Concerns regarding critical pigments such as titanium dioxide and carbon black have ink manufacturers wondering what might be coming next.

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Pigments and dyes are essential to producing the colors that we see in everyday life, including packaging and printed materials. Whether they are organic pigments, inorganic pigments such as titanium dioxide and carbon black, or specialty pigments like metallics and fluorescents, pigments and dyes are a part of our life.

Colorants are a significant market. Mordor Intelligence estimates the size of the pigment market size at $31.08 billion in 2025, growing at a CAGR of 2.8% to $35.68 billion by 2030. Mordor estimates that inorganic pigments hold 76% of the overall market. Custom Market Insights reports similar numbers, with the pigment market estimated at $24.13 billion, growing to $35.6 billion in 2032.

There has been consolidation in the market, with the biggest news in recent years being Sudarshan Chemical’s plan to acquire Heubach, which was announced in October 2024. The newly combined company has 19 manufacturing locations worldwide. In 2021, Heubach acquired the pigment division from Clariant and had more than €1 billion in sales in 2022.

However, margins for the pigment industry have not been particularly healthy, and the financial weight of the merger was impossible to overcome. Add to that the raw material issues of the past few years and Heubach found itself in fiscal trouble, and in April 2024, Heubach was required to file for insolvency in the German courts.

Falko Orlowski, EVP of Trust Chem, said that consolidation remains an issue.

“The pigment industry has continued to consolidate, resulting in fewer supplier choices for ink customers,” said Orlowski. “However, this consolidation has offered Trust Chem growth opportunities that we have successfully leveraged.”

As for the market itself, Orlowski said that numerous ink customers are currently engaged in new projects focused on recycling and sustainability, driven by major brands.

“Price remains a significant priority for most ink companies,” he added. “However, we strive to offer a value proposition based on high quality, consistency, exceptional service, and competitive pricing. At this time our biggest concern is more and higher tariffs, which could be implemented.”

Concerns Over Key Pigments

There are huge questions over numerous pigments. One issue is the duties on titanium dioxide (TiO2). In July 2024, the EC imposed provisional duties on Chinese TiO2 imports, and they went into in January 2025. The duties range from €0.25/kg to €0.74/kg.

“European TiO2 suppliers are currently unable to meet the EU industry’s demand and imports from China are thus hard to substitute,” said Christel Davidson, managing director of CEPE, regarding the duties. “One likely consequence is that paint manufacturers in the EU will find themselves at a competitive disadvantage compared to manufacturers in other parts of the world, who can continue sourcing TiO2 from China at lower prices and sell their paints on the EU market.”

David Wawer, executive director of the Color Pigments Manufacturers Association (CPMA), pointed out that the North American pigments industry and its diverse customer base have experienced waves of costly US government regulations in the past four years.

“Regulations have contributed significantly to higher costs for manufacturing companies, their suppliers and customers, and especially consumers,” added Wawer. “Industry price increases have been the norm since 2021, many of which can be directly or indirectly attributed to a federal government regulation.”

Wawer said that a final negative legacy of the Biden Administration for the US pigments industry and its customers was the Dec. 20, 2024, publication of the proposed draft rule for CI Pigment Violet 29 in the Federal Register by US EPA.

“CPMA’s industry coalition is committed to removing or revising this 11th-hour, extremely flawed regulatory proposal because it is not based upon science or technology,” said Wawer. “CPMA is planning comprehensive outreach to the Trump EPA, US Senate and US House Committees with jurisdiction over EPA, and members of Congress whose districts represent pigments manufacturing, automotive coatings, and plastics masterbatch companies.”

Carbon black is another area of interest. During 2024, New York State was considering “The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act,” a ban of packaging containing carbon black. This would have placed carbon black on a list of toxic substances that could not be contained in packages and labels. However, almost all black ink is made from carbon black. The bill did not get passed.

George Fuchs, director – regulatory affairs and technology for the National Association of Printing Ink Manufacturing (NAPIM), said that the goal of the proposed legislation appears to be twofold: first, to reduce packaging of all types; and second, encourage improved designs and process for the New York state recycling infrastructure.

“Remember that 4 color (CMYK) process printing is the predominant print process,” he noted. “The black component (K) of the process set is, in almost all cases, produced with a carbon black-based pigment.”

Editor：David Savastano