Ink manufacturer: How environmentally friendly inks really move toward the "green" road
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Although everyone knows that environmentally friendly inks are the future development trend, it is clear that there is no consensus on what is truly environmentally friendly inks.
Although we haven't been able to give an accurate definition of "green ink" so far, one thing is certain: the demand for environmentally friendly products by printers and their customers is growing, which has prompted ink manufacturers to start Develop various environmentally friendly products.
But this is not an easy task, and some people think that although the ink can make your prints more vivid and more environmentally friendly, what really works is the printing process.
Kenny Boyd, an environmental services consultant at Fujifilm Color Co., pointed out: "People have different understandings of environmentally friendly inks. Some people often ask if a product is sustainable, but they are not. Know what this 'sustainability' means. This is where the problem lies, and the best way to protect the environment is to start from the big picture."
Environmental protection options
So, how do ink manufacturers react in today's increasingly green voices? Sun Chemical has indicated that it will use vegetable oil in its own ink products. John Adkin, the company's director of production for sheetfed and UV-cured products (responsible for Europe and Africa), said: "People must make a choice between using mineral oil and vegetable oil, we have developed Products using these two raw materials were produced, but by communicating with customers and end users, we decided to choose crop materials that are more environmentally responsible."
Fujifilm Color Co., Ltd. claims that they have also developed a series of UV inks with environmental advantages. The company has a strong background in the field of screen printing and has made great progress in the digital field, especially in the large format printing market. on.
Tudor Morgan, the company's European image marketing manager, explained: "With the rise of inkjet technology, UV inks have attracted more and more attention. This is a very stable product that can 100% curing, and does not emit VOC, so it can better meet customer requirements for product health and safety."
David Grey, general manager of Classic Colours, believes that water-free inks are also a good environmental choice. Consistent with Sun Chemical's point of view, Mr. Gray also believes that soy inks are less harmful to the environment than mineral inks, and the benefit of waterless inks is that they do not require any solution, thus allowing users to achieve color balance faster when printing on the machine. At the same time, it is easier to carry out deinking treatment.
This also fully proves that environmentally friendly inks will not only have a positive impact on the entire printing process, but also promote a company's green environmental protection process.
Environmental protection ring
Yakins believes that ink should make the most of its role in the environmental loop of a printing company – from production to recycling. The right inks can reduce the energy consumption during the printing process: the latest emerging fast-drying inks not only avoid the large energy requirements of the drying unit, but also meet the ink requirements of the traditional four-color printing process.
Yakins explained: "If you compare the four-color printing with the spot color printing, you will find that the former does not need to be cleaned during the transfer process."
In order to calculate the carbon footprint of the ink during the printing process, Sun Chemical and Bertelsmann jointly conducted a survey in France, and found that the carbon emissions of the ink accounted for approximately the total carbon emissions of the printing process. About 5%.
This is a very meaningful project that gives us a clear idea of how much ink can affect the environmental friendliness of the entire printing process. Sun Chemical believes that an ink must have as many environmental features as possible in order to truly achieve green environmental protection. For example, some inks can get rid of the dependence on VOC, but can not be recycled, it can not be called green ink.
In the case of flexo inks, since they are mostly water-based and do not contain VOCs, they have obvious environmental advantages, but at the same time, flexographic products cannot be 100% recycled. Therefore, before you choose an ink product, you must fully understand it and avoid partiality.
Environmental protection is only one problem that ink manufacturers need to overcome in the process of developing green ink. Another problem that cannot be ignored is cost.
For example, anhydrous ink does have some environmental advantages, but it costs more than other inks. As Gray of Classic Colours said: “Not everyone will choose waterless ink because it has higher process requirements and higher costs. But many modern presses now have temperature control. And the waterless printing function greatly facilitates the user's choice."
Clear choice
The emergence of plant inks has also raised the question of whether it is ethical to use crops as a raw material for production. Yakins of Sun Chemical also admitted that this is a potential problem, but he also believes that the choice of the printing industry is very clear. “You can get raw materials from mineral or vegetable oils, but you can also produce high-quality inks, but at the same time ensure their safety,” he said. “We have chosen soy and rapeseed as raw materials for the production of inks, and these Raw materials are not used as much as mineral oil."
The limitation of UV inks is that they cannot be attached to certain substrates, and plastics make an example of them. Boyd of Fujifilm Color Co., Ltd. also admitted: "UV ink is the best environmental protection option, but it can not achieve the desired ink coverage."
Ink manufacturers have encountered some stability problems in the development of new products, but they have basically been overcome, and Fuji-Rico has also discovered some problems related to UV inkjet inks.
In addition, product life cycle, waste issues, equipment operators' health and safety, and the atmospheric environment are also issues that ink manufacturers are always concerned about.
In some cases, abandoning the chemical composition means that the ink manufacturer's sales in the short term will be affected. Morgan added: "Some of the chemical ingredients have not been banned by the EU, but because our company has always attached importance to environmental issues, we decided not to use these chemicals anymore. Customers want to find reliable partners, and hope that we can Providing them with quality service and technical support. Environmental performance is an issue we always consider in the development of all products."
Different opinions
There are a lot of ideas around "green ink" that are enough to make everyone feel a headache. "I can imagine how difficult it is for the printing house to think about health and safety issues, but also to find ways to improve energy efficiency and reduce waste," said Boyd of Fujifilm Seiko. All their decisions are made according to customer needs."
Boyd suggested that when choosing environmentally friendly inks, we must shop around and ask for as much as possible. Every printing company is now facing certain environmental pressures, which are determined by the needs of the market and customers.
But printing companies should also be aware that ink is not the whole process of printing. Although green ink may have a little impact on the production process, only a comprehensive environmental plan can ensure the long-term stable development of a printing company.
Colorific has launched the ISO9001-certified Colorific Bio ink series, which is designed for printers using Epson DX3 and DX4 printheads, but is also suitable for use without filming and coating. On the substrate of the cloth.
In May 2009, Belgian ink company One Solution launched a series of environmentally friendly solvent-based inks at Fespa Digital – the OneJade series is designed for ultra-large format printing, while OnePearl is a UV-curable ink with 8 colors. And at least for 36 months without leaving the color.
Also in May 2009, Durst launched the digital ink, said to be the world's first approved to use the Nordic SwanLabel. This ink is VOC-free and is also certified by Toy Standard EN17 Part3 and does not contain any heavy metals that are prohibited from being used in children's products.