Eco-Friendly Inks are Good for Printing
Many companies are starting to think greener when it comes to their printing practices. While there are many ways to go green, one of the easiest ways that you can do so is by choosing eco-friendly inks.
All about Ink
Many people are already aware of the green benefits of using recycled paper, but you can go a step further by using eco-friendly ink. Offset ink has three main components – pigment, vehicle, and additives. Pigments are what are responsible for the colors, whereas vehicles are the moist substance that helps the pigment to spread, such as petroleum. Additives help to improve the ink’s performance when used in printing.
Why Petroleum is Bad for Mother Earth
Petroleum has been popular for several decades due to its low cost and the fact that it dries quickly. However, this process is also damaging to the environment. Petroleum is a non-renewable resource. At the same time, it releases compounds into the air during the drying process that can contribute to global warming.
The Alternative: Vegetable and Soy
A much greener alternative to petroleum inks are vegetable based inks. They have only 2 to 15 percent of emissions, whereas petroleum inks are required by law to have less than 30 percent. Plus, vegetable-based inks come from renewable sources, including canola, flax, safflower, and soy.
Soy is one of the more popular choices and became popular after imported oil shortages threatened the downfall of petroleum-reliant companies. While marketed as soy, this eco-friendly ink also contains linseed and china wood oils which help to improve the drying times. Any ink that is marketed as soy has to have a minimum of 20 percent refined soy oil.
Understanding Emissions
All inks produce Volatile Organic Compounds, known as VOCs because of their petroleum content. Even eco-friendly inks still contain a small amount of petroleum in them. This is because without petroleum, the amount of heat and energy required to dry the inks would increase dramatically.
Greener is Better
While many people worry about the vibrancy of vegetable-based inks, their fears are unfounded. Petroleum-based inks do produce a sharper dot, but vegetable-based inks hold the colors better and less dry back. If you work with a printer that knows how to allow for the slightly larger dot gain, you will see better, brighter colors. In addition, today’s technologies have allowed for improvements in paper for even better results than before.
Investment in the Future
When you choose to invest in greener inks, you are choosing to invest in the environment. In addition, you will be among many important companies. The Los Angeles Times switched to soy-based ink for its printing needs, and according to the California Integrated Waste Management Board, this allowed the company to reduce the amount of VOC emissions that they produced by over 200 tons per year! Subsequently, this one change allowed the Los Angeles Times to receive the air quality award from South Coast Air Quality Management District.
If you are interested in helping your business to go greener without sacrificing on quality, eco friendly inks are one of the best ways to go.
About the Author:Learn about how you can be kinder to Mother Earth with your company’s printing needs. Capitalize upon PsPrint’s green printing services to save our environment – and your bottom line.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Eco-Friendly Inks are Good for Printing