IKONICS Enters Dye Sublimation Market

DULUTH, Minn., Oct. 05, 2017 -- IKONICS Corporation (NASDAQ:IKNX), a Duluth-based imaging technology company, announced that it has received a $258,000 purchase order for SubTHAT!™, a new internally developed product for the dye sublimation market. Bill Ulland, IKONICS CEO, said, “Dye sublimation is an exciting new market for us, and we are entering it with a unique patent pending technology that gives the customer capabilities beyond what are currently available. Dye sublimation is a dynamic and growing market that complements our IKONICS Imaging abrasive etching technology. SubTHAT! was a year in development by our chemists and is manufactured in Duluth.”

Dye sublimation is a method of printing durable photo-lab-quality images on a variety of substrates, using low-cost equipment, a special ink and a transfer film. Usually the substrates are pretreated, primarily in China, which makes them expensive and limits the substrate choices for the user. “Our chemists,” said Ulland, “have achieved a break through with SubTHAT!, eliminating the necessity of the customer purchasing pretreated substrates while providing ease of use and unsurpassed image quality. It is a step up in dye sublimation technology.” SubTHAT! is formulated to image acrylic, aluminum, glass, ceramic, stone and wood.

“We believe the dye sublimation market potential for our product category is approximately $2 million per year worldwide with 60% being in the U.S.,” Ulland added.  A report by a major industry supplier to the market estimated that dye sublimation will grow at a rate of 20% per year through 2021.

SubTHAT! will be officially launched by IKONICS’ distributor, JDS Industries, at the SGIA EXPO trade show on October 10^th.  JDS is one of the largest domestic suppliers to the dye sublimation industry. Ulland also noted that IKONICS is currently introducing SubTHAT! to the export market and is investigating industrial applications.

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding new business initiatives, markets and products and the potential benefits from such new markets and products that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially as a result of domestic and global economic and regulatory conditions, downturns in the dye sublimation industry, unexpected production delays, competitive market conditions, or introduction of new products or technologies by competitors, as well as the factors described in the Company’s Forms 10 K, and 10 Q, and other reports on file with the SEC.

News Contact: Bill Ulland
Chairman, President & CEO
(218) 628-2217