Global Doctor Blade Market Size, Share, Market Research and Industry Forecast Report, 2019-2024 (Includes Business Impact of COVID-19)

                                          
Industry Insights, Market Size, CAGR, High-Level Analysis: Global Doctor Blade Market


The global doctor blade market size was valued at USD 163.89 million in 2018 and is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 2.3% from 2019 to 2024. High demand for paints and coatings and rotogravure, flexographic, and offset printing in packaging and publication arenas is expected to drive the growth. The new trend of manufacturing nanotechnology enhanced doctor blades is expected to further boost the demand. Using nanoparticles in the polymer resin matrix manipulates the molecular matrices and produces smoother, corrosion resistant, and highly efficient edges. These blades are engineered for applications requiring high level of precision and where the removing ink is particularly challenging.

Doctor blades are used for removing excess ink from the smooth and non-engraved areas of image carrier in the printing process. The product manufacturing is majorly concentrated in Europe. On the other hand, the low quality of steel and plasticity has led to limited production of doctor blade in the developing countries of Asia Pacific.

Among key applications, flexography segment occupied 57.2% of the global revenue share of the doctor blade market in 2018. Gravure is the second most popular application as it is largely used in paper publishing. Offset is the traditional and economical printing method, commonly used for newspapers, books, magazines, brochures, and pamphlet printing.

Doctor blade is a thin piece of metal, plastic, rubber or composite material. Plastic blades are expected to witness the fastest growth in terms of demand in the forthcoming years. They are highly preferred as compared to metal and composite blades because they are ultra-smooth and light, hence safer to use. Composite materials include the use of glass or carbon fibers infused with synthetically prepared polymer resin by pultrusion method.
Packaging, publishing, and promotional printings are the major end uses of the product. Packaging is the most important downstream industry followed by publishing. The global market is predominantly concentrated with the presence of a large number of small to medium scale manufacturers.

Type Insights of Global Doctor Blade Market

The three most widely used materials for manufacturing blades include metals, plastics, and composites. Metal holds the major market share, while plastic counterparts such as polyethylene, polyester, and polyacetal are expected to witness the fastest growth from 2019 to 2024. The demand for plastic doctor blade is increasing compared to metal and composites as they are safe to handle and can perform operations at greater speed.

The cross-section of doctor blade working edge is primarily divided into wedge, round, and lamellar. The wedge blades have a round or flattened working edge with the cross-section area in the form of trapezium i.e. two angles at 90 degrees. Similarly, lamellar have the round edge but rectangular cross-sectional area i.e. all angles at 90 degrees with a concave cut from one corner.

Application Insights of Global Doctor Blade Market

Currently, flexography holds the largest market share. In the printing industry, packaging registers the majority of demand followed by publishing and promotion industry. Flexographic printing dominates the packaging segment with more than 40% of the market share. It has been a choice of many business sectors since its invention.
The use of a chambered doctor blade system is the current trend in flexography system. In chambered system, two blades are used, one of them acts as a metering instrument that controls the amount of ink flowing and the other act as a seal that prevents leakage of ink out of the chamber.

Rotogravure printing is the second most popular application. It is a largely used method in paper printing. Although new technologies have increased the efficiency of gravure printers, the system is facing increasing competition from digital inkjet printers. This acts as a crucial challenge currently faced by the industry participants.
Another important application of doctor blade is offset printing. It is commonly used methods for printing newspapers, books, magazines, stationeries, brochures, and pamphlets. It is comparatively economical and low maintenance method compared to its counterparts.

Regional Insights of Global Doctor Blade Market

Asia Pacific is expected to register a relatively higher pace over the forecast period. The region showcased high demand for packaging from multiple end-use industries, such as pharmaceutical, food and beverage processing, and transportation, resulting in an increased demand for doctor blade across key countries including China, Japan, and India. The region is expected to expand at a CAGR of 2.8% over the forecast period.

European countries such as Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, and Denmark are the leading producers of doctor blade owing to their highly developed steel industries. These countries majorly export the product to South East Asian and Latin American countries.

North America is the second largest region with U.S. and Canada as the major consumers, due to their flourishing high quality packaging industry. The North American market is dominated by flexographic printing. In U.S., almost 70% of packages produced are printed using flexography systems. Although the product holds a small market share in the countries from Latin America and Middle East and Africa, the demand in these regions is increasing with due to robust growth of the flexible packaging industry.

Doctor Blade Market Share Insights

The global market is dominated by major players such as Kadant, Inc.; FUJI SHOKO CO., LTD.; PrimeBlade Sweden AB; Swedev AB; and TRESU Group. These multinational companies have differentiated product offerings, strong customer base, and strong distribution network across the globe. For example, PrimeBlade Sweden AB has distribution partners in over 120 countries, Swedev AB has a presence in 85 countries, while Rochling Leripa Paperecth GmbH & Co. KG has customers in around 70 countries.

The demand for doctor blade has witnessed a strong consolidation in different regions due to mergers, acquisitions, new product developments, and expanding distribution channels. In May 2018, PrimeBlade Sweden AB entered into Latin America marketspace by collaborating with Grupo Brasal. This strategy was aimed at strengthening the sales channel of the company in Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and Puerto Rico.

Segmentations, Sub Segmentations, CAGR, & High-Level Analysis overview of Global Doctor Blade Market Research Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at the global and regional level and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2014 to 2024. For the purpose of this study, this market research report has segmented the global doctor blade market report on the basis of type, application, and region:

Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2024)

  
Metal Doctor Blade
  
Plastic Doctor Blade
  
Composite Doctor Blade

Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2024)

  
Flexographic Printing
  
Rotogravure Printing
  
Offset Printing
  
Others