Welcome to my first blog entry for Ink World. I see these blogs as an opportunity to discuss issues of the day is a less formal setting. I welcome your input: if you would like to comment, or to offer your own blog posts, please contact me at [email protected].
 
The printing industry is one of constant change, and because of that, we see similar changes within the ink industry as well. Less than 80 years ago, letterpress and gravure inks made up virtually all of the ink being used. By the 1980s, letterpress ink was a fraction of its former share in publication and commercial due to heatset, sheetfed and coldset offset inks, and today, flexo and sheetfed offset dominate gravure in packaging.
 
The reality for ink manufacturers is that the printers’ customers will have a huge say in deciding what technology will rule. Does a direct mail company want variable data on its mailings, and will it pay for the difference in cost? Then digital is the choice. Will a catalog company prefer longer runs at a more efficient price? Then heatset or sheetfed makes sense. Does the brand owner want to choose water-based inks for their packaging? Most likely flexo will be the selection. There are plenty of examples. 
 
Ink companies need to stay current with their customers’ needs. Maybe this means developing inkjet inks, acquiring a competitor or setting up agreements with other suppliers, a full range of inks is key. If the customer wants a certain product, it usually doesn’t pay to have them looking at other suppliers for it. 
 
One final note: 50 years ago, ink manufacturers either stayed with letterpress or adapted to new technologies. Many of those that evolved continued on. That is what businesses do in a changing marketplace.