Driven by the global environmental movement and the EU’s REACH regulation, China’s printing and packaging industry is undergoing a green revolution centered on low-volatility organic compound (VOC) inks. As the world’s largest producer and consumer of printing materials, Chinese export companies are leveraging technological breakthroughs and supply-chain collaboration to elevate low-VOC inks from a “compliance option” to a “market standard,” thereby propelling the industry toward a low-carbon and intelligent transformation.

REACH Regulation: The “Green Threshold” for Exporting Enterprises

Since its implementation in 2007, the EU’s REACH regulation has continuously tightened controls on chemicals. The latest revised version, effective in 2025, significantly lowers the VOC limit for printing inks from 300 g/L to 50 g/L and mandates that the migration limit for heavy metals in inks used for food packaging be reduced to 0.1 ppm. This standard directly impacts industries such as printed materials, packaging materials, and electronic components that China exports to the EU, forcing companies to overhaul their entire value chain—from raw material procurement to production processes.

“In the past, companies might have been able to barely meet the requirements by tweaking their formulations. But now, REACH’s dynamic list mechanism has turned compliance into an ongoing challenge,” pointed out the technical director of a certain ink manufacturer. In 2024, the SVHC (Substances of Very High Concern) list has expanded to 197 items, covering carcinogens, persistent pollutants, and endocrine disruptors. Companies are required to update their testing reports every six months; otherwise, they risk product recalls, hefty fines, and even being banned from the EU market.

Technological Breakthrough: The ‘Chinese Solution’ for Low-VOCs Inks

Faced with stringent standards, Chinese ink companies are achieving technological breakthroughs through three key approaches:

1. Bio-based material substitution

Plant-based resins, exemplified by soybean oil and flaxseed oil, have become the core raw materials for reducing VOC emissions. Hanghua Inks’ “soybean oil offset ink” has achieved VOC emissions below 10 g/m² in textbook printing, representing a 90% reduction compared to conventional inks. Meanwhile, Germany’s DIC has developed “nanoscale soybean oil dispersion technology,” which boosts ink gloss by 30% while reducing drying energy consumption by 25%. Data shows that by 2025, the share of bio-based resins in ink raw materials has surged from 28% in 2022 to 42%. Industry giants such as BASF and Wanhua Chemical have been actively investing in dedicated production lines.

2. Process Innovation for Cost Reduction and Efficiency Improvement

UV-curable inks, with VOC emissions reduced by more than 90% compared to conventional oil-based inks, have become the preferred choice for export-oriented enterprises. Siegwerk’s “optimized photoinitiator formulation” boosts UV curing speed by 40%, enabling high-speed production at 80 meters per minute in the printing of BMW automotive components. Meanwhile, China Lutong’s “low-solvent ink,” through an optimized solvent formulation, strikes a balance between the high precision of water-based inks and the outdoor weather resistance of solvent-based inks, making it ideal for applications such as vehicle decals and light boxes, with annual export volumes growing by 35%.

3. Intelligent Production Control**

Leading companies are investing more than 5% of their annual revenue in R&D for intelligent ink-mixing systems, leveraging the Internet of Things to optimize formulations in real time. For example, Yangzijin’s “Ink Cloud Platform” integrates energy consumption management with formulation data, reducing raw material waste by 30%. Hanghua Ink’s AI algorithm system can automatically match printing requirements for different materials, thereby cutting trial-and-error costs. In addition, 30 smart production lines have been put into operation in the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta; after adopting MES systems, per capita output has increased by 40%.

### **Industrial Chain Collaboration: From ‘Single-Point Breakthrough’ to ‘Ecological Win-Win’**

The widespread adoption of low-VOCs inks relies on deep collaboration across the upstream and downstream industries:

- **Upstream Raw Materials**: Companies such as BASF and Wanhua Chemical have joined forces with ink manufacturers to establish a bio-based resin R&D consortium, reducing the cost of plant-based dyes to one-third of that of international brands while enhancing stability through scaled-up production.

- **Midstream Manufacturing Sector**: The top five global ink manufacturers account for approximately 35% of the market share, yet Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises are breaking through by focusing on niche segments. 

- **Downstream Application Segment**: Demand in the food packaging sector has surged, with the share of low-VOCs inks rising from 25% in 2022 to 45% by 2025. Toyo Ink of Japan has launched an “Ink-as-a-Service” model, under which customers pay based on the area printed, thereby lowering the barrier to entry for small and medium-sized enterprises looking to make the transition.

### **Challenges and Opportunities: The “Double-Edged Sword” of Green Transformation**

Despite the promising market outlook, companies still need to address multiple challenges:

- **Cost Pressures**: In 2023, the price of acrylic resin rose by 23% year-on-year, prompting companies to develop alternative raw materials such as soybean oil. However, the technological route for biodegradable inks is still immature, and the mainstream degradation period remains at 180 days.

- **Standard Differences**: The EU Ecolabel standard (VOC limit of 50 g/L) is significantly stricter than China’s current national standard (80 g/L), prompting an accelerated revision of domestic standards. In 2024, the “Evaluation Standard for Green Printing Inks” was implemented, setting 18 mandatory indicators—including volatile organic compounds and heavy metals.

- **International Competition**: The high-end market remains monopolized by Germany’s Merck and Japan’s Toyo Ink. Patent barriers imposed by these companies require domestic enterprises to pay approximately USD 200 per ton in licensing fees for their products.