The UV-curable resins market is on the verge of growth because of the budding use of environmentally friendly industrial coatings and the rising requirement for UV-curable inks for packaging.

UV curing is a subdivision of energy/radiation curing, where a source of light is employed to cure products such as inks, coatings, and adhesives. The resins used for the formulation of such products are known as UV-curable resins. On the basis of formulation, the industry is divided into monomers, oligomers, photoinitiators, and others. Oligomers had the highest sales in the past. The greater properties of oligomers over other formulations, for example, fast curing, high gloss, good chemical resistance, and comparatively low cost, were responsible for the highest sales.

Based on application, the UV-curable resin market was divided into coatings, adhesives, inks, and others. Of these, coatings were the leader of the pack in the past. The usage of UV coatings has gone up considerably in the recent past in the electronics sector for laptops, mobiles, and the coatings of game consoles. The key reason for this development is its outstanding performance, for example, outdoor sturdiness, good resistance against wear and tear, and resistance against chemicals that are used in households.

On the basis of end users, the industry is divided into graphic arts, industrial coatings, electronics, and others. Of these, industrial coatings were the dominant category in the past. With legislators concentrating on reducing emissions of solvents from the coating procedure through laws such as the Solvent Emissions Directive and Decopaint Directive, there is an increasing trend toward the usage of ecological industrial coating systems, therefore fueling the growth of the industry.

APAC is the dominant region of the industry. North America and Europe follow the region in terms of revenue creation. The region will record high growth in the years to come as a result of the growing demand for these resins from the electronics industry, rising consumer awareness and environmental concerns, and the following acceptance of strict VOC emission norms.

The key trend in the industry is the increased usage of these resins in 3D printing. It is emerging as a key manufacturing technology with enormous potential. This process is performed in numerous industries and makes use of UV-curable inks; for instance, in the electronics sector, these inks are widely used, attributed to their properties of robustness, wear resistance, and flexibility.

China, Korea, the U.S., and Japan are making use of this for diverse applications. This growing usage of 3D printing is, in turn, boosting UV-curable resin consumption.


SOURCE: P&S Intelligence