More Than Paper! A Number Of Suppliers Announced Price Increases, With The Highest Double-digit Increase!

More than paper! A number of suppliers announced price increases, with the highest double-digit increase!

At present, a wave of price increases that have swept the global printing industry chain continues to ferment. From upstream paper, ink, and plates to midstream digital printing equipment, consumables and accessories, mainstream suppliers at home and abroad have intensively issued price increase notices. This round of price increases is not accidental, behind which multiple factors such as energy turmoil, supply chain blockages, and raw material shortages are superimposed, which are profoundly affecting the development trend of the industry.

Mainstream suppliers have spoken out intensively

All categories will raise prices simultaneously

01

Digital printing equipment and consumables: leading brands are the first to adjust prices

As leading companies in the field of digital printing, Ricoh and Konica Minolta took the lead in sounding the clarion call for price increases. Among them, Ricoh issued a price increase notice through its official website in Japan on January 26, 2026, clarifying that from April 1, the core components of production digital printing machines (color controllers and print controllers, as well as related optional components), A3 multifunction machine supporting products (color controller related options), and Fiery® software solutions (covering core functions such as workflow automation, color management, and graphic art tools) will be adjusted. In terms of increases, Ricoh has clarified specific adjustment criteria: the price of color controllers for a number of high-end production digital printing machines will increase by about 5% to 6%; The price of EB-36 printer controllers has been raised to 2.205 million yen (about 100,000 yuan), and the price of Fiery-related® software and licenses has increased by thousands of yen per cycle.

Konica Minolta simultaneously announced that from April 1, it will implement price adjustments for digital printing equipment (including production digital printing machines, office digital multifunction machines (A3/A4 level)) and consumables (toner, toner cartridges, carriers, fusing components, etc.) around the world, of which digital printing equipment will be increased by 4%~6%, and consumables will be increased by 6%~10%, and the specific range will vary depending on the product line.

02

Paper market: Domestic and foreign paper companies collectively adjusted prices, and digital paper rose prominently

As a basic consumables in the printing industry chain, paper has become the "hardest hit area" of this round of price increases. In the international market, European and North American paper giants have raised prices: Navigator announced that double adhesive paper will increase by 4%~7% from April 6, and basic products will increase even more;

Solidus plans to increase prices by 7%~10% from April 1, covering core board, gray cardboard, cardboard and related processed finished products; Lecta's double-sided coated paper has increased by 8% since April 1; German Drussen Specialty Paper not only raised product prices by 6%~9%, but also imposed additional temporary energy surcharges to cope with large fluctuations in energy prices.

The domestic market also showed an intensive price increase. A number of paper companies such as Sun Paper and Wuzhou Special Paper issued notices saying that due to the rise in raw materials and comprehensive costs, their digital paper products will be increased by 500 yuan/ton from March 21. In addition, the price adjustment notice letter of Xianhe shares shows that in order to alleviate the operational pressure, since the delivery on March 21, the company's full range of spray painting heat transfer base paper products have been raised by 500 yuan/ton on the basis of the price increase on March 5. Domestic paper companies generally said that the rise in international wood pulp prices and rising energy and logistics costs are the core reasons for this price adjustment.

03

Ink and offset printing plates: cost pressure forces price increases, and surcharges become the norm

In the field of inks and fine chemicals, the world's two giants, Sun Chemical and Hubergroup, launched a comprehensive price increase in February, implementing a full-line price increase + temporary surcharge model. Sun Chemical announced that starting from February 2026, it will implement global price increases for all its printing inks, resins, solvents, high-purity pigments and special additives, and the adjustment will gradually be implemented globally, with specific increases varying by product category and region; At the same time, temporary surcharges will be added to cope with the sharp fluctuations in raw material and energy prices. Hubergroup adjusts the prices of all its high-end printing inks, coatings and supporting fine chemicals, also adopting a comprehensive price increase + temporary surcharge, and the adjustment range varies according to product category and region.

In the field of offset printing plates, Fujifilm issued a global price increase notice on March 19, and the prices of offset printing plates and printing plate chemicals have been raised by double digits since April, with specific magnitude varying by region and product. It said that the price of core raw materials such as aluminum substrates and photochemical raw materials has risen sharply, and the pressure of energy and labor costs has far exceeded the internal digestion capacity of enterprises, and price adjustment is imperative.

Multiple factors are superimposed

The industry dilemma behind the price increase

This round of price increases in the global printing market is not an accidental cyclical price fluctuation, but the result of the superposition of multiple systemic factors such as energy, logistics, and raw materials, which is also confirmed in the price increase letters of Ricoh, Konica Minolta, Sun Chemical and other companies. The price increase wave as a whole shows the characteristics of "full-link transmission, global spread, and continuous intensification", which brings an all-round test to the industry.

01

Energy turmoil has become a fuse, and the cost of the whole industry chain has risen

The geopolitical situation in the Middle East continues to be tense, which has become the core fuse of this round of price increases. As the world's core oil-producing region, the turmoil in the Middle East directly affects the shipping security of the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in tightening global crude oil supply.

As stated in the price increase letter by Sun Chemical and Hubergroup, the increase in energy prices has been transmitted to all links of the printing industry chain. The cooking and drying of paper production, the refining of raw materials for ink synthesis, and the processing of parts for equipment manufacturing are all high-energy consumption links. European paper companies are most directly affected, and Germany's Drussen Specialty Paper even imposes an additional temporary energy surcharge; Ricoh and Konica Minolta also clearly mentioned in the price increase letter that the sharp increase in energy costs has exceeded the internal digestion capacity of enterprises and has become an important reason for price adjustment.

02

Logistics disruptions have exacerbated difficulties, and supply chain costs have risen

Geopolitical conflicts have caused disruptions to the global logistics network, further exacerbating the industry's difficulties, and this pain point is reflected in the price increase letters of multinational companies such as Taiyang Chemical and Fujifilm.

Sun Chemical mentioned that the blockage of key international trade routes not only multiplies the cost of cross-border logistics and transportation and huge insurance, but also leads to the risk of disruption of fragile supply chains, affecting global supply stability and delivery time; Fujifilm also mentioned that logistics costs continue to increase, increasing the operational burden of enterprises.

03

The shortage of raw materials has become the key, and prices have risen structurally

The supply shortage and price increase of core raw materials are the direct drivers of this round of price increases, and the price increases of different categories of raw materials form a "domino effect", which is also the core reason for the emphasis on the price increase letters of various suppliers.

In the field of paper, APP, Sun Paper and other companies have made it clear that the rise in international wood pulp prices is the core incentive for price adjustment, superimposed on global forestry resource control and low-carbon environmental protection policies, which directly leads to the tightening of wood pulp supply and the rise of paper prices; In the field of inks, Sun Chemical and Hubergroup both pointed out that due to the fluctuation of international crude oil prices, the prices of core raw materials such as resins, solvents, and pigments have risen, coupled with the turmoil in the global supply chain, further exacerbating the shortage of raw materials; In the field of equipment, Konica Minolta mentioned the shortage of semiconductor supply, and Ricoh admitted that the cost of raw materials continued to rise; In the field of offset printing plates, Fujifilm clearly pointed out that the prices of core raw materials such as aluminum substrates and photochemical raw materials have risen sharply, and cost pressures such as energy and logistics have become the direct reason for price adjustments.

In the short term, it is difficult to completely alleviate problems such as turmoil in the global energy market and supply chain blockages, and the pressure on price increases in the printing market will continue, and some suppliers who have not yet adjusted prices will follow up or follow up on price increases. In this context, industry enterprises need to take the initiative to break the situation: upstream suppliers can alleviate cost pressure by optimizing the supply chain and promoting capacity upgrades; Downstream enterprises can strengthen collaboration with suppliers to lock in long-term supply prices, and improve their ability to resist risks through technological upgrading and product structure optimization.

This wave of price increases that have swept the world is not only a concentrated release of cost pressure, but also an opportunity for industry transformation and upgrading. Under the test of cost storm, only by actively adapting to market changes and optimizing our own development model can we gain a firm foothold in the changes in the industry and achieve sustainable development.