＼ at a Glance ／
SAKATA INX
You may not have heard of SAKATA INX.
However, our products are used in many of the consumer products that are essential in your daily life.
Here we give an easy to understand explanation of what SAKATA INX is about.
ABOUT What does the company do?
SAKATA INX manufactures ink used for printing on paper and film.
The first thing many people think of when they hear the word “ink” is the ink used in ballpoint pens or fountain pens.
However, the ink made by SAKATA INX is used in printing.
Printing ink can be divided into two main categories, and there is a variety of different types of ink in each category depending on the required performance.
Inks for printing on packaging and communicating product information.
Corrugated boxes, shopping bags, film packaging for
food and general goods, Paper cups, wrapping paper
for fast food, PET bottle labels, beer and beverage
cans, etc.
Inks used to print on paper and communicating various information.
Newspapers, books, magazines, catalogues, posters,
leaflets, sales slips, etc.
Printing ink is mainly composed of pigment, varnish (vehicle), additives, etc.
The composition of the ink changes according to the application, but the main categories of components are pigment which produces color, varnish (vehicle) which is dispersed into components to make the ink adhere to paper or film, and additives which bring a variety of different functions to the ink. The ink is produced by making these components as fine as possible and disperse them evenly in the ink.
「Pigment」
Inorganic, organic pigments, etc.
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「Varnish (Vehicle)」
Synthetic resin, natural resin, oils, solvents, etc.
+
「Additives」
Various components added to bring about dryness, liquidity, durability to ink film, etc.
We have applied the development and production technology accumulated in the field of printing ink to develop new fields of business.
Ink manufacture requires technologies to mix components, making them ultrafine and preserving it in a steady uniformity form. We have applied these core technologies to develop in Digital & Specialty product fields.
Industrial inkjet ink
Public transport advertising in stations and subways,
wrap advertisements on trains and buses, textiles
such as clothes and curtains, building materials
such as wallpaper, surface design of home
appliances, etc.
Pigment dispersion for colorfilter
One of the components in the color filters used to make
the LCD displays used in TV monitors and smartphones.
Various Functional coating materials
Coating materials with various functions (blocks oxygen, reflects less light, damages less easily, antibacterial, antiviral, etc.) used to coat the surface of paper or film.
MARKET What is the market environment surrounding SAKATA INX?
On the other hand, high-mix low volume packaging are increasing due to aging and the increase in single-person households. Packages are essential to deliver products hygienically, to preserve food for a long time, etc. We expect steady growth and demand in printing inks for packaging that are closely related to everyday life.
We promote efficiency in production and contribute to sustainable growth for the print information industry with our printing inks for information media.
The demad for printing on paper is decreasing with the advance of digitalization in the information media information. However, because of the information consistency and the eye catching features of catalogues, fliers, etc., we expect continued demand for corresponding application. There are still countries with high demand in printing on paper. We promote efficiency in production, and develop environmentally-friendly ink - small lot, energy saving, etc. We contribute to sustainabe growth for the printing information industry.
The market for inkjet inks and functional coating materials are expected to grow. They are becoming the second pillar next to printing ink.
Our inks for industrial inkjet printing are not only used in paper printing such as large posters in train strations, transactional printing for business but also used in the textile field to print on clothes, curtains, wall papers for buidling materials, surface designs for electronic appliances, etc. Pigment dispersions are used as color development materials in LCD screens. Our pigment dispersions are used in high-resolution and high-performance LCD panels. Furthermore, we provide various coating materials that applies our core technologies : gas-barrier coatings that make shelf-life of food products longer, antibacterial coating materials and antiviral coating materials that suppress bacteria and virus. We expect the demand for these products to increase as they are necessary in various fields.
STRONG POINT What are SAKATA INX's strengths?
We are a local-based global manufacturer that actively responds to customers' needs. We have facilities inmore than 20 countries and regions around the world.
SAKATA INX forayed into overseas at an early stage, and currently deploys business in more than 20 countries and regions around the world. Our basic system is to produce and sell locally. We conduct business in line with the needs of each region.
Furthermore, we have an ink supplying global network that can supply from our nearest facilities where we do not have bases.
We are working to develop environmentally-friendly products and to make production more efficient.
Printing ink is a chemical product, and it is important to consider the environment.
SAKATA INX works to develop ink using materials derived from plant-derived and materials that have less impact on human health.
Many of our customers have already used our environmentally-friendly products.
There is increased demand in our products in overseas where environmental regulations are becoming stricter.
Furthermore, by actively promoting TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) activities and actively seeking to streamline our production systems, we have improved quality and productivity and greatly improved the working environments.
In recognition of these efforts, we received TPM Advanced Special Award from the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance.
Through customer-priented sales, we have succeeded in rapidly developing and improving ink that reflects our customers' voices.
SAKATA INX sales representatives and technicians visit the printing workplace to listen directly of the voices of our usuers to reflect it to the development and improvement of our ink. The abundant experience we have built up in this way has allowed us to develop ink that is environmentally-friendly and high quality.
As a result, we have gained strong trust from customers in our newspaper ink, which has experienced an ongoing evolution in technology since the founding of our company, and also flexo ink for corrugated boxes, which we converted into water-based at an early stage.
Our offset ink is used in commercial printing, and our flexo and gravure inks are used in film packaging that have gained excellent reputation thanks to SAKATA INX′s technology. SAKATA INX′s market presence in these fields is growing. Moreover, our North American subsidiary manufactures and sells metal decorating ink with a large market share.