Much, or rather everything that is read and documented owes its existence to printing. The history of printing can be traced back to 220 AD when it was first seen on textiles and then on paper in China. Since then, the printing industry has undergone an unfathomable change, catering to various industrial and commercial needs. With the constantly changing demands of the commercial printing, the printing industry has developed various solutions with the emergence and growth of the specialty printing consumables. According to a research report published by Transparency Market Research, the specialty printing consumables market, in the U.S. alone, is expected to reach US$35.75 bn by 2024 from US$24.09 bn in 2015, expanding at a CAGR of 4.4% from 2016 and 2024.

Q. What will define the growth of this market in the U.S.?

A. The growth of the IT industry and various other industrial sectors are expected to be the primary growth driver for the U.S. specialty printing consumables market. But at the heart of this change and remarkable earnings of this industry lies the true success of the commercial printing industry. From media to e-commerce this industry has been an integral part of the growth of various industrial sectors. Despite the digital alternatives, commercial printers are finding ways to lure in more profits in the successive years.

Q. Why will the digital printing process drive the U.S. specialty printing consumables market?

A. The various types of printing processes in the U.S. specialty printing consumables market are digital printing, lithographic printing, rotogravure printing, and flexographic printing. As of 2015, the lithographic printing segment held a share of 51% in the overall market. According to research analysts, the digital printing segment is expected to surpass all types of processes between 2016 and 2024. The popular adoption of digital printing will be due to its cost effectiveness as this process completely eliminates printing plates. Furthermore, the fact that every digital print can be customized due its low-volume production technique is fueling its demand.

Q. What products will define market growth?

A. The products in the U.S. specialty printing consumables market are specialty substrates, inks, toners, and chemicals. The toner segment stood out in 2015, accounting for a share of 48% in the overall market. The growth of this segment was supported by the increasing installations of laser printers with high capacities. A subsequent result of this will be the rise of the toner segment as toners are an important part of laser printers.

Despite rampant digitalization, the print industry will survive by transforming itself with a variety of products, prices, and purposes. In the earlier times, printing changed the way we saw the world. Today, the world will change printing by making it adapt to the fast-changing ways. Players such as DIC Corporation, Xerox Corporation, Canon Inc., Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P., Eastman Kodak Co., Flint Ink Inc., Nazdar Ink Technologies, and Lexmark International Inc. are trying to offer new age printing solutions that, once again, the world won’t be able to do without.