CURRENT AND FUTURE MARKET OF UV/EB CURING IN THAILAND. Suda Kiatkamjornwong, and Aran Hanseubsai

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1 CURRENT AND FUTURE MARKET OF UV/EB CURING IN THAILAND Suda Kiatkamjornwong, and Aran Hanseubsai MY Department of Imaging and Printing Technology Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University Bangkok 10330, THAILAND Phone : Fax: , ksuda@chula.ac.th; haran@chula.ac.th I. CURRENT STATUS OF THAILAND'S PRINTING INDUSTRY Since 1989, Thailand's printing industry has enjoyed a high growth rate of 13.5% per annum on average. At present, we may estimate the total value of Thailand's printing industry at an approximation of 150,000 million Baht. This growth is resulted from the utilization of latest printing technology in conjunction with modern communication and information technology, which meet international standard and quality for export. One important attribute to this growth is the transformation of a significant part of Thai printing industry from familyowned printing shops to a handful, full-range printing factory embracing pre-press, press, and post-press service [1]. Number of printing houses Presently, there are about 4,000 printing houses in Thailand. Based on the registration statistic of Factory Department, there were 818 printing houses in August, 1997 as shown in Table I, some of them are not registered as printing house, but only as business shop. Table I Printing House in Thailand Size of printing house Large size Medium size Small size Family business Total Number Source: Exports Review, Vol 11, No. 264 [2]. Percentage In Table I, the family-owned printing house of 52.7% can only print, while 44 printing houses, 5.40%, can provide export quality printed materials. The printed materials include books, magazines, documents, information materials such as, newspapers, journals, newsletters, promotion printed materials: decoration materials such as wall papers, cards, postcards, stamps, etc. Production of indirect-printed materials is also on the upswing, such as printing on packaging- carton, box, foam, plastic bottles, etc. Export Considering the export statistics, during the past ten years, the total value of printing for exports has been steadily increasing. It rose from 40 million Baht in 1984 to 2,148.8 million 467

Baht in 1994; and further to 4,347 million Baht in 1995. However, exports were 879.8 and 1,103.4 million Baht in 1996 and 1997, respectively, due to worldwide economic recession (see Table II).

2 Baht in 1994; and further to 4,347 million Baht in However, exports were and 1,103.4 million Baht in 1996 and 1997, respectively, due to worldwide economic recession (see Table II). Surprisingly, this industry immediately recovered in 1998 with exports posting a 30% increase to 1,612 million Baht due to the advantage of foreign currencies against Thai Baht while the country's overall economy was collapsed [3]. Type of leading printing products for export As shown in Table II, children's picture books, drawing books, coloring books took the biggest export market of about 46% of the total exports in Brochures and leaflets took the second with 18.2% of total exports; newspapers, and magazines were the third with about 10.3%; whereas postcards and cards were next with 7.3%, and stickers, 4.1%. Main export markets Table III shows the export designation of Thai printing products that are spread in various countries, but only a handful of major markets. The most important export market is the United States of America with 36.6% market share in Exports to the US increased by 28% from million Baht in 1996 to million Baht in Its 1998 growth continued by 19.8% comparing in the same period of The US market is huge on account of the population's insatiable appetite for reading materials, and the enhanced ability of Thai printers to produce materials with attractive design, and high quality multicolored printing meeting the international standards. Main export items to third market are picture books, drawing books, coloring books, and cards, postcards, newspapers, journals, and magazines. The second biggest export market is the EU in which the combined consumption among England, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, Denmark and Netherlands was amounted to million Baht in 1997, up 18.5% from million Baht in Main exports included drawing books, children's books, coloring books, postcards, journals, brochures, calendars, etc. In Asia, Japan and Singapore are the two most important markets for Thai printing exports. Japanese great reading habit leads to big consumption of printing matters whereas Singapore is a central business and trade that demand of printed materials is very high. Main exports included printed brochures, leaflets, books, journals, magazines, stickers, cards and postcards. Indochina market could be a new prospect of Thai printed products and could also become a substantial market in the future. The Indochina geographical distance and the Thai competitive edges of cheap labor cost give Thailand a marginal advantage over other countries. II. THE ROLE OF RADIATION CURING IN PRINTING AND PACKAGING INDUS- TRIES OF THAILAND Radiation curing technology, at present, is not really a new technology for Thailand's printing and packaging industries. The Federation of Thai Printing Industry and its allied industries have already acknowledged the existence of this technology. Thailand used to be the host organizing an international conference on radiation curing in 1995 (5th RadTech Asia Symposium and workshop) which drew a couple hundreds of local participants comprising printing houses, academia, and business persons. Radiation curing technology is one of the compulsory course at the university's level in many institutions. Most acquainted radiation curing technology is on the UV application. The low energy electron-beam curing for surface coating/printing in Thailand has not been started yet due to its high capital cost and lack of true technology know-how. On sterilization of medical devices and products, medium-high energy electron beam machines are used, and high-energy electron beam machines are for crosslinked foam and jewelry cleaning and color enhancement. Attempts are being pursued for acquiring technical know-how by inviting experts from overseas to give lectures or seminars for the 468

3 Table II Thailand Export of Printed Materials Type 4091 Printed Books, Brochures, leaflets 4902 Newspapers 4903 Children's coloring books 4904 Music. Printed or in manuscript 4905 Maps and Hydrographic of similar 4906 Plans and Drawings for Architecture 4907 Unwiser Postage, Revenue or similar 4908 Stickers 4909 Printed or illustrated postcards 4910 Calendars Others Total Source: Export Department , I.I , , , , ,347.4 Value (million Baht) / / , Growth (percentage) 1997/ / ,300 25, O

Table III Thailand's export market for printed material O Country 1. USA 2. Singapore 3. England 4. Japan 5. Hongkong 6. Germany 7. Australia 8. Italy 9. France 10. Taiwan 1. Malaysia 2. Spain 3.

4 Table III Thailand's export market for printed material O Country 1. USA 2. Singapore 3. England 4. Japan 5. Hongkong 6. Germany 7. Australia 8. Italy 9. France 10. Taiwan 1. Malaysia 2. Spain 3. Belgium 4. Denmark 5. Laos 6. Netherlands 7. India 8. Phillipines 9. Canada 20. Turkey 2 1. Portugal 22. Arab Emirates 23. Cambodia 24. Norway 25. Napal Others Tota Source:Export Department **Total value of , ,347.4 Value (milion baht) , (Jan-May) ,612** Growth rate (percentage) 1995/ / / , , /

industries. One national seminar worths mentioning is the post conference of RadTech'99 entitled Utilization of Radiation Curing for Printing and Packaging" to be held August 30-31, 1999.

5 industries. One national seminar worths mentioning is the post conference of RadTech'99 entitled Utilization of Radiation Curing for Printing and Packaging" to be held August 30-31, Thanks to the generous support of RadTech Japan and UCB (Thailand), this seminar seems to be successful at present. For ultraviolet curing for printing and packaging aspects, applications of UV curable inks in Thailand can be categorized into UV letterpress ink, UV flexographic ink, UV dry offset ink, UV offset ink, UV screen ink and UV varnishing. UV letterpress ink There are few companies in Thailand currently using UV letterpress ink for label printing on cellulosic papers, foils, synthetic papers, and polyolefins and vinyl plastics. Most of the printed materials are exported, either in a form of free labels or on packages, such as, labels on electric appliances, cosmetics and paints. The amount of inks used is about 120 kg per year at an export value of about 15 million Baht. Most of the inks used are the finished products imported by five major importers from Japan, Belgium and U.S.A.. Its growth is estimated at 10% per year. The main printing problem of UV letterpress is the adhesion and peel-off problem of the printed film. Out of these problems with multicolored printing, white color printing or opacification of the base (substrate) has most serious problems. UV offset ink or UV dry offset ink There are 3 to 4 medium-sized printing houses using UV offset printing inks. Most of the products are labels of poly(vinyl chloride) films which may be used as packages of soaps or detergents, and other packages for personnel care products on cellulosic paper. The consumption of this ink for the mentioned applications is about tons per year. One important application is printing of polypropylene cups or polystyrene cups as non-contact food containers such as ice cream cups. This type of printing can also be used with dry offset printing technique. The amount of offset ink used is estimated at tons per year. There is an insignificant use for CD printing which amount is not known. For can coating or printing on aluminum containers of carbonated soft drinks, the consumption is about 6-7 tons per year. Bank-note printing and coating with UV offset inks was commenced in 1995 as a celebration of His Majesty's fifty anniversary on accession to the throne. Bank-notes value of 50 Baht are opaque with white ink, printed with multicolored UV offset inks, followed by clear UV varnishing on the top of the bank notes. The substrate of the bank note is bi-axially oriented polypropylene film. The amount used is estimated at 8 tons per year. There is a plan to print other types of bank note, such as 20-baht bank note, which is the most popular and handy note in circulation. More UV offset ink should be used. UV flexographic ink There is at least one printing house in Thailand printing UHT packages for noncontacted food such as milk, beverages, and non-carbonated soft drinks. Most of the inks used are imported either from EU countries or Japan. There is some indication of interest to use UV flexographic inks on plastics, cartons, labels and other special applications, in Thailand. UV screen ink Screen ink printing ink is the major printing technique using UV curable inks. It is the bigger consumer of UV drying technology, which quantity exceeds 120 tons per year, its major usage is for printing on plastic bottles such as polyethylene, polypropylene, poly(vinyl chloride) that can be accounted for about 60% of the total usage of UV screen inks. CD printing is another interesting item printed with UV screen inks. Its growth steadily increases, 471

despite the recess economic (1996-1998) while the other products decreased more than 50%. The amount used is estimated at 30 tons per year.

6 despite the recess economic ( ) while the other products decreased more than 50%. The amount used is estimated at 30 tons per year. Label printing also takes a small share (about 10 to 20 tons per year) of UV screen printing. Spot UV screen varnishing is a new technology for decoration of packaging containing expensive merchandizes such as perfume bottles, wine bottles, interesting areas on prints, so as to provide special sensation of the products. The major printing problems of UV screen printing inks are laid on adhesion property. Therefore, ink and printing machine suppliers should provide both good quality product and good local technical service. The printing house should employ skilled printers with sufficient technical knowledge. UV overprint varnishing The major user of UV overprint varnishing is coating on cellulosic printed matter such as expensive magazines. Coating on body-powder containers and top coating on 50-baht. BOPP bank-notes as examples. The amount used for overprint varnishing is estimated at tons per year, of which 95% are used on cellulosic printed papers. The UV coating is mostly imported from Taiwan. Besides, overprint varnishing on printed circuit board is another application estimated at tons per year. Wood coating Wood coating industry still coats flooring and furniture surfaces with conventional coating from which their surfaces have poor resistance to solvents and scratches. For highquality wood flooring or furniture surfaces, the industry uses UV varnishes for surface coating of wood panels, flooring and furniture for more than 5 years. For flooring coating, an estimate of tons per year and tons per year for furniture coating which make a total of about 150 tons per year. UV curing machinery Most of the UV curing machines are imported from Taiwan, United States of America, EU countries. At present, there are about printing heads equipped with curing units. However, locally assembly UV-curing machines also exist by importing necessary parts, such as lamps, reflectors, and so on from the mother companies overseas. UV jnk manufacturing The customs duties imposed on finished inks and raw materials are not very logical. The duty for importing pigmented inks is 5%, but for importing raw materials to manufacture the inks varies from 10% (for monomers) to 20% (for oligomers) depending on the types of raw materials. The duty system thus forces the multinational ink companies to make inks outside Thailand. This system is very different to other countries in the region, for example, Malaysia and Indonesia, which have duty systems to help promote local manufactures and which enable technical transfer to local manufactures. Actually, imported UV curable inks are 4 times more expensive than those conventional inks. The high import duties in Thai system inhibit the growth of local ink manufacturing and makes the printed material less competitive. In addition, the import duties of high-quality and writing papers are generally higher than those of neighboring countries where import duty is between 0 to 5%. Local printers of high quality printed matter either for domestic uses or export cannot compete efficiently and effectively in foreign markets. However, some favorable treatments are granted to chemical firms who have registered as an ink manufacturer that the import duty of ink chemicals or components are reduced to 10%. 472

The contribution of UV curing technology in exports statistics has been estimated at 20% which are accounted on the high quality printed matter, non-contacted food packages, and surface coating of

7 The contribution of UV curing technology in exports statistics has been estimated at 20% which are accounted on the high quality printed matter, non-contacted food packages, and surface coating of most printed matter. III. FUTURE PROSPECT OF UV PRINTING Due to the rapidly increasing rate of the adoption of new media, the production of printed material keeps rising with healthy growth rates of 12 to 15% per annum. There are signs suggesting that the growth rate will keep rising for several years. With the extension of compulsory education from six to nine years, and the encouragement to further another three years vocational courses, the demands for printed materials is expected to rise. In addition, with more young people equipped with education and skills entering manufacturing and service industries, buying power for good -quality printed materials should be increased in proportion. UV curing is definitely a growing market because of its technical merits for environment, print quality, and economy. Among the many printing systems, UV flexographic inks are forecasted to be the fastest growing ink. Technical advances in polymer chemistry, ink formulation and energy technology will open many new applications for the new millennium for Thailand's printing industry. At present, the most fast growing ink is UV screen printing in Thailand and it is estimated to grow by 10% per annum. IV. OBSTACLES AND PROBLEMS OF UV CURABLE TECHNOLOGY Production cost of UV printed matter in Thailand should be much more competitive by the reduction of import duty. Out-of-date printing machinery should be replaced, because the Thai printing industry has a huge population of small printing houses who do not have enough capital to support the purchase of high technology machinery and equipment. Lack of properly trained human resource in this area is one of the big problems. There are not enough qualified marketing professional who specialize in penetrating international markets. As a consequence, it hampers attempts to expand overseas markets. Some of the above problems could be solved through cooperations domestically and internationally. The government should sincerely solve the problems, promote and conduct more market development and printing technology to enhance printing efficiency. Reviewing and reducing the tax structure for printed material for exports to a logical level and attractive for foreign investors is a key solution for success to start with. Generation of foreign trade mission to and from Thailand to get the prospective of UV technology and investment. V. CONCLUSION The consumption of high quality printed matter within the country is definitely increased due to the increase in compulsory education level. The young generation has a greater reading habit because of the thirst of keeping i pace with the changing world. Environmental alert on VOC reduction in coating and printing ink along with the better quality and appearance of the printed matters. Printing with non-volatile inks actually conforms to ISO series. UV curable inks and water-based UV coating/inks are the ultimate solutions. Among the printing process, UV flexographic ink and UV screen ink are the fast runner in Thailand. Domestic demand on high quality printing matters is increasing while the export of printed matter is certainly increased due to the competitive edge of Thailand's labor cost. However, tax structure of Thai customs should be revised to be more competitive and logical both for local investors and foreign manufacturers. The development of printing substrates and their surface preparation should be emphasized to acquire a long shelf life and service life. 473

8 VI ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to express their sincere appreciation to Mr. M. Simoni of Coats (Thailand), Mr. Narong Jungsakulniran of Anwill (Thailand) Co., Mr. Chanin Piyathananukul of B. C. Label Print, Mr. Porngsak Pattarametha, Marketing Executive, of UCB Chemicals (Thailand) Co., Mr. Vichian Jiraganonda of Winson Screen Co., Ltd. and for their valuable time to give interviews and information to make the writing up of the paper possible. VII, REFERENCES 1. Thai Printing Directory, , pp Exporters Review ( 1998), vol 11, no Hanseubsai, A. (1998) Export Markets of Thailand's Printing and Packaging Materials : An Analysis (in Thai), /. Printing and Packaging (Thailand), 10(52),

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