Resins play an essential role in formulating inks, whether it is dispersing the ink or providing critical properties such as adhesion, gloss and runnability on press. It is a large market; Verified Market Research reported that the ink resins market size was valued at USD $3.076 billion in 2021, and is projected to reach USD $4.65 billion by 2030.

There are almost as wide a range of resins as there are inks, including hydrocarbon inks for offset inks, acrylic resins for water-based inks and acrylates for UV inks.

Nicholas Scheinkonig, technical marketing manager, color dispersions for Lubrizol, noted that there has been a noticeable shift in the ink industry over the years, especially with the rise of digital markets.

“A trend is observed in certain markets favoring digital technologies, where UV and water-based resins are dominating,” Scheinkonig added. “In some sectors, we’ve found notable transition from UV curable technologies to water-based inks, driven by environmental or regulatory considerations, like corrugated packaging. This shift necessitates the development of resins that provide comparable durability properties in water-based formulations. This is one focus for Lubrizol in developing our inkjet water-based resins. Meanwhile, solvents persist in residuals applications where they are irreplaceable.”

Nikhil Pampatwar, head – research & intelligence for Verified Market Research, noted that as a result of changing market trends, legal restrictions, and technology improvements, the ink and graphic arts industries have used resins in a different way over the years.

“Comparing water-based and UV-curable technologies to conventional solvent-based resins, it is true that they have become more popular and have grown significantly,” Pampatwar added.

“In the ink and graphic arts sector, water-based inks have grown in popularity because they are safe, environmentally friendly, and compliant with regulations,” he reported. “Water-based inks are a better option for applications like indoor signs, food packaging, and packaging printing since they have fewer volatile organic compounds (VOCs) than solvent-based inks. As environmental restrictions and consumer demand for sustainable printing solutions have increased, so has the use of water-based inks.

“In the ink and graphic arts market, UV-curable inks have grown significantly, especially for applications that call for quick curing, excellent durability, and improved print quality,” Pampatwar added. “Wide-format printing, labeling, packaging, and specialty applications including direct-to-object and industrial printing all make extensive use of UV-curable inks.”

“The market for conventional solvent-based inks is steadily losing market share to low-VOC inks due to the rising demand for solvent-free inks,” Atul Yadav, assistant manager – chemicals & materials research, MarketsandMarkets, said. “Water-based inks account for the second-largest share of the total ink resins market, and this trend is expected to continue upward. Moreover, UV-curable inks witness the highest growth. During the next few years, compliant technologies, such as water-based and radiation-curable, are expected to gain an increasing share of the ink resins market.”

As for growth markets, both Scheinkonig and Pampatwar noted that digital printing is the biggest growth opportunity.

Scheinkonig said that from a digital ink perspective, Lubrizol is seeing the high growth areas centered around the packaging market, from labels to corrugate board, folding carton, and potentially flexible packaging in the future.

“The digital UV label market has performed well over recent years, but moving forward we expect to see the fastest growth coming from water-based digital corrugate inks as the converters continue to explore the benefits of digital printing,” Scheinkonig added.

“The ink and graphic arts industry is seeing rapid expansion in digital printing technologies including electrophotography and inkjet,” Pampatwar said. “The benefits of digital printing include faster turnaround times, flexible data printing capabilities, high-speed printing, and affordable short-run production. The growing requirement for customized and on-demand printing in sectors including packaging, labels, textiles, signage, and commercial printing, is what’s fueling this expansion.

Yadav reported that the strongest growth within the ink and graphic arts segment is observed in UV-curable inks.

“UV-curing technologies have grown for ink manufacturers in recent years, particularly in packaging, narrow web, and inkjet applications,” Yadav said. “The increasing ease of usage of this technology drives this growth trend. Industrial applications, labels, and some flexible packaging remain the primary growth segments for UV-curable inks.”

Resins and Sustainability

Resins are playing a key role when it comes to sustainability.Scheinkonig observed that resin and ink producers need to partner so that resin suppliers can develop the right products.

“The key topics in terms of digital printing and more specifically water-based digital corrugate inks, where we see the main growth, are going to be around drying (energy consumption), compliance, de-inking and ultimately recyclability of the final printed article,” Scheinkonig pointed out. “The challenges for everyone concerned, resin suppliers and ink manufacturers, are focused on being able to develop ink systems and solutions that have reduced complexity (removal of stages), which result in lower energy consumption (drying) while also maintaining the performance.”

Scheinkonig gave the example of how more durable inks or those that don’t require an OPV, thus removing complexity, would in theory be more difficult to de-ink, which has a direct impact on recyclability. “There lies our challenge,” Scheinkonig added.

Pampatwar noted that while resins directly affect the environmental footprint, performance, and regulatory compliance of ink formulations, they are also important in addressing sustainability challenges within the ink manufacturing business.

“Resins have an impact on the environmental effects of ink formulations through a variety of mechanisms, including the procurement of raw materials, production procedures, energy usage, and emissions,” said Pampatwar. “Renewable-sourced raw materials, decreased energy usage, decreased greenhouse gas emissions, and a minimal environmental impact throughout their life cycle are the hallmarks of sustainable resins.

“Resins derived from renewable resources are given priority by ink makers to save resources, lessen their carbon footprint, and aid in the shift to a circular economy,” Pampatwar concluded. “By encouraging the growth of the economy and lowering reliance on non-renewable raw materials, renewable resins help achieve sustainability objectives.”

“Resins play a pivotal role in addressing sustainability concerns for ink manufacturers,” Yadav reported. “Water-based and UV-curable resins, being less harmful to the environment and human health, are becoming increasingly popular choices. The demand for water-based inks is expected to increase the demand for acrylic and maleic resins as they constitute a significant part of at least half of all water-based inks.”

Along those lines, regulatory issues continue to become more of an issue. Scheinkonig noted that Lubrizol is proactively working to anticipate and address future regulatory requirements, aiming to provide innovative solutions that align with evolving industry standards.

“Our focus includes enhancing water-based systems to meet the challenges posed by increasingly stringent regulations, or in areas such as lower VOCs, stricter food compliance, lower migration chemistry, and the development of new, compliant biocides with reduced hazard labeling,” said Scheinkonig.

“Additionally, we’re actively engaging with regulatory bodies, staying abreast of proposed changes, and collaborating with industry partners to ensure a comprehensive understanding of upcoming regulations,” he added. “This proactive approach enables us to adapt our strategies, formulations, and technologies to not only comply with new requirements but also stay ahead in offering sustainable and compliant solutions.”