Flexo printing ink (below)

Although the biggest feature of water-based inks has brought great benefits to the environment, the success of water-based inks does not mean that solvent-based inks will exit the flexo ink market.
The biggest advantage of water-based inks is that VOC volatiles are minimal, but the head of Sun Chemical's R&D team believes that there is no reduction in the use of solvent-based inks for this reason.
According to some people's point of view, many printers still use solvent-based inks for printing, but the use of a certain type of technology makes volatile emissions within the scope of the environmental regulations. The print quality of solvent-based inks remains attractive.
Whether solvent or water based inks are used depends on the cost. For some printing companies, the use of water-based inks for environmental reasons increases production costs. Which ink is used in the end depends mainly on the local environmental regulations on VOC emissions. For some printing companies that do not consider handling volatiles, the use of solvent-based inks is a little cheaper.
UV/EB curing ink UV (ultraviolet) and EB (electron beam) curing technology continue to be the direction of the ink industry. Flexographic printing continues to favor radiation curable inks.
Of course, UV/EB technology is also the most frequently asked question for flexo packers. Narrow web rotary label printers have successfully applied cured inks and gained a competitive position in the printing market. For the rest of the printing market, printers are looking for radiation-curable inks.
Needless to say, from a print quality point of view, the flexo printing with UV ink is the best printing method among all the flexo printing technologies. It is superior to the flexo printing of solvent inks and water-based inks.
Like other printing methods, UV/EB flexo inks also face some obstacles. The UV/EB technology in the packaging and printing market faces several challenges. The biggest obstacle is that UV/EB technology cannot adapt to traditional printing technologies. For example, the use of a water-based ink instead of a solvent-based ink is relatively easy, since it can be converted from a water-based ink to a solvent-based ink without significant investment or many changes to the printer. In contrast, prior to the adoption of UV/EB technology, printing companies must install curing equipment. Although current curing equipment prices are declining, such equipment is a large investment.
In addition, the cost issue is also a major cause of further development of radiation-curing inks/paints. Raw materials and equipment are still very expensive. According to experts' estimation, if the cost of UV/EB ink is close to the cost of other types of ink, the development speed of UV/EB ink will be 3 to 4 times the average development speed of other inks.
Although the development of UV/EB coatings in the coating market is very rapid, the development speed of UV/EB inks is still relatively slow, especially in wide web rotary printing applications. There are several reasons for the slow development of UV/EB, including the cost of the equipment and the cost of the ink itself. For some food packaging applications, the smell of UV/EB inks is still a headache. In some large printing markets, UV/EB inks are unlikely to replace water-based inks and solvent-based inks. Flexographic ink share distribution:

Ink type Water-based ink Solvent-based ink Radiation curing ink Gross weight (million pounds) 360 195 1
Annual growth rate 5% 3% 15%

The future of flexo printing is obvious. The future of flexo printing is bright. This is good news for ink manufacturers. As more and more printers feel the benefits of flexo printing and flexographic technology itself, the market for flexo inks will easily exceed the one billion US dollar mark. Experts pointed out that there are two key trends that continue to promote the development of flexo printing.
1) More and more printing companies offer 10-color printing, which means that after printing by color separation processing, high-quality images can be provided.
2) The 6-color printing method has become more and more popular, allowing the printing to obtain a wider color reproduction of the color gamut. In addition, the advent of hybrid (compound) presses has brought some printers into the flexo field. Composite printing is used in narrow-web web-fed label printing. Several printing and processing methods are used in the machine. May include water-based ink flexo printing, UV flexo printing, rotary screen printing, text printing, offset printing, gravure printing, hot laminating, cold coating, and bronzing. More and more packaging processors are using the production methods of UV flexo printing, UV rotary screen printing, and hot laminating. Printers now using other printing methods may also incorporate flexo technology into existing printing methods. There are indications that sheet-fed offset printers are also sticking to flexo printing. Regardless of how flexible printing continues to develop, costs will remain a key factor in the overwhelming development. The continuous pressure from printing customers has caused printers and ink manufacturers to work hard to reduce the cost of ink. Therefore, the future will continue to put forward higher requirements for printing methods and ink production management.
According to the survey of the US "Ink World", it is noted that printing companies and ink manufacturers will continue to merge; in the next few years, more printing companies will turn to flexo printing. As the public’s increasing environmental protection demands and the pursuit of environmental protection work conditions, those non-traditional flexographic ink manufacturers will join the ranks of flexo ink manufacturers. The flexo ink production market is profitable. In the future, we will see a lot of suppliers of flexo ink production.