Benefits of Printing with Soy-Based Ink

Dolphin Blue's customers are encouraged to order printed materials where environmentally responsible soy-based inks are used for printing. Printed products from Dolphin Blue include clean, bright, environmentally responsible papers that are printed to your specifications:

• Order soy-ink-printed remittance envelopes manufactured by Neenah Paper. The paper used in making these envelopes is comprised of 100% post-consumer waste fibers and is certified processed chlorine free paper. This paper is 95 brightness, a very clean and bright-white sheet.
  
• Order soy-ink-printed stationery envelopes that hold remittance envelopes. The paper used in making these envelopes is comprised of 100% post-consumer waste fibers and is certified processed chlorine free paper. This paper (Neenah Environment, PC100 White) is 95 brightness, and is a very clean and bright-white sheet.
  
• Order Printed Letterhead with 1, 2, or 3 colors of soy-based ink that is printed on Rolland Inspiration EcoFibre, Laser Finish, 100% post-consumer recycled and certified processed chlorine free paper.
  
• Order business cards printed on one side or both sides with 1, 2, or 3 colors of soy-ink on 30% to 100% post-consumer recycled and certified processed chlorine free paper.
  

Information about the benefits of using soy-based ink for printing appears in an excellent article titled "Think Ink" that is published by Sustainable Business Network (SBN) of New Zealand. Our thanks go to Joss Debreceny, Communications Manager for SBN, for granting us permission to republish SBN's article here:

Think Ink

• Nationally in the US Ink and Paint manufacturing plants contribute 0.5% of Total Volatile Organic Compounds Emissions.
  
• A further 15% of Total VOC emissions are attributed to the use of these paints and inks.
  
• Using a vegetable-based ink allows soy ink to produce up to 50% more impressions than the same amount of petroleum based ink.
  

ABOUT INK

Ink is made up of two components, the resin or pigment, and the carrier. It is necessary for ink to be 'carried' in an oil for three reasons:

1. The vehicle (oil) dissolves the pigment in its solid form to an easily applicable and adhesive fluid. The colour pigments are saturated in the carrier in order for them to be transferred to the receiving material.
   
2. The speed of drying is determined by the volatility of the carrier, as carriers with higher Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) rapidly evaporate on the receiving surface to 'set' the ink. Conversely, inks with lower VOCs have a slower drying time.
   
3. The strength of the carrier determines the adhesion of the ink to the receiving substrate. Ink will soak into porous substrates, such as paper and board, but will rest on the surface of non-porous substrates (PVC or Acrylic) if the carrier does not carry a solvent strong enough to dissolve the surface.
   

ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH ISSUES

All inks contain solvents such as alcohol and other hydrocarbons in varying levels. Before the 1960s inks made from vegetable oils were commonplace in all areas of printing. However, with the boom in petroleum availability, mineral-based inks became cheaper and out-performed vegetable-based inks both in the printing room and the market. Heavy metals are used in petroleum-based ink to disperse the pigment and quicken the drying time. Chemicals derived from barium, copper, and zinc contaminate soil and groundwater, whilst petroleum solvents emit VOCs into the air. These VOCs can combine with other pollutant when released into the air to form ozone, contributing to haze and smog problems and subsequently aggravating or causing health problems such as asthma, emphysema and bronchitis. For workers in printing presses the health hazards are obviously more pronounced.

Although Vegetable based inks still emit VOCs, these are at drastically reduced levels and are accompanied by many other reasons to use vegetable-based ink. Soy-based inks can be marketed as such when the carrier is made from between 20% and 100% non-toxic soybean oil instead of harmful petrochemicals. Furthermore, the change from mineral-based ink to vegetable-based ink is one from a non-renewable source to a renewable source.

Vegetable-based inks are thinner making them more translucent and therefore less pigment is required to get the same strength of colour.

When a trade-off is made on the basis of cost it is important to keep this in mind as pigment can often be a costly part of your printing process. It is also important to keep in mind when designing for print the different types of pigments that are available and what these pigments are derived from. Colours to avoid are: fluorescents, warm reds, and metallics.

Soy inks are also thought by many printers to be more forgiving, making it easier to get a high quality job off of older equipment. Soy inks have broad applicability; although commonly used in lithograph printing processes for newspapers, books, and magazines, it is also effective to use for commercial printing applications.

Water-based inks are rare, and often use dyes (with an organic rather than mineral basis). The quality of print, gloss and adhesion is equal to that of solvent-based ink, although the ink may have reduced product resistance. Although some are slower drying, UV-curable pigments and air-drying systems are able to speed this process.

COST

Both colour and black soy inks are competitively priced with petroleum-based inks, although black soy newsprint inks can be up to 25% more expensive. However, the slightly higher cost in using soy-based ink is offset by the reduced amount of resin needed to colour the soy ink. Furthermore, printing with soy ink generates less paper waste during press runs, reducing the disposal volumes and therefore costs.

Biochemicals Save the Private Sector money in three ways:

• Reduced environmental compliance costs
  
• Improved worker safety
  
• Reduced disposal and liability costs
  

Furthermore, the adoption of environmental printing processes allows your company to tap into the 'green consumerism' market.

CLEANING SOLVENTS

One of the greatest reasons such large amounts of VOCs are emitted by the Printing industry is associated with the solvents used to clean the printing presses. Typical chemicals used include: toluene, xylene, methanol, and methyl ethyl ketone. Furthermore, the different types of equipment involved in the production of print require different types of solvent for differing drying times. For example, Equipment that requires rapid drying cleansers use solvents high in VOCs, to the point where almost half of the solvent evaporates before it can be used.

Safety: Key physical properties are: low vapour pressures (reduced VOC emissions), high flashpoints (reduced flammability) and little or no odor.

Performance: Printers want an ink that will cut ink effectively and require little manual effort. Although Vegetable-based washes require a little more effort than mineral-based ones, there is a comparable level of effectiveness once a specific technique is adopted.