What is 'Green Printing'?

We are happy to announce that out main printing supplier has introduced "an integrated system of processes covering environmental management, quality control, and health and safety procedures to promote a healthy and safe environment for both the community and stakeholders while producing high quality printing products". In production, this means printing using mainly soy inks, and running their presses alcohol free.

What is soy ink?
Soy ink is a kind of ink made from soybeans. As opposed to traditional petroleum-based ink, soy-based ink is more environmentally friendly, might provide more accurate colors, and makes it easier to recycle paper.

Why soy ink plays an important role in green printing?
Soy ink may be the solution to the environmental health and safety concerns of the printing industry. A new study confirms that soy ink can help to reduce the environmental burden of the printing industry. Soybean oil comes from a renewable source: soybeans. Soybean agriculture uses only 0.5 percent of the total energy needed to produce soy ink.

Soy ink is naturally low in vocs (volatile organic compounds, chemical compounds that evaporate and react to sunlight) and its usage can reduce emissions causing air pollution.

Soy inks show a greater rub resistance and vibrant colors. Soybean oil’s clarity allows pigments to reach their full potential, resulting in deep, rich bright colors. Soy ink delivers a high quality print compare to traditional petroleum-based ink.

Soy ink maintains its lithographic stability throughout the entire print job, so the press operator makes fewer adjustments during production and rejects fewer copies because of inferior quality.

What is alcohol free printing?
The whole printing process operate without the use of alcohol or isopropanol (ipa).

Why alcohol free printing plays an important role in green printing?
Alcohol free printing helps protect the environment. This is because alcohol and washing agents are volatile and evaporate quickly. Under the influence of the sun, the emissions in the form of low-level ozone cause so-called summer smog.

Alcohol free printing will reduce the frequent exposure to alcohol which is linked to serious health and safety issues.

Alcohol free printing, however, offers benefits that circumvent the disadvantages of alcohol based printing plus help operation. Alcohol free printing offers lower ink and water settings along with the ability to print a given density using an ink film that is not diluted by alcohol. The result is better quality printing with sharper dots and less tendency for emulsification.