About European Coatings Journal

European Coatings Journal

The European Coatings Journal (ECJ) is the English-language international trade magazine for the coatings industry, published by Vincentz Network in Hannover – the journal the global paint and coatings business reads when it wants to know what is happening in European formulation labs, production plants and markets. First published in 1986, it appears monthly and serves as the leading business-to-business medium for paint, coatings, printing-ink and adhesives professionals across Europe and beyond. As an official partner of CEPE, the European coatings association, the journal addresses everyone who develops, produces, applies or trades coatings: raw-material manufacturers, paint producers, applicators, institutes and associations.

Overview

The European Coatings Journal is published by Vincentz Network GmbH & Co. KG, Division Coatings, based at Plathnerstrasse 4c in Hannover. It is the English-language flagship of the publisher's coatings media portfolio, which also includes the German-language Farbe und Lack, technical books, conferences and the European Coatings Show ecosystem. The journal appears monthly and carries the print ISSN 0930-3847.

The readership spans the entire coatings value chain: chemists and engineers in research and development, production managers, technical service staff, purchasing and sales professionals, as well as executives at raw-material suppliers, coatings manufacturers, applicators and distributors. The journal deliberately addresses both technically oriented specialists and commercially oriented staff – a dual audience that reflects the reality of an industry where formulation chemistry and market economics are inseparable.

According to IVW-audited figures, the journal's distributed circulation reached 5,696 copies in the fourth quarter of 2024, with the publisher reporting around 12,000 readers per issue – the international, English-language positioning giving each copy a wide pass-along readership across borders. The journal's official partnership with CEPE (Conseil Européen de l'Industrie des Peintures, des Encres d'Imprimerie et des Couleurs d'Arts), the European coatings industry association, underlines its standing as the industry's international voice.

History

The European Coatings Journal was first published in 1986 by the Vincentz publishing house in Hannover – a publishing house with deep roots in technical media that had long served the German coatings industry with the journal Farbe und Lack. The launch of an English-language journal reflected the internationalization of the coatings business: raw materials, formulations and finished paints were increasingly traded across borders, and the industry needed a common-language medium.

Over the decades, the journal accompanied the coatings industry through its major transformations. The shift from solvent-borne to water-borne and high-solids systems, driven by VOC regulation, played out in the journal's technical articles. The rise of powder coatings as a distinct technology, the development of UV-curing systems, and the growing importance of functional and smart coatings all found their forum in the ECJ's pages. The consolidation of the industry – the mergers and acquisitions that reshaped the global coatings landscape – was tracked in the journal's market coverage.

The digital era brought the european-coatings.com portal, the 360-degree article archive, newsletters and digital editions, extending the monthly print journal into a continuous information service. Sustainability became the defining theme of recent decades: the journal has chronicled the industry's efforts to reduce carbon footprints, develop bio-based raw materials, improve recyclability of coated products, and meet ever-tightening environmental regulation – from REACH to the European Green Deal. Through all these changes, the journal has remained anchored in Hannover, published by the Vincentz Network's coatings division, and has maintained its position as the English-language reference journal for the European coatings industry.

Content and Sections

The core of each issue is formed by multi-page technical articles on research and development topics from the coatings field, alongside articles on coatings production and raw materials. Each issue focuses on a main topic – powder coatings, additives, water-borne coatings, pigments, resins, or application technology – treated in depth through several complementary articles. The technical articles are typically contributed by external specialists from industry and academia and revised by the editorial team, giving the journal the character of a peer-informed professional publication.

Beyond the technical articles, the journal carries standing sections that serve its dual technical-commercial audience. Market Watch surveys relevant mergers and acquisitions, financial investments and cooperations in the European paints, coatings and printing-inks industry. Exclusive interviews with leading personalities of the coatings industry provide the executive perspective. Special reports on coatings and raw-material segments analyze market developments in depth. Sections on market trends and industry news, association activities, technical developments, events and trade fairs, and new products and equipment keep readers current on the business side.

The journal also publishes preliminary reports on specific fairs and congresses – notably the European Coatings Show in Nuremberg, the industry's leading trade fair – as well as market studies of key segments within the European coatings industry. Special issues such as the EC Directory provide company profiles and overviews of organizations and institutes relevant to the coatings sector, making the journal a reference work as well as a news medium.

Publisher and Organization

The publisher is Vincentz Network GmbH & Co. KG, Division Coatings, Plathnerstrasse 4c, 30175 Hannover. Vincentz Network is a Hannover-based specialist publishing house with divisions serving the coatings, furniture, and other industrial markets; the coatings division publishes the European Coatings Journal alongside the German-language Farbe und Lack, technical books, and conference and trade-fair activities.

The publisher of the journal is Jürgen Nowak. Editorial responsibility in the legal sense rests with Sonja Schulte, while Kirsten Wrede serves as editor-in-chief according to the journal's public listings. The managing director of Vincentz Network is Jonas Vincentz. The editorial team works with a network of external authors – chemists, engineers and market specialists from across the international coatings industry – who contribute the technical articles that form the journal's core.

The journal fits into a publisher portfolio that also produces numerous coatings-specific technical books, making Vincentz the leading specialist publisher for the coatings industry in Europe. This publishing environment gives the ECJ access to deep subject-matter expertise and a direct line to the industry's authors, researchers and practitioners.

Digital Presence

The digital presence of the European Coatings Journal centers on european-coatings.com, the portal of the Vincentz coatings division. The site publishes daily industry news organized by category – markets and companies, application areas, coatings technologies, production and lab – extending the monthly print rhythm with continuous coverage. Recent headlines illustrate the range: distribution agreements, new product launches, research breakthroughs such as antibacterial composite coatings, and previews of upcoming journal issues like the October focus on water-borne coatings.

The 360-degree article archive (360.european-coatings.com) makes the journal's technical content searchable and accessible, serving as a knowledge base for formulation chemists and engineers. Digital editions of the monthly journal, newsletters and topic alerts keep the international readership informed between print issues. The portal also integrates the publisher's event business – conferences, the European Coatings Show, webinars and training – creating a comprehensive digital ecosystem for the coatings professional.

Social media channels, including LinkedIn, amplify the journal's reach, with authors and companies sharing technical articles and issue highlights – the October 2026 issue's water-borne coatings package, for example, circulated widely among formulation professionals. Through its combination of an authoritative monthly print journal, a continuously updated news portal, a deep technical archive and an integrated events business, the European Coatings Journal serves as the international information hub of the coatings industry – the English-language medium through which the European coatings world communicates with itself and with the global market.