*NEWS*UK IN DANGER OF RUNNING OUT OF INK

[Anonymous]

Danger of cutting off ink supplies
Moira
McMillan, CEO of the British Coatings Federation (BCF), shares some
thoughts on the imminent and very serious potential threat to the ink
supplies of UK printers. ‘If the printing industry has advanced in
leaps and bounds over the last decade or so, then ink may be its unsung
hero’. ‘The demands of end-users have become increasingly complex, with
companies looking for eye-catching printed literature and packaging
that can withstand extremes of treatment, such as food containers that
can be microwaved and still retain their good looks’.’Ink companies are
at the forefront of printing technology, addressing complicated
technical issues, tackling new regulatory requirements and providing
high levels of customer service’.’However, if ink has become the
critical component of the printing industry – perhaps it could even be
said to be its lifeblood – its role is not always appreciated’.The high
levels of customer service offered by ink companies, often at no extra
charge, are now almost taken for granted by customers’.’The packaging
sector is a good example of the pressures facing the printing industry
as the demand for advanced products collides head-on with the
end-users’ determination to keep prices low’.’Printers and converters
are increasingly relying on ink producers, both in terms of technical
know-how and physical support’.

But financial pressures caused
by the rising price of raw materials, energy and other costs, together
with increased service expectations, mean that it is becoming difficult
to maintain this level of support without passing on some costs to
customers’.’Ink producers are looking into the future to predict new
packaging trends and technical requirements so that they can develop
coatings to meet the needs of their customers in five or ten years’
time’.’Ink solutions are becoming increasingly complex, yet the
producers feel their products and services are still viewed as mere
commodities, with customers unwilling to pay more than commodity
prices’.’The UK print industry is facing competition from printers and
packaging companies in low-cost countries, but companies choosing to
source packaging materials from abroad face major issues in terms of
quality, reliability and legislative demands’.’If end users go overseas
they will find that foreign companies are not governed by the same
tough legislation as British firms’.’This means that foreign inks and
print might not comply with EU rules on Health and Safety and food
packaging’.’Without a local source of ink expertise, printers could
struggle to obtain the print quality they seek, converters could find
that their packaging concepts fail, and end-users may discover that
their products suffer due to poor standard packaging’.’It is time that
UK ink users began to value the excellent products and services
provided by their ink manufacturers, because, ultimately, if the
industry is unprofitable, it will not be sustainable.’ Mark Sutton, UK
and Ireland Sales and Marketing Director, Packaging Inks Division,
Flint Ink UK., commented; ‘The industry cannot continue to support the
kinds of services we are providing, without getting some kind of
return’.’The UK printing ink industry has to recover more of its costs,
otherwise it will not survive.’ Tony Palmer, General Manager of the UK
Packaging Division for Sun Chemical, agrees; ‘It is now taken as given
that a full ink management service is provided to support the highly
pressurised UK packaging converters’.’These services range from
supplying precise JIT deliveries provided by mini ink colour kitchens
installed at the customer’s site, through to innovative development
initiatives resourced fully at the ink maker’s facilities’.’It is
uncertain that this can continue in the future.

[Author]

March 20, 2007 at 9:35 AM