The inkjet machine has become an indispensable equipment for the ceramic enterprises. With changing decorative technologies and trends of ceramic tiles, the development of the inkjet machine market greatly reflects the changes of the ceramic industry. What changes has the inkjet machine market of the Pan-Gao’an area went through during the decade?

The Tide of Inkjet Printing

At the beginning of 2012, inkjet printing technology has become the focus of the Pan-Gao’an area. And inkjet ceramic tiles have also become a new favorite of various ceramic enterprises and distributors. According to incomplete statistics, in 2012, there were more than 40 inkjet machines in the area, most of which were used to produce ceramic wall tiles. From then on, more and more enterprises producing rustic tiles equipped with inkejet machines.

By 2013, the products adopting inkjet printing technology were ceramic wall tiles, rustic tiles, polished glaze tiles, and exterior wall tiles. And enterprises producing ceramic wall tiles owned the largest number of inkjet machines. The number of inkjet machines in Pan-Gao’an area increased to more than 90. By now, there are over 500 inkjet machines, and 20% of them are imported.

Domestic Brands have taken the Top 3 in Sales of Inkjet Machine

In the past two years, quite a lot of inkjet machine brands has disappeared in the market, while some still stand steadfast. Domestic brands like HOPETECH, MEIJIA and NKT are still the mainstream brands, and the number of the machines they produced and their distribution of customers are all ahead of other brands. The main foreign brands include System, Cretaprint, and KERAjet.However, foreign brands can barely become the mainstream due to their high price and lack of after-sale service .

MEIJIA has sold nearly 150 inkjet machines in recent years. Tang Bin, head of the brand, said that there were relatively more manufacturers of ceramic wall tiles in the area. The ceramic wall tiles are low-temperature and fast-firing products with relatively large production capacity. Therefore, a ceramic tile production line requires four or five inkjet machines, which resulting in a strong demand for inkjet machines.

It is learned that a ceramic wall tile production line basically needs to equip with three or more inkjet machines. For example, the production line with wide kilns launched by Zhongpeng Ceramics this year is equipped with 8 inkjet machines. In addition, the line 3 of Shenzhou Ceramics is equipped with 4 inkjet machines, of which 2 are imported ones. Each ceramic wall tile production line of Guoyuan Ceramics and Roosevelt Ceramisc is equipped with 3 inkjet machines, and the ink supply mainly comes from imported inks like Torrecid and Itaca.

Market Reaches Saturation while Profits Hit the Bottom

In the past two years, with the regional stability of the production line, the number of inkjet machines was close to saturated. A manufacturer of inkjet machine said that, from 2012 to 2014, the number of the inkjet machines in the area increased rapidly. But now it has slowed down. However, as the tile manufacturers need to upgrade their machines, a dozen or so machines are still installed every year.

According to incomplete statistics, since last year, many tile manufacturers in the area have carried out technical renovation of the original glaze line equipment,like increasing equipment or upgrading technologies. And the upgrading of equipment is mostly done to inkjet machine. The vast majority of the production lines have increased, namely from "1 machine for one line" to "2 or 3 machines for one line". The vast majority of the production lines have increased, namely from "1 machine for one line" to "2 or 3 machines for one line".

Insiders said that the technology investment and the cost of inkjet machines are increasing, and the performance of the inkjet machines is even better. However, the profit of inkjet machines is shrinking. It has been revealed that due to fierce competition, the profit of one inkjet machine can only be tens of thousands yuan with a profit rate of two or three. Therefore, there is little room for the sales growth of inkjet machines in the area.