Zero VOC Inks, Going Green

[jlind]

Robert:
I applaud all the effort you have made to be chemically safe. Here's a question, about your rollers and blankets.
Are these the same products that you used with the high VOC cleaners? I have heard that Bottcher Chameleon rollers really helped to make low VOC cleaners successful. Any truth to that in your plant? I guess it could be any combo roller material, not just the Chameleon. These rollers just refuse to swell.
John Lind
Cranberry Township, PA
724-776-4718

 

[Curious Printer]

John,

We have not changed the kind of blankets or rollers we use. They are the same type we used with the higher VOC chemistry. To take it a step further. We routinely replace the rubber in our presses on an annual basis, we have always done this. At this time I always monitor the durometer, diameter, and I inspect the surface of the used roller with a 50x glass. The condition of the rollers since we have been using the low VOC wash have improved at the end of the year from where they were with the high VOC washes.

The Chameleon rollers are too expensive and not necessary if you are using the right wash. We have had no problem with our blankets either.

Robert

 

[inkie]

We at Superior Printing Ink offer Biolocity as our "greenest" sheetfed ink. After an extensive beta testing phase, we have found that, in addition to the environmental benefits (ultra low VOC, high vegetable oil content, high bioderived material content), the lithographic performance and press efficiency (drying time, especially) are really driving the product's success. Many customers no longer have to aqueous coat their jobs, which is obviously a big cost savings. The product runs at 18,000 iph with no misting.

 

[Tim3d]

It all depends on how low you want your VOC. I have tested some of the green products from some companies say are green and still get a VOC reading of about 10-20%. So what level would be low VOC?

 

[inkie]

"Green" is an undefined term that is clearly being misued. If a product is manufactured using renewable, bio-derived raw materials (as many printing inks are), they are being marketed by some suppliers as "green". Promoting a product as "green" is irresponsible if there is no definition about why the company considers the product to be "green".

And, as noted by Tim3d, products marketed as being "green" may have high VOC content. Our Biolocity system is specifically marketed with information on low VOC content (<3%) and high bioderived raw material content (over 60%). We don't call our product "green" because there is no meaning to the term.

I would say that products with VOC content in the 5% and lower range would be considered low VOC.