Iron based materials are classified as being more health and environmentally friendly as well as cost-effective (material and machining costs) compared to typical materials used for wear protection applications (e.g. cermets). The advantage which is seen in using very fine powders (< 15 μm), is their potential to spray relatively thin, dense near-net-shape coatings with comparable smooth surfaces. This can lead to lower coating as well as machining costs. In this work fine Fe-based powders (-15+5 μm) have been used in order to produce wear resistant coatings for applications in the printing industry by means of air plasma spraying (APS). With regard to oxidation problems of such fine Fe-based materials a shroud for the air plasma spraying system has been developed and deployed. The resulting coatings have been analysed with respect to the microstructure, micro hardness, chemical and phase composition as well as surface roughness (as-sprayed). The economical aspects have also been considered.