products, including KBW-PT300CV, a PTFE compound for Prop 65 and Nestle compliance; KSW-UV300, a UV Nestle compliant PTFE compound; KBW-TF100S, a Nestle compliant polyethylene wax compound; LED-257, a gelled LED photoinitiator blend for pigmented systems; and LED-260, a LED photoinitiator for black/dark colors.

Grabacki pointed to new additives from keim additec surface. These include micronized mju:waxes of CERONAS to improve rub resistance, including the new mju:wax 2002 FN for use in solvent-based inks, which he said offers good powder flowing properties to ensure accelerated feeding during ink production. SILCO AF 1010 is a new high molecular weight siloxane-based antifoam additive for efficient defoaming and deaerating for pigment grinding, inks and OPVs exhibiting high persistency and fulfilling comprehensive regulatory requirements for food packaging.

SILCO SPERSE HLD-69 is a dispersing agent for water-based VOC-free, binder-free pigment dispersions for printing inks and inkjet inks, providing stability and wetting properties for a broad range of organic pigments, including Pigment Red 57:1; SILCO GLIDE T-52, keim additec surface’s newest development, is an ultrahigh molecular weight silicone-based dispersion providing rub/scratch resistance and slip complying with Swiss Ordinance (SR 817.023.21 Annex 10) due to lowest content of potentially migrating ingredients; and ULTRALUBE MDD-48 is a cost-effective aqueous wax additive based on a special wax compound for strong rub resistance without significantly decreasing the degree of gloss in water-based inks.

Expectations for the Coming Year

With all that is occurring now, it is hard for additive suppliers to know what comes next.

“Remember the Magic 8-Ball toy? I don’t think anyone knows what the next 12 months hold unless they consult one of those,” Ruckle said.

“Given that the global economy has been put on ‘pause’ for at least a quarter, we expect a lower volume usage of materials, but this should recover as we transition past this crisis,” said Choo.

“We are in uncharted waters at this point and forecasting is almost impossible with all the uncertainty in the world,” Gerkin observed. “Baring no federal or state mandatory shut down, Kustom Group will be open, using the most current guidelines to ensure our employees’ safety, and helping with all our
customer’s needs.”

“As packaging has been identified as an essential industry and thanks to being a TAM member of NAPIM, ink and its raw materials are also identified as essential to the health and well-being of our country. We see business, especially in the graphic arts market, remaining strong,” Grabacki said.