UV Curable Inks Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Ink Type (Free Radical, Cationic), By Process (Flexographic, Gravure Printing, Offset Printing, Digital Printing, Screen Printing), By End-User Industry (Automobile, Consumer Goods, Packaging, Electronics, Medical, Publications and Printing, Others) and By Region(North America, Europe, APAC, Middle East and Africa, LATAM) Forecasts, 2023-2031

Market Overview

The global UV curable inks market size was valued at USD 1,896 million in 2022. It is projected to reach USD 3,031 million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 5.5% during the forecast period (2023-2031).

UV curable inks refer to the inks that use ultraviolet light instead of heat to dry or cure the inks as it is printed. It is a photochemical process that has witnessed widespread acceptance over traditional inks due to various advantages, such as increased production output, scratch and abrasion resistance, improved gloss, superior bonding, outdoor durability, reduced rejection rates, eco-friendly, and better chemical and solvent resistance properties. The process of obtaining these UV-cured inks involves combining liquid monomer and oligomer with photoinitiator and is then finally exposed to UV rays. It offers instant drying on a wide range of substrates, metals, glass, and ceramics flexible packaging, thin-gauge polymeric films, and many more.

In addition to this, these ink do not employ any environmentally harmful solvents and do not cause loss of coating thickness and volume in final prints, which leads to a reduction in waste, pollutant emissions, and energy use. Furthermore, UV-curable inks in printing applications are gaining traction as they offer higher productivity and increased printing throughput.

Market Dynamics

What are the Primary Factors Driving the Market?

Stringent Government Regulations Worldwide

Governments worldwide are now adopting stringent environmental regulations that specifically address the content of ink on every product and their impact on the environment. Therefore, they are encouraging the use of volatile organic compounds (VOC) free and no solvent inks, which have a positive impact on the environment, and increasing the demand for UV-curable inks as these are free from VOCs. For instance, China's Ministry of Environment and Ecology (MEE) introduced a program to reduce the emission of VOC and its effects across key industries such as petrochemicals, packaging, printing, and transportation by 10% by the end of 2020 in the year 2019. In addition to this, the European Printing Ink Association and the Underwriter's Laboratories are also contributing towards the growth of the UV curable inks market as these are eco-friendly and offer various advantages.

Bio-Compatible Properties of UV Curable Inks

Due to its biocompatibility, the market is projected to have a large expansion. It is anticipated that waste reduction, reduced pollutant emission, and low energy consumption for product manufacture will stimulate market growth. UV allows eco-friendly printers to use non-toxic ink, as opposed to solvent-based ink. UV inks may be successfully applied to both flexible and rigid surfaces as they contain no solvents. Consequently, more manufacturers are producing inkjet printers with UV inks. In addition, because they are UV inks, they are weatherproof, making them suitable for long-term outdoor use.

What are the Main Factors That Will Slow Down the Market?

Commercialization of Substitutes such as Electron-Beam Ink

UV inks belong to the group of "energy-cured inks," and there is a related ink technology that can provide the same advantages as UV while eliminating its disadvantages. This process is known as electron-beam (EB or e-beam) curing. Similar to UV curing, EB curing is not a new technique; web offset printing has been utilized for decades. UV and EB offset inks were viewed as alternatives to high-solvent web offset inks. The fundamental distinction between the two energy-curing processes is that UV inks require a photoinitiator, as UV radiation is insufficient to initiate polymerization on its own.

The fundamental benefit of EB curing inks is that they do not require photoinitiators because the electron beam is sufficient to initiate polymerization on its own. Due to the absence of photoinitiators, EB inks are less expensive, can be cleaned with water instead of solvents, and have little migration, making them excellent for food and pharmaceutical packaging, particularly thin films and foils. If electron-beam ink is adopted widely due to its wide range of advantages, the UV curable ink market can witness a slowdown through the forecast period. 

What are the Future Opportunities for the Market?

Increasing Technological Advancements 

The expansion of the market is predicted to be propelled by the rising demand for UV curable ink in a variety of printing applications due to its superior properties, such as low volatile organic compound concentration, shorter drying time, and good bonding qualities. Technological improvements in the industry have reduced the danger of fading, bubble formation, and de-lamination, which is anticipated to boost market expansion. The low viscosity of UV-curable ink reduces wastage by preventing ink from penetrating printing materials. Due to their low viscosity, these inks can also be applied to stiff surfaces, hence boosting the demand for UV-curing ink.

UV LED curing technology currently offers various benefits in terms of sustainability, affordability, and performance for some applications, such as wood fillers, electronic display coatings, fiber optics, and some non-graphic web coatings. In industries where UV LED curing technology has not yet achieved the levels required for commercialization, the advantages realized in these markets are gaining interest. End-users are interested in UV LED curing for industrial wood and other coatings, automotive/transportation, and numerous other applications are working closely with UV lamp/equipment manufacturers and coating formulators and their raw material suppliers to develop systems that will overcome current limitations and facilitate wider adoption of UV LED curing.

Regional Analysis

The global UV curable inks market is bifurcated into four regions, namely North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. 

Asia Pacific Dominates the Global Market

Asia Pacific region is the highest contributor to the market and is expected to grow at a CAGR of xx% during the forecast period. The growth can be attributed to the increasing population in emerging economies such as China and India and the flourishing of several sectors, such as automotive, medical, electronics, packaging, and many others in the region. The manufacturers of various markets are further shifting their focus in this region because of the easy availability of raw materials coupled with low-cost labor and improved production facilities, which are anticipated to increase the demand for various consumer goods. This will propel the demand for UV-curable ink as it finds extensive use in the packaging and labeling industry.

As per the Packaging Industry Association of India (PIAI), the packaging is the fifth largest sector in the Indian economy and is growing at 22-25% per annum. In addition to this, the rising disposable income of consumers leading to an increase in purchasing power has positively impacted the growth of the automotive sector, which uses UV-curable inks for different functional and aesthetic applications in manufacturing. It provides good adhesion, excellent scratch resistance, and chemical resistance for long-lasting, durable marking applications.

Europe is expected to witness dynamic growth in the UV curable inks market during the forecast period. According to the European Commission, the printing enterprises of Europe generates an annual turnover of around 98.86 USD billion from printing on paper, plastics, or textiles. In addition to this, there are 110,000 printing companies with 56.17 USD billion worth of printed products produced, with a turnover with packaging printing of 179.74 USD. Furthermore, the increasing per capita income of the population and demand for several consumer goods has led to the growth of various industries, such as automotive, electronics, food and beverages, etc., which is positively impacting the demand for UV curable inks, as these are used for printing and labeling on packaging used by these industries. 

North America is expected to witness significant growth in the UV curable inks market during the forecast period due to the presence of numerous electronics companies, including Texas Instruments, Micron, Avago, and Intel. The need for UV-curable ink is soaring. These producers of electronic components produce analog and digital semiconductor technologies, which are predicted to increase the need for UV-curable inks over the forecast period. Advertisers are a significant market segment for the printing sector. The industry's marketing items include branded clothes, stickers, and posters. Consequently, when advertising expenditures increase, so does the demand for the UV-curable inks market. 

The LAMEA region is expected to witness moderate growth in the global UV curable inks market during the forecast period. The growing packaging industry in UAE and Saudi Arabia due to increasing demand for packaged food, the e-commerce sector, and online food delivery is driving the market growth in the region. Brazil is now advancing from conventional printing to digital printing in the textile industry to grow in the fast-fashion sector worldwide. The adoption of digital printing in the region will propel the market growth in the region throughout the forecast period. 

Segmental Analysis

The global UV curable inks market is segmented by ink type, process, and end-users.

Based on ink type, the global market is bifurcated into free radical and cationic. 

The free radical segment is the highest contributor to the market and is expected to grow at a healthy CAGR during the forecast period. This polymerization technique requires less time and creates low temperatures that do not impede the curing procedure. In addition, the procedure requires less energy than its competitors, which is projected to provide an eight-year competitive advantage for the product.

The cationic segment is expected to grow at a significant rate due to its low emission levels, odorless nature, and absence of contamination. In addition, the resilience to moisture and oxygen provided by this polymerization method, which makes them perfect for flexible packaging applications, is anticipated to drive demand over the projection period.

Based on the process, the global market is bifurcated into flexographic, gravure printing, offset printing, digital printing, and screen printing.

The digital printing segment is the highest contributor to the market and is expected to grow at a healthy CAGR during the forecast period. The UV curable inks provide several benefits in digital printing, such as being instantly dried by rays of UV light and thus immediately ready for further handling, excellent adhesion, great abrasion, and chemical resistance, super consistency and reliability, no need for evaporation or special layers on substrates, and no VOC emissions.

The offset printing segment is expected to grow at a significant rate. Gravure printing is a common printing technique that is frequently used to print vast quantities of periodicals and catalogs. Gravure printing is distinguished by its rapid printing speed and great print quality. In addition, it features a straightforward printing procedure, precise ink usage, and adaptable printing machine structures. Due to many technological advancements, gravure printing currently belongs to the category of innovative technologies. Packaging materials are the largest market segment for gravure printing.

Based on end-users, the global UV curable inks market is bifurcated into the automobile, consumer goods, packaging, electronics, medical, and publications & printing.

The publications & printing segment is the highest contributor to the market and is expected to grow at a healthy CAGR during the forecast period due to the rising desire for personalized and one-of-a-kind consumer items, beautiful colors made possible by UV curable inks are in high demand.

The packaging segment is expected to grow at a significant rate. UV-cured inks give an overall better dot and print effect, resulting in a high-quality finish, which has increased its usage in the market. Additionally, it is also available in a wide range of finishes that are used in surface protection, gloss finishes, and many other print processes that allow UV to cure immediately. These ink are the most preferred choice among manufacturers, as they can fully dry during the print process, therefore, helping the product proceed quickly for the next step of production. UV-cured inks are used on the packaging of every product of different industries. Thus, the increase in spending on packaged goods by consumers, especially in the food and beverage sector, is propelling the market growth

Impact of covid-19

COVID-19 has caused chaos in the world economy, humanitarian aid, and healthcare systems. The rapid spread of the virus has a substantial impact on the worldwide automobile industry, causing a drop in the demand for both new and used automobiles.

The pandemic has a tremendous impact on the electric vehicle industry as the vehicles are regarded as cutting-edge mobility and are prohibitively expensive to buy. Due to the vigorous spread of the virus worldwide, many commodities' demand and supply chains have come to a standstill due to the lack of transportation medium.

However, by the end of 2020, the COVID-19 situation had stabilized in several countries, leading to the end of demand-supply imbalance and a considerable increase in new automobile registrations. It was due to the necessity of avoiding public transportation for the commute.

Additionally, the transmission market has lost its market share due to low or near-zero automobile sales and new requirements. Although over 90% of autos in the United States have adopted automatic transmission, large-scale markets such as India have failed to adopt automatic gearbox.  Automatic transmissions have become increasingly popular among drivers worldwide, assisting the industry in dealing with the pandemic and delivering high statistics in the aftermath of COVID-19.

Recent Developments

• In October 2022, RUCO INX showcased environmentally friendly printing inks for plastic decoration at K 2022.
• In October 2022, Toyo Ink announced the establishment of a new manufacturing subsidiary in Hungary. This new entity will produce Lioaccum carbon nanotube conductive dispersions for lithium-ion battery cathodes.