New Trends in the Screen Printing Industry in 2026: The Rise of Environmentally Friendly Inks and Automated Equipment
I. Environmentally friendly inks: From "optional" to "mandatory"
By 2026, environmental protection will no longer be a marketing gimmick, but a ticket to enter the international market. As countries tighten VOC (volatile organic compound) emission standards and brands (especially in textiles, food packaging, and high-end electronics) trace the carbon footprint of their supply chains, the market share of traditional solvent-based inks is rapidly shrinking.
This year's mainstream trend is the comprehensive technological maturity of bio-based and water-based inks. The shortcomings of water-based inks in terms of fastness and color performance have been addressed through nanoscale pigment dispersion technology and new resin binders. Especially in the textile printing industry, abandoning PVC and plasticizers has become a consensus. Thermosetting water-based inks (such as PD soft inks) are replacing traditional plastisol inks on a large scale due to their excellent feel and environmentally friendly properties. For printing companies, switching to environmentally friendly inks is not only for compliance but also to win crucial "green bonus points" in brand customer tenders.
II. Automated Equipment: The Key to Solving the Problems of "Labor Shortage" and "Improving Quality and Efficiency"
If environmental protection is an external requirement, then automation is an internal survival need for enterprises. In 2026, the decline of the demographic dividend will pose a huge challenge to the screen printing industry, which traditionally relies on manual experience.
This year's intelligentization trend has two characteristics: "standalone automation" and "connected automation" are advancing in tandem.
At the standalone machine level: fully automatic precision screen printing equipment and servo-driven tilting arm/roller printing presses have become standard features. PLC and touchscreen control, along with parameterized settings, make it possible for "zero-experience" operators to work, significantly reducing reliance on experienced technicians.
In terms of connectivity: 2026 will be a pivotal year for the widespread adoption of integrated production lines that combine automated printing, drying, receiving, and inspection. Especially in the fields of electronic circuits and automotive glass printing, online vision inspection systems can identify printing defects in real time and automatically reject defective products, increasing the yield rate to over 99%. This not only solves the pain point of manual 24-hour high-speed operation but also meets the stringent requirements of industrial customers for batch stability.
III. Synergistic Effects of Environmental Protection and Automation
It's worth noting that these two trends are not isolated. The precision coating and metered ink supply systems of automated equipment precisely reduce waste in the use of environmentally friendly inks and solve the energy consumption problem caused by the slow drying speed of water-based inks. In short, automation is the technological support for the large-scale application of environmentally friendly inks, while environmental protection is the ultimate value proposition of upgrading automated equipment.
Looking ahead to the second half of 2026, screen printing companies must focus on two key areas to break through the competition: internally, upgrading equipment and embracing automation, and externally, embracing inks while adhering to environmental protection standards. This is not only a technological iteration, but also a leap in understanding from "processing and manufacturing" to "green and intelligent manufacturing."
This servo curved screen printing machine is suitable for surface pattern printing of various round products.
Semi-automatic cylindrical printing machine is suitable for surface printing on cylindrical objects and oval , such as syringe barrel, glass bottle, blow molded bottles, cosmetic tubes, aluminum water bottles, drum sticks, glass pipettes, gas cylinder, milk tea cups, jars etc.
This UV curing machine is suitable for curing UV inks on medical supplies, mobile phone casings, membrane switches, electronic plastic casings, electronic components, LCD panels, terminal sealing, mobile phone component bonding, plastic component bonding, and LCDs.
UV curing machine is mainly used for curing ink on printed products to improve the color fastness of the pattern.
