Asia Pacific Water-Based Inks Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Regional Analysis By Resin Type, Technology, and Application

The water-based inks market in Asia Pacific is expected to grow from US$ 3,622.01 million in 2020 to US$ 5,371.56 million by 2028; it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.8% from 2020 to 2028. Sustainability has become a significant area of focus in advanced manufacturing set-ups, as the eco-friendly processes as well as the introduction of improved, sustainable materials have often been associated with the growth of many businesses. This is propelling the use environmentally friendly materials across the packaging industry. Printing is a significant stage in this industry. The deployment of water-based flexo printing is gaining momentum as one of the sustainable alternative in the packaging industry. The demand for water-based inks has increased due to the observations that flexo and gravure systems using water-based inks emit 50% less CO2 levels than that emitted by conventional solvent-based gravure printing systems. Such inks minimize the impact of volatile organic compounds (VOC) entering the environment, thereby contributing to the decrease in carbon footprint of the packaging process. Instead of emitting volatilized chemical solvents, water-based inks leave behind a trail of pigments, which has no impact on environment. In Japan, water-based ink significantly finds application in the reverse printing of labels along with lamination of packaging in the food & beverages industry. Other than this, such inks enable manufacturers to conform to regulatory compliances associated with the use of local chemical substances. For instance, the Toyo Ink Group are committed to the production of water-based inks by following safety standards, in line with environment sustainability. Hence, with the shift in focus toward sustainable development goals, manufacturers have reshaped their products to meet the consumer demand and address the environmental issues.
The COVID-19 is anticipated to cause a significant economic loss in Asia Pacific.The consequence and impact are likely to worsen with the spread of the virus.

The governments of various AP Asia Pacific AC countries-imposed lockdown in early 2020 to restrict the spread of the virus, which, in turn, negatively impacted the production of water-based inks.The Government have asked the chemical & materials manufacturers to delay their production which will adversely affect the global supply of water-based inks.

However, the demand for corrugated and paper packaging have experienced moderate growth even during the lockdown in region due to consistent demand of food & consumer goods products.The packaging companies operating in region have realign their operations, restructure their production facilities and procure raw materials required for packaging products in advance to avoid imbalance between the supply and demand.

This factor has indirectly supports the demand for packaging inks including water-based inks. Thus, the overall impact of COVID-19 on water-based inks market is minor as compared to other regions.
The Packaging segment led the water-based inks market based on application in 2019.The “Sustainable Development Goals”, “Plastic Waste”, “Circular Economy” as well as “The Paris Agreement” have led to initiatives addressing the issue of packaging industries having an adverse environmental impact.

Water-based inks are is considered as a solution for sustainable packaging.As compared to conventional solvent-based gravure printing, water-based flexo, as well as gravure painting, can reduce more than 50% of the carbon dioxide emissions.

It also reduced the VOC emissions during the printing of packaging for a cleaner pressroom environment which helps in reducing the packaging’s carbon footprint.The developments in ink formation, resin chemistry, and printing equipment have enabled the water-based inks to match the performance standards of the solvent-based inks used in flexible packaging.

Water-based inks can also reduce cost as there is no investment required for solvent incineration as well as solvent recovery.
The overall Asia Pacific water-based inks market size has been derived using both primary and secondary sources.To begin the research process, exhaustive secondary research has been conducted using internal and external sources to obtain qualitative and quantitative information related to the market.

The process also serves the purpose of obtaining overview and forecast for the Asia Pacific water-based inks market with respects to all the segments pertaining to the region.Also, multiple primary interviews have been conducted with industry participants and commentators to validate the data, as well as to gain more analytical insights into the topic.

The participants who typically take part in such a process include industry expert such as VPs, business development managers, market intelligence managers, and national sales managers along with external consultants such as valuation experts, research analysts, and key opinion leaders specializing in the Asia Pacific water-based inks market.DIC Corporation; Flint Group; Hubergroup; Sakata Inx Corporation; Siegwerk Druckfarben AG & Co.

KGaA; T&K TOKA Co. Ltd.; Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co., Ltd.; Fujifilm Holdings Corporation; and Wikoff Color Corporation are among a few players operating in the Asia Pacific water-based inks market.