Eco-friendly ink refers to inks made using solvents such as alcohol, esters, and gasoline. These inks were developed in response to the environmental hazards posed by conventional inks that use aromatic hydrocarbon solvents, such as toluene and xylene. To align with environmental protection requirements, innovative green flexographic inks have been developed, including non-aromatic and water-based inks.
Types of Eco-friendly Ink:
Solvent-based Inks: In conventional solvent inks, aromatic hydrocarbon solvents (like toluene, xylene) are commonly used. However, some international ink companies have introduced non-aromatic hydrocarbon solvent inks in the Chinese market, using solvents like alcohol, esters, ethers, ketones, and gasoline. These formulations eliminate the potential hazards of aromatic hydrocarbon solvents.
For flexographic printing, solvent-based inks are typically free of aromatic hydrocarbons, but they still contain a considerable amount of volatile organic solvents, which can affect the air quality in the printing workshops. The residual smell on printed products is usually minimal, although slight odors may remain on composite printed materials, but it is generally undetectable on surface prints.
Water-based Inks: Water-based inks offer an even greener alternative to solvent-based inks. These inks not only exclude aromatic hydrocarbon solvents but also significantly reduce VOCs (volatile organic compounds), although they cannot achieve zero VOC content. Water-based inks still contain small amounts of alcohol, ethers, and even organic amines. Their environmental impact is relatively low, with the primary concern being air quality in the printing workshops.
UV Inks: UV printing inks do not contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), making them safer than water-based inks. The drying process for UV inks uses ultraviolet (UV) light. However, UV light can pose risks, including the potential for skin cancer and the transformation of oxygen into ozone, so ventilation systems are essential to remove ozone from the printing area. Water-based UV inks contain small amounts of volatile organic solvents, which make their environmental performance slightly inferior to that of standard UV inks.
