Major Products: Web offset, heatset, coldset, sheetfed, flexo and UV inks; pressroom chemicals and energy curable coatings.

Number of Employees: 145.

Operating Facilities: West Chicago, IL; Plymouth, MN; Menomonee Falls, WI; Swedesboro, NJ; Sparks, NV; Omaha, NE; Miami, FL; Bogota, Colombia.

Comments: “An industry leader once told me that when the industry enjoys stability, the ink business can be very good,” said Central Ink president Gregg Dahleen. “Well, 2024 was the most stable year we have had in recent memory. So, overall, Central Ink enjoyed a strong year. We experienced growth in our target markets, specifically energy curable inks and coatings.”

With an eye on the sheetfed and UV segments, Central Ink made major capital expenditures on equipment.

“We have made a substantial financial investment in our sheetfed/UV department, specifically in our milling operation, where we added mills and canning equipment,” said Dahleen. “With the new equipment, we have increased our milling capacity significantly. This will allow us to expand our focus on energy-curable and conventional sheetfed inks, and most intriguingly, energy-curable dispersions. We have not given water-based inks the attention necessary, so I would like to see this as a concentration point for the months to come.”

As for the balance of 2025, Central Ink’s primary goal is to maximize opportunities while maintaining stability.

“Regarding tariffs, it has been an extremely difficult situation, especially considering the fluidity,” Dahleen noted. “We are keeping open communication with our customers and are actively monitoring policy developments.

“Based on our customers’ input, the balance of 2025 looks to be positive, but it is ultimately dependent on economic stability and trade policies,” Dahleen concluded.

Major Products: Web offset, heatset, coldset, sheetfed, flexo and UV inks; pressroom chemicals and energy curable coatings.

Number of Employees: 150

Operating Facilities: West Chicago, IL; Plymouth, MN; Menomonee Falls, WI; Swedesboro, NJ; Sparks, NV; Omaha, NE; Miami, FL; Bogota, Colombia.

Comments: Central Ink Corporation (CIC) continued to expand in 2023, enjoying significant growth in its coatings and energy-curable products and adding new people and equipment to meet increasing demand.

“2023 was a strong year for us,” said Central Ink president Gregg Dahleen. “We saw market-share gains in every one of our product lines. We are especially pleased with the performance of our coatings division. The most exciting highlight was the overall stability we experienced, especially with our supply chain, in the last half of 2023.”

To keep up with its growth, Central Ink has supplemented their operations with new equipment and people.

“We have enhanced our milling and coatings operations with the addition of new equipment, which led to significant increases in load capacity, as well as expanded our operations with coatings,” Dahleen noted. “I am also especially happy with the additions to our lab personnel over the past 12 months.”

Dahleen is largely optimistic about the rest of 2024 for Central Ink.

“I think Central Ink will continue to experience growth through Q4 of 2024 as long as our raw material partners continue to provide market stability,” Dahleen concluded.

Major Products: Web offset, heatset, coldset, sheetfed, flexo and UV inks; pressroom chemicals and energy curable coatings.

Number of Employees: 140 (Ink World estimate)

Operating Facilities: West Chicago, IL; Plymouth, MN; Menomonee Falls, WI; Swedesboro, NJ; Sparks, NV; Omaha, NE; Miami, FL; Bogota, Colombia.

Comments: Central Ink Corporation (CIC) had an excellent year in 2023, with sales growing dramatically as the company added to its energy coatings offerings and operating facilities, and Central Ink CEO Gregg Dahleen sees more ahead for 2024 and beyond.

“All in all, we had a good year,” said Dahleen. “The heatset market had a really strong post-COVID rebound. We had greater than expected growth not only in our traditional markets but also in our non-traditional targeted markets, specifically UV. We made some additions in the past year and I feel very confident about our team right now.”

There has also been some good news on the raw materials front, which has been a major concern in recent years, as Dahleen noted that Central Ink has seen some stabilization in raw materials in the fourth quarter.

However, there do remain serious concerns, particularly over volume declines in the first quarter.

“Personally, I don’t think any of us have anticipated the volume drops we are experiencing currently,” Dahleen observed. “I am not sure when that’s going to rebound. Customer inventory levels and ours are my concerns now.”

Even with those concerns, Dahleen sees a bright future ahead for Central Ink.

“I am excited about Central Ink’s future,” Dahleen concluded. “We fulfill our niche very well and we have the upside of expanding into some different product lines. Our recent acquisition of coatings, specifically energy curable/specialty coatings, is giving us diversity to our product portfolio. We also see some regional growth in our future.”

Major Products: Web offset, heatset, coldset, sheetfed, flexo and UV/EB inks; pressroom chemicals and blankets.

Number of Employees: 150 (Ink World estimate)

Operating Facilities: West Chicago, IL; Plymouth, MN; Menomonee Falls, WI; Swedesboro, NJ; Sparks, NV.

Comments: Central Ink Corporation (CIC) had a solid year in 2022, as the company returned to pre-COVID-19 sales figures, but supply chain issues remain a real concern.

“Central Ink did well in 2021,” said Central Ink CEO Gregg Dahleen. “Overall, sales were respectable, and we had growth in multiple product line, including heatset, UV, coatings, and chemicals. We returned to pre-COVID numbers. One of the best highlights is seeing a healthier print market.”

However, issues with raw material pricing and availability, inflation, and logistics are a challenge for everyone in the industry, and Central Ink is no exception.

“Steep raw material costs are never ending,” Dahleen observed.

Central Ink is continuing to see more of the same in the first half of 2022, with sales up but raw material prices are still rising.

“Central Ink is very excited on the revenue side, but it is a constant battle with raw material costs,” Dahleen concluded. “We see sustained growth, especially in our energy curable products. We are forecasted to finish the year on a strong note, as long as we keep costs down.”

Major Products: Web offset, heatset, coldset, sheetfed, flexo and UV/EB inks; pressroom chemicals and blankets.

Number of Employees: 150 (Ink World estimate)

Operating Facilities: West Chicago, IL; Plymouth, MN; Menomonee Falls, WI; Swedesboro, NJ; Sparks, NV.

Comments: As an offset ink specialist, Central Ink Corporation (CIC) faced challenging times during COVID-19, but the company rebounded and showed its resilience.

“We came together as a company,” said Central Ink CEO Gregg Dahleen. “We handled the adversity very well.”

Dahleen noted that the company was impacted heavily during the early part of the pandemic, with an initial production drop of 30%, but through the restrictions and shipping challenges, everyone stayed safe.

Raw materials were a concern, leading Central Ink to push through its own price increases. “That impact is being felt at unprecedented levels,” Dahleen noted.

Central Ink has been investing in new product lines. Last year, the company introduced LED and HUV offset inks, and this past year saw the company move add new coatings.

“CIC recently diversified into the manufacturing of water-based and energy curable coatings,” Dahleen reported. “We are very excited for this development.”

Above all, Dahleen is seeing a return to normalcy and stability now.

“We are seeing volumes return to a normal level,” he added. “However, raw material availability and cost pressures are weighing heavily on production planning.”