The Recycler Issue 301

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Wide-Format Column Sometimes, people vent over solvent ink problems The slight dizziness started bothering Billy Allen about two o’clock in the afternoon. He had noticed watering eyes and sneezing that morning. A few minutes later, he had a “catch” in his breathing, which was becoming laboured. Allen was a printer who had recently been trying out the eco-solvents on some of his substrates. Since the substrate – a composite fiberboard - didn’t need coatings for the printing with eco-solvents, it was easier to use solvent-based inks. The color on the fiberboard was rich and radiant and penetrated the substrate remarkably deep. He had gathered a few floor fans around the printer, as he had heard solvents could cause health problems. In the small building where his printer was located – a rental – he didn’t feel he had license for placing exhaust fans or more intricate ventilation. Nor did he have resources such as a solvent recovery system. Solvents and the lack of are the culprits affecting Allen in this fictional account. In hours, according to reports, people using solvent-based inks with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can garner a host of symptoms. In the worst-case scenario, not using adequate ventilation can cause lung and heart problems and diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The high amount of ink used in wide-format printers makes their output more prone to VOCs, which are compounds of carbon, the most plentiful element on Earth. VOCs are not confined to the ink jet printing workplace. They are in paint, bedding, solvents, carpet, copy toners and electronic equipment. Some of these have VOCs that include xylenes, methylene, toluene and formaldehyde. Well before a Wide-Format ink jet printer was a glimmer in an engineer’s eye, in 1990, the USA Environmental 38 THE RECYCLER • ISSUE 301 • DECEMBER 2017
Tel: 01993 899800 • info@therecycler.com • therecycler.com Protection Agency set the Federal Clean Air Act addressing VOCs that address the formation of ozone. Most comparable agencies in the world have also adopted monitoring and VOC hazard-elimination programs. Ink is a colloidal system of fine pigment particles dispersed in a solvent, by definition of the publication Chemistry World, and the pigment may or may not be coloured, and the solvent may be aqueous or organic. VOCs include ethanol (alcohol), ethyl acetate, ethylene glycol, glycol esters, hexane, isopropanol, methanol (wood alcohol), methyl ethyl ketone, mineral spirits, naphthas, normal propyl acetate, normal propyl alcohol, toluene and xylene. And glycols, esters and phenols associated with VOCs, but VOCs are not confined to solvent and ecosolvent inks. Water-based inks also contain VOCs, although frequently the drying of the ink is short enough and thorough enough so the VOCs don’t enter the printing atmosphere. The environmental agencies are trying to ward off VOCs uniting with nitrogen oxides at ground level and forming ozone. But not all VOCs have that tendency. Protective measures Any person can ignore all the warnings and admonitions about VOCs in solvent inks and risk serious effects to their body or those of their employees, but neither lawsuits nor government fines are something most companies wish to risk – and these are likely for anyone risking the lives, lungs, hearts and bodies of workers. Most responsible employees using solvent and eco-solvent inks, particularly in the high-volume ink usage of the Wide-Format field, will take the necessary precautions. It’s as necessary as ventilation systems and precautions toner manufacturers use. Responsibilities of the printing professional – usually the production THE RECYCLER • ISSUE 301 • DECEMBER 2017 worker – include finding out the contents of inks they use. Imported third-party inks often need to have a material safety data sheet (MSDS) with each ink to specify elements of the ink. But those are not total assurance, as sometimes the MSDS doesn’t specify all ingredients that may be considered trade secrets. However, the nature and hazards in the ink can usually be acquired from the ink manufacturer to the consumer. Water-based inks are usually considered safe, but may contain glycols and alcohols that comprise up to 95 percent of the weight of the ink. Usually it’s about a quarter of that. But the solvents aren’t considered a hazard to occupational hazard monitoring. A resin of polymers encapsulates pigments in latex inks, but the inks use powerful dryers to dry the ink before it is outputted or taken onto the take-up roll. It isn’t universal that solvent inks like the sustainable ones are extremely 39
Page 1: WIDE-FORMAT: Sometimes, people vent
Page 4 and 5: FEATURE: Challenging the OEM’s Th
Page 6: IN THIS ISSUE In this Issue Challen
Page 10 and 11: WORLD FOCUS Search for The Recycler
Page 12: WORLD FOCUS visit www.therecycler.c
Page 16: WORLD FOCUS Search for The Recycler
Page 19 and 20: You can contact The Recycler via Tw
Page 22 and 23: AROUND THE INDUSTRY visit www.there
Page 24 and 25: AROUND THE INDUSTRY EUROPE ARMOR, E
Page 26 and 27: AROUND THE INDUSTRY IMEA Insta Impe
Page 28 and 29: 27.-30.1.2018, Frankfurt am Main pa
Page 30 and 31: AROUND THE INDUSTRY EUROPE The Recy
Page 32: AROUND THE INDUSTRY EUROPE Pelikan,
Page 35 and 36: “ We are service people for servi
Page 37: THE RECYCLER • ISSUE 301 • DECE
Page 42 and 43: Retail Column Building a Last Mile
Page 44 and 45: PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY Search for Th
Page 46: PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY visit www.the
Page 49 and 50: Subscribe to The Recycler at www.th
Page 51 and 52: visit www.therecycler.com for all t
Page 53 and 54: marketplace To advertise here Call:

The Recycler Issue 301

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?