Major Products: Screen, pad printing and digital inks and liquid coatings.

No. of Employees: More than 500.

Comments: Headquartered in Tamm, Germany, Marabu GmbH & Co. KG is a family-owned leader in digital, screen and pad printing inks and liquid coatings. Marabu has a global presence, with production sites in Germany, the US and Paraguay, along with 15 subsidiaries and distribution partners worldwide.

Marabu had a strong year, reporting sales of $140 million and production of 3,000 tons of ink and coatings annually. Exports make up 80% of Marabu’s sales.

Major Products: Screen, pad printing and digital inks and liquid coatings.

No. of Employees: More than 500

Comments: Founded in 1859, Marabu GmbH & Co. KG is a family-owned specialist in digital, screen and pad printing inks and liquid coatings. The company enjoyed a strong year, with sales of $140 million, with exports accounting for 80% of Marabu’s sales.

Headquartered in Tamm, Germany, Marabu has production sites in Germany, the US and Paraguay, along with 15 subsidiaries and distribution partners worldwide.

Well known for its R&D efforts, Marabu launched a variety of innovative inks this year. Designed for textile transfers MaquaTex MAXT+ is a water-based screenprinting ink system, and has earned ECO PASSPORT certification among others.

Launched at drupa 2024, UltraJet DUV-CP is a digital ink created for decorating plastic, glass and metal containers. UltraGlass LEDGF is a hybrid screen ink for glasses and glass containers that contains no Bisphenol A (BPA) and can be cured using either UV or UV LED lamps.

Major Products: Screen, pad printing and digital inks and liquid coatings.

Number of Employees: More than 500

Comments: Headquartered in Tamm, Germany, Marabu GmbH & Co. KG was founded in 1859, and today is a specialist in digital, screen and pad printing inks and liquid coatings. The company had $105 million sales last year, with export sales making up 80% of Marabu’s revenue. Marabu has production sites in Germany, the US and Paraguay, and 15 subsidiaries and distributors partners worldwide.

In June 2021, Marabu became one of the first ink manufacturers to achieve climate neutrality. Along those lines, Marabu highlighted Ultra Glass LEDGL UV-LED-curable ink system at glasstec 2022. Ultra Glass LEDGL UV-LED is an energy-saving LED-curable screenprinting ink with a small carbon footprint and a new digital varnish for customizable haptic effects, which the company reports can potentially save 65% in energy. At K 2022, Marabu showed its Ultra Pack UVFP screen printing ink, which is GMP-certified and approved for use on migration-sensitive PE/PP plastics.

Marabu North America is working with LSINC Corporation on direct-to-object printing, highlighting its UltraJet DLE-A digital UV inks on LSINC’s new PeriOne direct-to-object printer during Printing United 2022.

“It’s exciting to find a company like LSINC that shares our vision for the future of direct-to-object digital printing. Their level of expertise in equipment design and development is second to none. The introduction of the PeriOne establishes a complete family of printers from entry level to production. The fact that their operations are entirely in the U.S. makes them the perfect partner,” said Bob Keller, Marabu North America president, in announcing the partnership.

Major Products: Screen, pad printing and digital inks and liquid coatings.

Number of Employees: More than 500.

Comments: Marabu GmbH & Co. KG, Tamm, Germany is a family-owned manufacturer of digital, screen and pad printing inks and liquid coatings. The company had $105 million sales last year, with export sales making up 80% of the company’s revenue.

Marabu has an international presence, with 15 subsidiaries and distributors partners worldwide. The company has production sites in Germany, the US and Paraguay.

In a major move, Marabu Group acquired ICON Inks in July 2021. This acquisition strengthens Marabu’s presence in Asia and add textile inks to its portfolio.

“We have high hopes for this acquisition,” said Jon Bultemeyer, EVP, Business Unit Screen and Pad Printing Inks, in announcing the acquisition. “We are always looking to identify segments with strong future prospects. Until recently, our focus had consciously not included textiles. But the market environment is very dynamic, and it is important that our business is broadly based.

“Textile printing remains one of the largest global screenprinting segments,” Bultemeyer added. “ICON Inks is a leading brand, and this acquisition gives us access to new markets and new skills.”

In line with Marabu’s target of being environmentally friendly, its R&D team followed up its successful launch in November 2020 of the world’s first commercially available water-based pad printing ink with of Maqua Pad MAP, the world’s first water-based pad printing ink for textiles, in November 2021.

Major Products: Screen, pad printing and digital inks and liquid coatings.

No. of Employees: More than 500.

Comments: Marabu GmbH & Co. KG is a family-owned manufacturer of digital, screen and pad printing inks and liquid coatings. The company had $107 million in sales last year, with export sales accounting for 80% of the company’s revenue.

Marabu has an international presence, with 15 subsidiaries and 80 distributors globally. The company has production sites in Germany, the US and Paraguay.

Major Products: Screen, pad printing and digital inks and liquid coatings.

Key Personnel: York Boeder, CEO; Rolf Simon, GM Plant & Central Services.

No. of Employees: More than 500

Comments: Founded in 1859, Marabu GmbH & Co. KG, Tamm, Germany, is a family-owned specialist in digital, screen and pad printing inks and liquid coatings. The company has 15 subsidiaries globally, and export sales account for 80% of the company’s business.

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing devastation worldwide. Among the concerns has been the shortage of disinfectants and hand sanitizers. To help with the desperate shortage of disinfectants and hand sanitizers, Marabu GmbH & Co KG switched a portion of its digital ink production to manufacture hand and surface disinfectants, donating sizable amounts of these materials to RKH Hospital in Ludwigsburg, near Stuttgart, and to its employees.

“With this donation, we want to help those people who are working selflessly and beyond their limits to provide outstanding care to our fellow citizens,” said Marabu CEO York Boeder. “On the production side, we essentially only had to change organizational things (create space and capacities, organize work processes and train employees).”

Marabu continues to develop new products. At Inprint 2019, Marabu highlighted some innovations, including its Ultra Pack UVFP range, which the company notes are the first and only officially approved printing ink (by Swiss Quality Testing Services, SQTS, a certified institute) for migration-sensitive PE/PP plastics.

Major Products: Screen printing, pad printing, digital printing inks and liquid coatings.

No. of Employees: 440

Comments: Marabu GmbH & Co. KG, Tamm, Germany, is a 160-year-old family-owned with a strong presence in digital and pad printing inks and liquid coatings. The company exports to more than 70 countries globally.

On the international front, Marabu North America recently opened a branch office in Mississauga, Ontario, which will help the company grow its presence in Canada.

Marabu is well known for its innovative inks and R&D expertise, and the company showed this again at FESPA 2019 as it introduced a host of new products. Among the highlights were Maqua Coat MAF, which the company reports is the world’s first commercially available water-based pad printing ink and is designed for applications such as children’s toys; Tampa Tex TPX, a flexible pad printing ink with excellent opacity and adhesion to film and clothing; Ultra Card UVCC UV screenprinting ink, designed for ID and cashless payment cards; Ultra Pack UVFP system, a UV-curable, low-migration screenprinting ink that is officially approved by Swiss Quality Testing Services; Mara Tech MGO one-component screen and pad printing baking ink for glass and metal; Mara Glass MGLA, a two-component ink for smartphones and displays.

For inkjet printers, the company launched its new solvent-based Mara Jet DI-TV inks for Roland TrueVIS printers, and Ultra Jet DUV-MF, a versatile, ink for wide format. The company also showcased its UV-curable inks for wide format (Ultra Jet DUV-A) and printing on glass and PET (Ultra JetDUV-C).

Major Products: Screen Printing Inks, Pad Printing Inks, Digital Printing Inks and Liquid Coatings.

Number of Employees: 500 (Ink World estimate).

Comments: Founded in 1859, Marabu GmbH & Co. KG, Tamm, Germany, is a family-owned specialist in screen, digital and pad printing inks as well as liquid coatings. At FESPA 2018, Marabu showed its versatility, from food packaging and glass decoration to capacitive touch interfaces, toys and digitally printed wallpaper.

Marabu’s new Ultra Pack UVFP system is a UV-curable, low-migration screenprinting ink that recently was approved by Swiss Quality Testing Services, a certified institute, for migration-sensitive PE/PP plastics, the company reported. For glass and metal, Marabu launched its single-component Mara Tech MGO baking screen and pad printing ink, which contains silicone. Its two-component Mara Glass MGLA is designed for flat glass like touch screens and smartphones.

For capacitive touch interfaces for appliances, Marabu offers MaraPanel MPA specialty decorative inks. It has high electrical resistance to avoid interference with the input system’s functionality.

On the digital side, Marabu offers UV-curable inks for wide format (Ultra Jet DUV-A), and printing on glass and PET (Ultra JetDUV-C). Marabu has also branched out into alternative markets, with its Ultra JetDUV-GR and LED-curable Ultra Jet DLE-A inks for Océ Arizona printers. In addition, Marabu introduced its new GBL-free solvent-based inks for wide format digital printing.

Major Products: Screen Printing Inks, Pad Printing Inks, Digital Printing Inks and Liquid Coatings.

No. of Employees: 500 (Ink World estimate)

Comments: A global leader in the fields of screen, digital and pad printing inks as well as liquid coatings, Marabu GmbH & Co. KG, Tamm, Germany, is able to bring a wide range of technologies to customers in products ranging from plug and play inkjet inks, to printing on touchscreens, toys and glass.

As an example of Marabu’s versatility, the company brought its complete portfolio to FESPA 2017, highlighting a variety of new screen, digital and pad printing inks and liquid coatings. For food packaging, Ultra Pack UVFP system is a UV-curable, low-migration screenprinting system. The Ultra Pack UVFP system complies with both EuPIA’s Suitability List of Photo-Initiators for Low Migration UV Printing Inks and Varnishes, Part 1A and the Nestlé Guidance Note on Packaging Inks.

Tampa Tex TPX is a pad printing ink used for textiles, as well as babies’ bottles, toys and packaging for personal care products and foodstuffs. Tampa Glass TPGL is designed for pad printing decorations on 3D objects, including glass and ceramic items, metals, chrome-plated and varnished substrates.

On the digital side, Marabu showed high-quality whites within the Mara Jet DI-SX and DI-MS digital ink lines. Marabu has moved into the touch screen field, developing screen and inkjet inks for membrane switches. The Ultra Jet DUV-A digital ink system, which can be used to decorate PET substrates, is compatible with screenprinting, while the blocking layer is created through screenprinting, using the solvent-based Mara Switch MSW system or the UV-curable Ultra Switch UVSW system.

Marabu also works closely with equipment makers, and is an official distributor for SCREEN Truepress Jet W3200 UV II in Germany, France and Switzerland, as well as the Spyder Xi digital printer from Inca Digital in Europe.

Major Products: Screenprinting, pad printing, digital printing inks and liquid coatings.

Number of Employees: 500

Comments: Marabu GmbH & Co. KG is a world-leading manufacturer of screen, digital and pad printing inks as well as liquid coatings. Located in the technology region of Stuttgart, the ink manufacturer has lots of customers and partnerships in various industries nearby and worldwide. Requirements are changing quickly these days, and Marabu is always eager to please its partners by responding to new technology developments. During this year’s drupa, Marabu showcased its latest developments in all of its markets.

“The latest product launches were presented in Düsseldorf at the world’s largest printing fair, drupa,” said Katharina Rogner, marketing and communication, printing inks for Marabu GmbH & Co. KG. “The expert audience appreciated the wide range of Marabu’s product portfolio, which stretched from screen, digital and pad printing applications to highlights such as the new Plug & Print inkjet ink for ECO-SOL MAX 3, a concept for digital textile transfer printing, and the variety of UV direct printing onto glass.”

A major highlight is Marabu’s collaboration with SCREEN. which appointed Marabu as reseller for the Truepress Jet W32000UV wide-format UV printer series in Germany, Switzerland, France and Italy at the beginning of the year.

“Marabu’s partnership with SCREEN enables the us to offer SCREEN’s customers a complete package of a printing machine, ink and corresponding technical support – a one-stop service,” Rogner added. “These latest developments are showing that Marabu is in strong market positions with growth potentials.”

Rogner noted that there is definitely growth in the printing and ink industries, even if applications differ slightly from those for about 40 years, and there are distinct markets for different printing processes.

“The digital printing part is growing, especially among graphic applications,” she reported. “But still many of these applications can only be implemented to the required quality and functionality by using screenprinting. Further developments of industrial screenprinting are necessary, concerning the high set of standards from partners. Currently, screenprinting is the only method that can vary the ink application so selectively that different layer thicknesses can be achieved. At the same time, the high chemical and mechanical resistance of screenprinting inks allow prints on difficult substrates such as glass or in-mold decoration.

“A clear trend is also seen in the combination of digital and screenprinting,” Rogner added. “As screenprinting can’t be replaced through digital printing so far, printing in combination will be the key to success. We may look forward to an amazing ‘printing future’ with lots of unexpected printing tools and applications.”