The demand for inkjets is saturated, what else can equipment manufacturers rely on to drive sales?

After realizing this problem, some inkjet equipment manufacturers believe that the inkjet machine will inevitably usher in a wave of upgrading. However, the "line stop tide" brought about by the cold market has hindered the replacement of inkjets. And can relatively backward production areas buy second-hand equipment from more developed production areas or countries? The answer given by inkjet printer companies is: "It is not recommended to do so."

Since the replacement of equipment has little effect on the performance growth of inkjet machines, and second-hand equipment is not optimistic, does that mean that inkjet companies will face more severe test questions raised by the market?

Stopping the kiln "boulder" on the road of inkjet machine renewal

When the domestic inkjet market continues to be saturated, many companies believe that equipment replacement will become a market cake for various companies to compete for. However, the actual situation is that since mid-2014, the industry situation has changed sharply and ordered ceramic companies to stop kilns more and more. From a national perspective, about 20% of the production lines are already in the state of kiln shutdown, of which Guangdong production area accounts for the largest proportion. In addition, there are a lot of companies in a wait-and-see state, whether it is to change lines or resume production, there are doubts.

"Especially those companies with little debt have chosen to digest the stock first, pay out the workers’ basic wages, and then stop the kiln to observe the industry situation quietly next year. These companies are now "Dare not dare to make major changes to the production line." Li Jianlong, regional manager of accessories of Foshan Mega Ceramic Equipment Co., Ltd. said. Zhong Shenghong, general manager of Caishen FLO-RA ceramics division, a brand of Shenzhen Runtianzhi Digital Equipment Co., Ltd., may be more intuitive: "Even if there is a considerable market space for old equipment refurbishment, there are many in the current market environment. The equipment and production line have been stopped. If the start of work is not enough, what about new replacement? "

Why "not recommend customers to use second-hand inkjet machine"?

Some people in the industry have suggested that the western production areas can undertake second-hand equipment in the east. The factories to be closed in Guangdong, Shandong, and Fujian have a lot of equipment to handle, just like the trade companies in the 1980s resold the excess factory equipment in Italy. As in Guangdong, there is no need to build new lines in the west.

Used equipment? Sounds really good. However, the purchase of second-hand equipment may be considered for kilns, presses, edging lines, ball mills and other equipment. It is necessary to be cautious when purchasing second-hand inkjet machines.

Zhang Zhonghui, deputy general manager of Guangzhou Jingtao Electromechanical Co., Ltd., said that the possibility of a ceramic enterprise buying a second-hand inkjet machine is not very great. "The core component of an inkjet machine is a nozzle. After two or three years of use, the nozzle is basically nothing. Recycled value. Coupled with the fact that a brand new inkjet machine is not expensive, it is better to buy a new machine instead of choosing a second mobile phone. "

In addition to the price, some problems that may occur in the used equipment itself may also affect the normal use of the equipment. Li Jianlong said: "Inkjet machine is a more sophisticated product. It is not like a flat flower machine. It has some fixed electronic files in it, but it has relatively petite things such as ink and nozzles in it. It is easy to be damaged during transportation. Even scrapped. "

If ceramic companies insist on buying second-hand inkjet machines, Zhong Shenghong suggests that it is best not to directly trade between ceramic companies. He said: "It is more reliable to buy second-hand opportunities through inkjet equipment vendors. If you directly trade between ceramic companies, some problems will easily be entangled." Zhong Shenghong also believes that in the transaction process of second-hand inkjet machines Among them, equipment manufacturers also have a certain market, "Parts such as nozzles and ink paths need to be tested, while inkjet equipment manufacturers can earn a certain service fee through testing and installation."

Will you finally return to the ink printer stage?

Since last year, glaze spraying technology and inkjet polishing tile production process have been regarded as two major trends in inkjet technology innovation. Zhong Shenghong said that the only way for the inkjet to achieve profit improvement in the future is through technological innovation. "Without technological innovation, traditional inkjet machines are unlikely to achieve profit growth."

In Peng Jichang's view, the reason for the difficulty in the growth of the inkjet market this year, in addition to the reduction in market demand, is that technological innovation has encountered a "phased bottleneck." Peng Jichang said that the innovation of inkjet machines depends largely on the innovation of ink and nozzles. "If ink has new functions, then the machine will have innovations because they are synchronized. Basically, there are nozzles and ink first. Then there is the corresponding machine. The technology first comes from the process, and the equipment is used to realize the process.

In addition to the above-mentioned two major trends, there are also inkjet equipment manufacturers trying to explore other directions, and Meijia Taoji is a typical representative among them. According to Li Jianlong, Meijia Taoji is currently testing laser printing and three-machine tandem printing. Of course, the R & D process also requires the cooperation of ceramic companies and ink companies. As Zhang Zhonghui mentioned: "Inkjet printer companies want to tap into a larger market, they need to cooperate with ink companies to develop more excellent performance inks, and eventually return to the stage of ink achievement printers."

What needs to be paid attention to is that the inkjet machine and inkjet technology itself exist as a tool. Whether they can produce high-quality products ultimately depends on the person who uses the tool. Zhang Zhonghui said, "Some ceramics companies are more advanced in their design consciousness and smoother when working with inkjet printer companies. However, some ceramic companies feel that after installing an inkjet printer, they can easily find several design drawings online. Just print it. Some customers will think that the inkjet is not good enough to make good products. But in fact, the inkjet is just a tool that really determines whether the company can develop high-quality products. There is no inkjet machine, but its design philosophy. "