The comprehensive construction of AI computing infrastructure is driving a top-down, deep evolution of the PCB industry towards high-layer counts, high density, and high-frequency/high-speed applications. As an indispensable functional electronic chemical material in PCB manufacturing, PCB ink is consequently entering a new cycle of upgrading from traditional solder mask protection to advanced photolithography and high-frequency/high-speed materials.

The industry is currently shaped by four core drivers: the push for high-end AI PCBs, constrained supply from Japanese firms, accelerated adoption of domestic products, and product mix upgrades. Coupled with sustained price increases across all ink categories, the PCB ink sector has formally entered a golden development phase characterized by simultaneous volume and price growth and a restructuring of market shares.

From a product attribute perspective, PCB ink accounts for 3%-5% of the total cost of PCB materials. Its categories include solder mask ink, circuit pattern ink, legend ink, photosensitive dry film, and PCB photoresist.

The industry exhibits a distinct hierarchical structure. The markets for traditional solder mask ink and legend ink are crowded with participants, leading to intense competition, with prices per ton as low as 20,000-30,000 yuan, offering very limited profit flexibility.

In contrast, the future core upgrade direction for the industry lies in high-end products like low Dk/Df high-frequency/high-speed inks for AI servers and high-speed optical modules, LDI-sensitive circuit pattern inks, photosensitive dry films, and advanced PCB photoresists. These products feature high technical barriers and tight supply.

Specialty inks for AI servers and IC substrates can command prices exceeding 80,000 yuan per ton, with gross margins surpassing 45%, representing a multiple-fold increase in unit price and profitability compared to traditional products.

Simultaneously, driven by environmental regulations constraining VOC emissions and the significant advantages of photosensitive dry film in processing precision and yield, dry film is gradually replacing traditional wet film, further expanding the market space for high-end ink products.

Changes in the supply-side landscape have become a key opportunity for import substitution. The global high-end PCB ink market has long been dominated by Japanese firms such as Taiyo Ink, Tamura, and Resonac, which possess deep technical expertise in areas like high-end solder mask inks, BT/ABF substrate materials, and high-frequency/high-speed inks.

However, in recent years, Japanese companies have strategically pivoted towards higher-margin fields like semiconductor photoresists and advanced packaging materials, continuously scaling back PCB ink capacity. Taiyo Ink has shifted some capacity to semiconductor materials, while Tamura has shut down several older production lines, retaining only high-end product lines.

Furthermore, with Taiyo Ink's parent company undergoing capital restructuring, there are no short-term plans for new PCB ink capacity additions, significantly reducing overall overseas supply elasticity.

Against this backdrop, domestic PCB manufacturers, motivated by supply chain security, cost optimization, and delivery stability, are actively accelerating the adoption of domestic ink suppliers. For equivalent specifications, domestic inks are priced 30%-40% lower than Japanese products, and delivery lead times have been compressed from the previous 15-30 days to 7-14 days.

This perfectly aligns with the urgent production schedules of AI PCB manufacturers, leading to a sustained acceleration in the import substitution process.

On the pricing front, the industry's upward trend is clear. In the fourth quarter of 2025, leading Japanese manufacturers initiated price hikes first, with increases for high-end inks reaching 15%-25%, and exceeding 30% for some categories.

Entering 2026, the price increase momentum has continued, with conventional inks following with 10%-15% hikes and high-end inks seeing further 15%-20% increases, ushering the entire industry into a structural price hike cycle.

Explosive demand-side growth is the core engine driving the industry's upward trajectory. AI servers have fundamentally altered PCB form factors and material consumption. Traditional PCBs typically feature 8 layers, while AI server PCBs have increased to 20-30 layers.

Ink usage per server has surged from several hundred grams to several kilograms, representing a multi-fold increase in volume. Moreover, high-speed signal transmission creates a rigid demand for low Dk/Df inks.

The high-speed optical module sector is also driving demand expansion. Top-tier 1.6T and 3.2T optical modules must use ultra-low loss inks, and the number of PCB layers increases with transmission rates, from 400G to 800G to 1.6T, continuously driving ink consumption.

Additionally, the rise of new energy vehicles and intelligent driving has increased the value of automotive PCBs to three times that of traditional models, leading to steady growth in demand for high-reliability, automotive-grade inks, further widening the industry's demand boundaries.

Comprehensive Overview of Market Segments

Overall, all major segments of the PCB ink market are maintaining steady growth, with high-end sub-segments showing significantly faster growth rates that lead the industry.

Solder mask ink, as the largest-volume basic category, reached a global market size of $654 million in 2025. The domestic market in China grew to 2.151 billion yuan in 2024.

Currently, low-end rigid board solder mask ink faces overcapacity and fierce price competition. However, high-end solder mask inks for IC substrates, which were previously entirely import-dependent, have seen domestic technological breakthroughs and are poised for large-scale commercialization.

The domestic solder mask ink market has formed a tripartite structure dominated by Taiyo Ink, Rongda Photosensitive, and Guangxin Materials, with these three firms firmly holding the major market share.

Inner-layer photosensitive circuit pattern ink is a core material for high-end PCB manufacturing. Its global market size was approximately 629 million yuan in 2025, with an industry-projected compound annual growth rate of 12.66% from 2026 to 2032, indicating strong growth momentum.

This segment is highly concentrated. LDI laser direct imaging-compatible inks have become the mainstream upgrade direction. Continuous release of domestic capacity is steadily squeezing the market space of overseas suppliers.

Photosensitive dry film, a type of high-end PCB photoresist, is also one of the segments with the greatest potential for import substitution. The global photosensitive dry film market reached 8.67 billion yuan in 2025 and is projected to grow to 11.09 billion yuan by 2029, representing a 6.4% CAGR.

Among these, dry films for IC substrates are experiencing the most rapid growth, with a projected CAGR of 7.4% from 2025 to 2029, the highest among all dry film categories. Currently, over 70% of the global photosensitive dry film market share is held by foreign companies, leaving vast room for domestic players to capture share upon achieving breakthroughs.

Looking at the comprehensive PCB photoresist sector, the global market reached $1.983 billion in 2025, with a projected CAGR of 5.89% from 2026 to 2032. The Chinese market accounts for over 60% of this, making local market growth potential a crucial support for the industry.

In-Depth Analysis of Key A-Share Companies

Rongda Photosensitive (300576): Absolute Leader in Domestic PCB Photoresists, Pioneer in High-End Ink Technology

As a leading domestic player in both PCB inks and photoresists, Rongda Photosensitive holds a solid industry position. It commands approximately a 25% market share in domestic PCB photoimageable solder mask inks and a remarkable 50% share in PCB wet film photoresists, establishing it as a core benchmark enterprise in its segments.

Technologically, the company has achieved several critical breakthroughs, successfully developing liquid solder mask ink technology for IC substrates, completely breaking the long-standing reliance on imports for this category. Related products are currently in the market promotion phase, successfully entering the high-value-added IC substrate supply chain.

Simultaneously, the company has a comprehensive product portfolio covering low Dk/Df high-end solder mask inks, LDI-sensitive circuit pattern inks, and high-end photosensitive dry films. This matrix fully addresses the needs of current high-demand downstream applications like AI servers, advanced HDI boards, and high-speed optical modules, deeply aligning with the core demands of the computing power industry.

On the capacity front, the company continues to invest in high-end capacity construction. Production of high-end photosensitive dry films and AI-specific inks at its Zhuhai base is steadily ramping up, with subsequent new capacity set to be released gradually, providing ample support for earnings growth.

Leveraging localization advantages, the company's products offer significant price advantages, and its delivery efficiency far exceeds that of Japanese manufacturers, consistently securing orders from leading PCB firms like Shennan Circuits and Wus Printed Circuit.

Coupled with ongoing industry-wide price increases, the company's average selling prices and gross margins are rising in tandem. The high gross margin level of over 45% for its premium products further amplifies its profit potential.

As one of the few domestic companies to successfully enter the core supply chain for AI high-end inks, Rongda Photosensitive benefits from a triple tailwind: industry-wide product mix upgrades, Japanese capacity contraction, and accelerated import substitution. This provides strong certainty for its earnings growth, making it a core primary choice for investing in the high-end PCB ink sector.

Guangxin Materials (300537): Domestic Leader in PCB Inks, Building a Comprehensive Chemical Platform with Full-Category Portfolio

Guangxin Materials is a core pillar of the domestic PCB ink industry, holding approximately a 20% share in the domestic solder mask ink market. With years of deep industry experience, the company has established strong brand recognition and customer relationships.

The company possesses solid technical expertise in inner-layer photosensitive circuit pattern inks. It closely follows the trend of LDI technology adoption in high-end PCB manufacturing, focusing on R&D for laser-compatible photosensitive circuit pattern inks to precisely meet the production needs of advanced HDI boards and multilayer boards.

As its capacity for photosensitive new materials continues to be released, the company's supply capability for high-end circuit pattern inks is steadily improving, accelerating its capture of market orders vacated by exiting Japanese players.

In terms of product strategy, the company is actively expanding into high-end categories like photosensitive dry films and PCB photoresists, gradually moving beyond its identity as a single ink manufacturer and advancing towards becoming a comprehensive electronic chemicals platform.

Regarding cost control, the company has invested in self-developed resin production capacity, effectively hedging against upstream raw material price fluctuations. This provides substantial earnings flexibility during the current industry price hike cycle.

Facing the industry megatrend of supply chain autonomy and controllability, the company leverages localized service, flexible delivery, and cost advantages to continuously advance import substitution. In the medium to long term, supported by its full-category product portfolio and capacity expansion, the company is expected to steadily increase its market influence in the high-end PCB materials field, continuously unlocking growth potential.

Additional Companies with Potential

Leveraging years of R&D and production experience in electronic chemicals, Feikai Materials is actively expanding into high-end products like PCB wet film photoresists and photosensitive dry films. With solid technical capabilities, it continues to penetrate the high-end PCB ink market. As industry prosperity persists, related business is expected to steadily increase in volume.

As a representative domestic company in photosensitive dry films, Foster deeply benefits from the industry trend of dry film replacing wet film. Combined with surging demand from AI servers and HDI boards, its photosensitive dry film business enjoys ample orders and steadily increasing market share.

Also a frontrunner domestically in the photosensitive dry film segment, Chuyuan New Materials will similarly fully capitalize on the development opportunities presented by the high growth and import substitution dynamics in this niche market.

Overall Industry Outlook

The three intertwined drivers of AI computing power-driven PCB高端化, continued Japanese supply contraction, and industry-wide structural price hikes are propelling the PCB ink industry beyond the era of low-end price competition. It is entering a new stage where value growth is achieved through product upgrades and technological iteration.

Future industry growth will no longer rely solely on the expansion of total PCB area. The core incremental gains will come from the structural shift from low-end inks to high-unit-price, high-margin premium products.

Leading domestic A-share companies,凭借技术突破凭借 technological breakthroughs, cost advantages, and localized service capabilities, are continuously eroding the market share of foreign manufacturers. The import substitution process for PCB inks has entered a critical period of accelerated implementation.

Domestic leading enterprises focused on high-end segments like low Dk/Df inks, photosensitive dry films, PCB photoresists, and IC substrate配套材料 will continue to realize the dual benefits of order growth and gross margin improvement. This presents opportunities for both earnings and valuation upside, making them a high-quality direction for medium- to long-term investment in the electronic materials sector.