New Article: Considerations for Sustainable Ink Systems

July 30, 2011

International Coatings' Print Applications Manager, Ed Branigan, has a new article that was just published in the Featured Viewpoint section of SGIA's website. Here is an excerpt of the article and a link to the SGIA page to read the whole article: Considerations for Sustainable Ink Systems There’s a lot to consider when moving toward environmentally conscious ink systems, not least of which is deciding what that term actually means. Something that poisons the environment or is toxic is what most people think of. So they want ink that won’t do that. Something that’s biodegradable is another, but let’s remember that there are a lot of very toxic substances that are biodegradable. Switching from plastisol to water-based ink systems are often considered by printers who want to move in an environmentally conscious direction. At first, this seems logical, but isn’t always the case. Some water-based ink systems have petroleum derivatives, which can gas off during the curing process. It’s important to think of sustainability as well as non-toxicity when choosing to go this route. You need to look at the process, what you are using, how you are using it and most important, what you are going to do with the waste. There’s a lot of change going on and printers need to educate themselves...Read More International Coatings manufactures a complete line of screen printing inks, including a wide variety of whites, specialty inks, special effects inks, color matching systems, additives and reducers. For more information on our products, please visit our website at www.iccink.com.