Energy-curable inks (UV/EB) offer rapid curing, high durability, excellent adhesion on non-porous surfaces, and reduced environmental impact, making them a suitable option for high-speed packaging, labels, and commercial printing applications.

Energy curable ink manufacturers are reporting that 2026 is off to strong start.

“The energy‑curable ink segment has continued to be an attractive market going into 2026, driven by demand in packaging, labels, industrial applications, and the ongoing transition away from solvent‑based systems in both conventional and digital spaces,” said Jonathan Sexton, marketing manager, energy curing products, Europe, Sun Chemical. “Growth continues to be supported by several structural advantages: instant curing, production efficiency, low VOC emissions, and increasing availability of LED‑based systems that reduce energy consumption by 60–65% and eliminate mercury‑lamp maintenance. Electron beam curing also continues an upward trend in high-volume web printing, driven by productivity advantages and tightly controlled curing, being well aligned with GMP requirements for food packaging. These factors made energy‑curable inks especially attractive to label and packaging converters, and brands focused on productivity and compliance.”

“From what we see during 2026, the energy curable segment remains resilient, with performance varying by region and application but clearly outperforming conventional systems in investment priority,” said Yuki T. Shida, manager, Overseas Ink Sales Group, Printing Ink BU, T&K Toka Co., Ltd. “Momentum from 2025 has largely carried over, particularly in packaging, labels, and selected industrial uses. Adoption remains strongest in narrow web, with expansion into mid‑web and packaging. Looking through the remainder of the year, UV and UV LED are expected to stay the primary growth engines, while decision making increasingly factors regulatory robustness and long term sustainability alongside cost and quality.”

Fabian Köhn, global head of product management, NW and SF at Siegwerk, reported that the energy‑curable ink segment continued to perform very well in 2025. 

“Global market growth remains strong, in part because UV flexo printers are continually expanding their portfolios, for example, with flexible packaging applications,” added Köhn. “The UV LED‑curable ink segment remains the fastest‑growing part of the energy‑curable market, and this growth is clearly driven by the equipment trends in printing presses. In many regions, new flexographic presses are now predominantly equipped with UV LED curing systems.”

According to Caroline Melis, sales and marketing manager, Toyo Ink Europe N.V., in Europe, the energy-curable ink segment was under tremendous price pressure in 2025, especially in offset. 

“The demand remained strong across flexo applications such as labels and flexible packaging, where converters increasingly prioritize productivity, consistency, and reduced energy consumption.,” Melis observed. “As a company specializing in UV, LED, and EB technologies, we observed continued investment from customers seeking higher press uptime and faster curing performance. Energy-curable systems continue to support shorter runs and increasing SKU complexity, trends that remain central to today’s packaging market.”

“Energy-curable inks continued to demonstrate strong performance throughout 2025, supported by sustained investment in UV LED,” said Paul Winstanley, VP technology and product management, Flint Group. “As sustainability remains a key market driver, converters are increasingly turning to UV LED curing systems to deliver the environmental and performance benefits they need, and recognize the technology as a reliable, future-proof investment for more stable and sustainable production.” 

Lisa-Marie Spring, product manager SF/UV at hubergroup, noted the energy-curable ink segment continued to perform strongly in 2025, supported by ongoing demand from packaging, labels, and high-value commercial print applications. 

“UV-curable technologies benefited from the need for faster press speeds, improved print durability, and compatibility with a wide range of substrates. Market analysts expect the UV-curable inks market to maintain steady growth in the coming years, driven by packaging demand and increasing adoption of UV LED curing systems. At the same time, the industry continues to see a structural shift away from conventional oil-based systems toward energy-curable technologies due to productivity advantages and evolving sustainability expectations.”

The UV flexo segment maintained its strong growth trajectory in 2025, with market interest now rising even faster than that of conventional UV curing technologies, reported Darren Hallett, director Europe business development UV flexo at hubergroup. 

“In particular, UV LED flexo adoption accelerated as printers look for energy savings, reduced maintenance, and more stable curing performance – benefits that have become increasingly compelling in today’s cost sensitive production environment,” Hallett said. “Across UV curing systems, shorter set-up and curing times, the need for higher productivity, and improved durability are driving the sector’s growth. Overall, UV flexo remains one of the most dynamic areas of energy curable technology, and we expect this positive trajectory to continue as converters further modernize their pressrooms and align with evolving sustainability expectations.”

Dual-Cure Inks Open New Opportunities

Dual‑cure inks that are curable under both traditional UV and LED can open the potential for new opportunities across narrow web, labels, and packaging. 

“There is evidence that the special blend of photoinitiators that can enable curing by mercury or UV LED lamps can enable a more standardized workflow across different printer types and models without modifying systems to run exclusively on a single curing process,” said Sexton. “Dual-cure inks are mostly used in flexographic labels and packaging printing, offering high performance, good adhesion, and, in some cases, compliance with food packaging standards. From the printer’s perspective, dual-cure inks can provide a lower conversion risk, allowing businesses to implement a phased transition to LED without requiring immediate investment in full LED curing across all units.”

“Dual-cure inks unlock operational flexibility in mixed fleets running both mercury UV and UV LED,” added Shida. “This helps maximize asset utilization without swapping ink sets. Feedback is consistently positive, especially among converters managing diverse job portfolios or phased LED migrations. For broader adoption, customers expect no compromise on reactivity, adhesion range, storage stability, and clear application guidelines.”

“Dual-cure technology continues to create new opportunities for printers seeking to move away from traditional UV curing methods,” said Winstanley. “Flint Group’s EkoCure Dual Cure inks exemplify this technology. As these inks cure with both conventional UV and UV LED light sources, they allow converters to upgrade press-by-press without significant downtime or capital investment, while also avoiding duplication of ink inventory. This flexibility enables customers to progress towards full LED production while maintaining ongoing throughput.

“Customer feedback about EkoCure Dual Cure inks has been overwhelmingly positive,” added Winstanley. “The consistent print quality, excellent performance across a wide variety of substrates, and flexibility with different lamp types have made this range of printing inks and coatings a powerful tool that the market has widely adopted.”

“DualCure is mainly in demand where printing companies have already started to partially convert from mercury to LED or are specifically planning to do so,” said Spring. “The design of this system is ultimately intended to ensure drying for both conventional UV mercury lamps and UV LED systems. From a market perspective, this clearly presents opportunities for customers who are gradually converting their machines but want to keep a single source and avoid double stock or handling on their sides. At hubergroup, we offer appropriate systems and support customers during the change period in a proper way.”

According to Hallett, dual-cure inks have played a significant role in supporting the transition toward LED curing. “Pressrooms that have operated both LED and traditional systems appreciate the flexibility and simplicity of using a single ink system during the changeover period. As LED adoption continues to accelerate, it will be interesting to see how long dual-cure solutions remain necessary and whether the market will shift toward fully dedicated LED inks by 2027.”

Köhn noted that dual-cure UV flexo systems offer high equipment flexibility, as they can run with both mercury UV and UV LED curing systems. 

“This makes them ideal for mixed pressrooms or operations transitioning to UV LED,” Köhn observed. “For example, depending on budget constraints, converters can gradually add a few UV LED curing stations while continuing to use the same ink on the press. Customers benefit from consistent performance across platforms, simplified inventory management, and lower overall operating costs, while simultaneously reducing pressroom complexity and minimizing downtime, which in turn leads to greater efficiency.”