Precoated film was invented around 1989 and first widely used in European and American countries. It wasn't until 1996 that it entered Asia. At the same time, the European and American countries that had previously used precoated film technology had already banned the use of directly coated film and switched to precoated film. Because Asian regions adopted precoated film technology later, the market share of precoated film is not very high in many Asian countries. Currently, Japan has completely adopted precoated film, while other countries, such as China and South Korea, are using both precoated film and directly coated film.
Data shows that precoated film, as an environmentally friendly post-printing lamination technology, has been widely used in developed countries. In 1996, the United States achieved a complete replacement of directly coated technology with precoated technology, with a current market share of 95%. Because Europe is the birthplace of water-based directly coated technology, the promotion of precoated film there was initially slow, but its market share has steadily increased in recent years, currently reaching 65%. Japan and South Korea began promoting precoated film in the 1990s, and the current market usage rates have reached approximately 70% and 50%, respectively.
The application of precoated film technology in China is relatively backward. Since the use of precoated film began in 2000, it is still in its initial stage. According to statistics from 2008, the market share of precoated film in China was less than 10%. Most of it still uses solvent-based directly coated technology, accounting for 68%, and water-based directly coated technology also accounts for about 20%.
Based on the two development trends in the global precoated film industry, we can see that "the market prospects for precoated film are broad, and it is inevitable that it will replace directly coated technology as the mainstream trend." However, in the current situation, countries and regions with low usage rates are still in the period of replacement and development of precoated film technology. Many manufacturers in Asia have realized the huge potential of the precoated film market, and their entry will inevitably gradually reduce the dominant position of European and American manufacturers. The global cost of precoated film will also decrease.
Precoated film has a good market development prospect, which is closely related to its downstream industries. Without a certain level of demand, it is impossible to create a market myth. The downstream industry of precoated film is the printing industry, including the industrial printing market, the commercial printing market, and the special Applications market. In the field of industrial printing, China has maintained an average growth rate of over 10% in recent years; in the commercial printing field, only cards, posters, and light boxes are currently widely used. Digital printing and digital quick printing businesses are also being born and developing. It is estimated that in 2010, the global digital printing industry will account for 20% to 25% of the printing market, and the annual growth rate will exceed 16%. Developing professional digital precoated film has become a necessity and will provide huge development space for the precoated film industry.
Currently, precoated film technology is not simply applied to the printing and packaging field. Many international precoated film manufacturers have successfully applied it to special industries, such as new building insulation materials in the construction industry and new insulation materials in the electronics industry, which has also expanded the broader development space and new development directions for the precoated film lamination industry.
