Additive manufacturing is a formal term for rapid prototyping and is popularly called as 3D printing. The term rapid prototyping is used in a variety of industries to explain a process for rapid creation of system or part representation prior to final release or commercialization. In short, the focus is on generating something quickly & the output is mainly a prototype or basis model from which models for the delivery of final product. On the basis of technology, the global ink additives market is segmented into water-based technology and solvent-based technology. Printing industry is equally varied with a confined number of very large groups and many small printers. Irrespective of the size, there are different methods of printing namely lithography, letterpress, flexography, gravure, and screen process.

The methods are bound to be economically viable and as a result the importance of aforementioned process is increasing. Printing inks are widely differentiated by the printing process on the basis of their use. Letter graphs and lithographic inks are highly viscous than the flexographic and gravure inks which are referred as liquid inks.  Printing inks are combination of three ingredients, pigments, vehicles and additives. Pigments demonstrate ink color inclusive of hue and strength. Also the physical properties such as rheology, opacity, fastness and bleed resistance are determined too. Additives may comprise a large number of ingredients needed to deploy certain characteristics to ink such as driers, waxes, plasticizers, lubricants, curing and rheological agents.

From the commercial point of view, exposures in the printing industry are regulated on a component-specific basis for some solvents & ink constituents and also using non-specific measurements such as measurement of aerosols and total hydrocarbons. Occupational exposure limits are maintained for many individual substances found in printing ink manufacture & in printing processes; for instance, alcohols, esters, glycol ethers, ketones, aliphatic hydrocarbons, acrylates, aromatic hydrocarbons, carbon black and organic dyes. Therefore, the formulation for a specific application depends on the type of substrate, implemented process, and end use. Thus, the ink additives market is anticipated to grow at a moderate rate CAGR during the forecast period. 

The key driving factors responsible for the growth of global ink additives market includes rising trend of ink additives to develop eco-friendly products such as non-VOC additives, high-sensitives UV, water-based additives with need for providing high value, green additives that offer improved performance and minimum impact on environment. However, the rising pressure on manufacturers to adhere to regulatory restrictions, guidelines and lower usage at cheaper costs is likely to impede the market growth during the forecast period.

On the basis of type, the global ink additives market is segmented into rheology modifiers, slip/rub modifiers, dispersants, defoamers, and others. Slip/rub materials dominate the global ink additive industry during the forecast period. On the basis of process, the global ink additives market is segmented into flexography, lithography, gravure and digital. On the basis of application, the global ink additives market is segmented into packaging, publishing and commercial printing.  On the basis of geographic segmentation, the global ink additives market spans North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle-East and Africa. APAC regions are anticipated to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period followed by Europe and North America. The market is set to witness a moderate CAGR growth owing to sluggish growth in developing countries in the past years. The key players in the global ink additives ALTANA AG, Evonik Industries, BASF SE, Huntsman Corporation, Elementis Plc, Dow Coming, Munzing Chemie GmbH, Croda International, and Polyone.