Inkjet agility ‘essential to print industry success’

Ink manufacturer and supplier Kao Collins has identified ongoing supply chain challenges and resulting opportunities for industrial inkjet printing.

As detailed in its 5 Trends for Industrial Inkjet Printing in 2022 whitepaper, several trends in particular have emerged, but which can benefit from the capabilities that inkjet printing affords. These include:

Medical UDI Coding, with global standards for unique device identification (UDI) of medical devices and equipment causing urgency, as more countries enact or plan to implement regulations and requirements similar to those in Japan and the US;

LED curable inks, with the e-commerce boom accelerating the adoption of versatile eco-friendly inks because of their weather resistance, rapid curing, excellent adhesion, and wider colour gamut;

Security inks, where growth and interest in such formulations has been driven by increased regulatory requirements involving product tracking and supply chain security, as well as greater need to curb fraud and counterfeiting;

Fast drying inks, with Kao Collins noting that interest in fast-drying ink is outpacing other production priorities for users of industrial inkjet ink, with over 36% of users on Kao Collins substrate and ink matching database seeking fast-drying inks; and

Private label food, where the private brand food industry is winning more market share as consumers look for quality alternatives to national brands, and industrial inkjet printing offers producers the opportunity to segment SKUs with efficiency and flexibility. 

Stephen Buchanan, inkjet business manager at Kao Collins, commented, ‘Businesses are struggling to meet the pent-up consumer demand due to workforce shortages and the fragile supply chain. Industrial inkjet printing is seeing rapid growth fuelled by the need for fast and flexible printing options.

‘[The aforementioned] trends have led industrial printers to integrate digital printing, as it allows businesses to leverage the versatility of industrial inkjet inks that print many materials, combined with other well-known benefits.’