Industry Trends

North America Thermal Transfer Ribbon Market size surpassed USD 355 million in 2020 and is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 8.3% from 2021 to 2026. The demand for thermal ribbons is driven by increasing label and tags applications in end-use industries.

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The major driving factor for thermal transfer ribbon demand is the rising preference for informative packaging by several end-use industries. Industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and logistics & transportation, among others widely use these ribbons for bar codes and RFID codes. Among the various end-users, retail and logistics are some of the major industries substantially attributing to the overall North American thermal transfer ribbon industry growth.

Thermal ribbons are extensively used by thermal transfer printers for producing durable labels and tags for numerous products. The dynamic transportation and logistics industry has been efficiently using the latest technological approaches to offer a connected logistics service to customers, thereby, creating a surge in the usage of thermal transfer ribbons in goods packaging. Also, the improving demand for HD tags with smudge resistance is anticipated to stimulate the demand for thermal transfer ribbon.

North American Market, By Product

Based on product type, wax ribbon accounted for almost 39% of the market share in 2020. The robust demand for wax ribbons is attributed to its wide application in short-term labels. Even though the choice of the ribbon is largely dependent on the substrate and the end-use application, wax ribbons are commonly preferred due to their affordability and efficacy in general-purpose printing.

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These ribbons offer excellent print quality and high resistance along with the ability to achieve a high printing speed at a lower thermal setting. Wax-resin ribbon is also anticipated to show a promising growth rate majorly owing to the extended durability and waterproof properties. These ribbons are applicable in an environment with changing temperatures and weather conditions.

North American Market, By Applications

Based on the application, the mobile printer segment in the North America thermal transfer ribbon market is predicted to record a growth rate of around 8.5% rheough 2027. The growth is primarily owing to the ease of use and advanced technology used to build the printers. These printers incorporate premium features and are applicable to print a wide range of tags and labels in order to take enhance manageability.

North American Market, By End-user

Logistics and transportation is the largest end-use sector of thermal transfer ribbon and dominated over 30.5% market share in 2020. The robust demand from the industry can be ascribed to the extensive use of ribbons for RFID and bar codes. The energetically growing logistics & transportation industry is another key factor stimulating the product demand. According to the Logistics Performance Index by The World Bank Group, The United States is one of the leading logistics markets in the world. Moreover, the industry players in the sector are continuously adopting to latest technological methods to offer coordinated and smooth logistics services to customers.

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The outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic, however, affected the growth of the market in 2020. Owing to which market took a significant dip during the same period. Factors that contributed to the decreased revenue, included alleviated product demand, plummeting the logistics & transportation sector, and trade restriction, among others. However, the improving economic conditions and resuming manufacturing operations are taking the industry towards its previous track of growth. Manufacturers are witnessing accelerated demand after a revival of the industry and dynamic growth is expected in the approaching years.

Competitive Industry Landscape

Some of the key players involved in the North America market include Union Chemicar Co., Ltd., International Imaging Materials, Inc., BlueStar, Inc., International Media Products (IMP), Zebra Technologies Corp., TSC Auto ID Technology Co., Ltd., Armor Group, Electronic Imaging Materials, Inc., DuraFast Label Company, and IMS.