1. Technology and R&D Barriers
As the main consumables in the digital inkjet printing process, digital inkjet printing ink accounts for about 40% of the total production cost. In order to adapt to the high-efficiency working state and service life of the high-precision digital printing nozzle, there is higher requirement on textile digital inkjet printing in the aspect of particle size, suspension stability, crystallization control, etc. The formula of textile digital printing ink must meet strict physical and chemical standards, so as to form the best ink droplets suitable for specific inkjet printing systems and obtain excellent image and color brilliance.

Therefore, the development of low-cost and high-quality digital inkjet printing inks has become the key goal of ink manufacturers. This requires deep attainments in actual ink production and theoretical research on the raw materials of inks, including dyes, pigments and Solvents, involving many professional disciplines such as applied chemistry, material chemistry, polymer materials and engineering, textile chemistry, dyeing and finishing engineering, etc. Only those enterprises with advantages on technological innovation can maintain a favorable position in the market competition.

2. Scale and Economic Strength Barriers
At present, several relatively leading manufacturers have initially formed in the digital inkjet printing ink industry. New enterprises must have high-level, large-scale specialized production equipment, and improve production efficiency and reduce costs through large-scale production to gain a foothold. Without a certain production scale, it is impossible to meet the requirements of product quantity and delivery timeliness while reducing costs, so there are scale barriers in this industry.
In addition, the digital inkjet printing ink industry is greatly affected by the price fluctuations of upstream color materials. If the enterprise does not have a certain scale and financial strength, it will face great challenges in the production process. There is a certain R & D input and output periodicity of digital inkjet printing ink, which requires a large amount of early funds and manpower investment for research and development, forming a economic strength barrier.

3. Production Technology
The production of digital inkjet printing ink includes batching, beating, filter pressing, dispersion, grinding, desalination, nanofiltration and other steps. It’s necessary to establish a strict product quality control system for industrialization and large-scale production, and strictly control the procurement, production, testing, after-sales service, and technical support, etc. Only long-term accumulation of manufacturing technology, quality control technology and experience can ensure the industrial mass production of high quality, high efficiency and low cost of products.
Therefore, the production of digital inkjet printing ink is with high barrier on production technology.

4. Customer Barrier
Digital printing ink has a great impact on the quality of downstream products, so downstream customers have a strong dependence on inks. If there is a problem with the quality of digital printing inks, it may cause the breaking down of hundreds of thousands printers. Therefore, customers have a strong willingness to carry out long-term and stable cooperation with familiar and recognized ink manufacturers. New brands need to pay a lot of cost and take a long time to enter the market and be trusted by customers. Ink manufacturers that have been tested by the market for a long time and have a stable customer base and market foundation are in an advantageous position in the market competition.
In addition, the technology required for the production of digital inkjet printing ink is very different from that of downstream products such as digital printing equipment and terminal printing and dyeing equipment, so generally, downstream customers do not R&D and produce inks, but purchase inks from professional digital inkjet printing inks manufacturers. The consumable properties of ink determine that this is a market with continuous and uninterrupted demand, and customers are with high stickiness. Due to the difficulty in reaching a high level of customers and orders in a short period of time, new ink brands are unable to compete with leading manufacturers in terms of technology and cost, thus forming barriers to the industry.