The annual press conference of the Association of the German Paint and Printing Ink Industry (VdL) once again focussed on declining market data. While publication printing continues to lose significant importance, the printing inks for packaging sector was able to partially buck the industry trend and grow slightly in 2025.
A total of 168,000 tonnes of printing inks worth 702 million euros were sold on the German market in 2025. This corresponds to a decline in sales volume of around 5 per cent. The main reason for the decline is the continuing decline in publication printing. In contrast, packaging printing developed positively according to the association and recorded slight growth.
Packaging printing as an anchor of stability
Packaging printing therefore remains a stabilising factor within the printing ink segment. This area is primarily driven by demand for packaging for consumer goods, food and industrial applications. While print products in traditional publishing and commercial printing continue to lose volume, packaging printing is benefiting from comparatively robust sales markets.
Nevertheless, growth in the packaging segment is not sufficient to fully compensate for the structural declines in publication printing. The VdL therefore expects the total sales volume of printing inks to fall again by around 3 per cent in 2026.
Overall industry remains under pressure
The paint and coatings industry as a whole also recorded a weak year in 2025. Sales volumes fell by 2.8 percent to 1.4 million tonnes, while turnover fell by just under 1.2 percent to 5.8 billion euros. VdL President Dr Harald Borgholte referred to the continuing weakness of the economy as a whole. „The German economy has been stagnating for six years and is at the same level as in 2019,“ he said at the annual press conference.
With regard to regulatory developments, VdL Managing Director Dr Martin Kanert warned of additional burdens in the wake of European legislation on the circular economy such as PPWR and ESPR. „A start has been made, but there is still a lot of work ahead of us.“
For manufacturers of printing inks for packaging, this means that the market environment will remain challenging. Although the packaging segment will remain comparatively stable, the overall dynamics of the industry are likely to be characterised by restraint and structural change in 2026 as well, according to the report.
Source: Association of the German Paint and Printing Ink Industry
