Page 62 - Print 21 Magazine Nov-Dec 2018

Business
Inkjet opportunity Value of fast-growing inkjet market to blast past US$100bn
within five years, according to research agency Smithers Pira.
The global market for inkjet printing will grow at a rate of 9.4 per cent year-on-year and will be worth US$109bn in 2023, according to The Future of Inkjet Printing to 2023, a brand new market report from Smithers Pira.
This contrasts positively with the general outlook for the print industry, where growth is occurring at a more moderate 0.8 per cent annually.
Smithers Pira says this new study provides expert qualitative analysis of the market drivers and technology developments
that are underpinning this evolution, and quantifies them across all key metrics in an exclusive dataset.
In 2018 the total value of inkjet printing in graphics and packaging applications will reach $69.6bn, with a total print volume equivalent to 749 billion A4 prints. This volume will consume some 103,700 tonnes of ink, with the end-users spending $8.7bn, while the market for new inkjet equipment will be $3.6 billion.
“Inkjet is winning market share from analogue processes as well as opening up new applications, with new routes to market and workflows developing.”
Dr Sean Smyth, print consultant at Smithers Pira and author of the report, comments: "The economics and reliability
of inkjet are consistently improving as
a result of heavy investment in printing heads, machinery, inks and drying systems, associated software and – increasingly – substrates. There is strong growth across most of these disparate activities because the non- impact process is very flexible and capable of printing at high-quality and speed, making it suitable to print many products, while the cost position is becoming more economic against most analogue printing alternatives.
"Inkjet is winning market share from analogue processes as well as opening up new applications, with new routes to market and workflows developing. In packaging, changing retail supply chains along with strong growth in e-commerce – now including mobile- enabled m-commerce – are pushing further adoption of inkjet as brands and retailers look to communicate with end users in new ways.
62 Print21 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018
Equipment manufacturers and converters are exploring new functions enabled by versioning and personalisation on packs as packaging is used in new ways to engage with consumers."
With the potential of inkjet – principally
in short run and variable data printing – increasingly appreciated, it is changing printer business models, disrupting established supply chains, and adding new value-adding options.
While advertising will continue to be the largest end-use application across the years 2018-2023, the most rapid growth will come from wider use of inkjet in:
Many of these opportunities will require integrating the inkjet process with robotics, aligning with the wider Industry 4.0 trend. The Airbus A320 family paint shop in Hamburg, for example, has employed direct inkjet printing to decorate aircraft, with inkjet having a lower weight than traditional paint or stencils on the tail of a plane.
This and other future growth opportunities are critically assessed within the Smithers Pira report. Specific analysis and data (by value and volume) is given across 11 end-use applications, over 30 regional and key national markets, and five print equipment types for 2018-2023.
The Future of Inkjet Printing to 2023 is based on primary research involving interviews across the supply chain with printers and suppliers of equipment, consumables and software. It also draws on a range of secondary sources, including magazines, journals and conference papers, as well as Smithers Pira’s print reports and industry forecasts. The complementary mix of secondary and primary research methodologies provides a depth of information and analysis.
The Future of Inkjet Printing to 2023 is available from Smithers Pira for £4,500, (approx $7900 AUD). 21
120 110 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10
2018 2023
Value of Inkjet Printing 2018-2023
12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
.8%
Inkjet General
Growth of Printing 2018-2023
• • •
Packaging
Books
Commercial printing.
Beyond these core applications, developers are exploring ways of leveraging the flexibility of inkjet to open new market applications, such as:
• 3D printing
• Automotive and transport printing
• Biomedical printing
• Ceramics printing
• Décor and laminate printing
• Direct-to-shape printing
• Glass printing
• Printed electronics
• Textile printing
SOURCE: SMITHERS PIRA
US$69.6bn US$109bn
US$bn
% per cent
9.4%