Print Buying Direct

Environmentally Aware Printing – Citrus-based washes – 5th February 2010
The most widely-favoured option at the moment is to use citrus-based by products to produce washes that are effective in their cleaning action, are miscible with water, have low volatility and, incidentally, smell nice. Such products are available from many sources and are typified by Keane Graphic Products’ Bio-Graphic range.

These water-miscible blanket and roller washes are commonly totally free of organic solvents yet are fully as effective as the solvent-based counterparts, as the growing number of regular users are finding. They are formulated from natural products that are fully biodegradable.

The action of these washes is different from solvent-based products but no less effective. It is particularly useful for dealing with lint and gum glaze. It dissolves ink to a very high degree and yet is safe to use on blankets and plates. Regular use will prevent build up of a glaze and remove the need for cleaning with stronger, more damaging solvents.

Vegetable- oil based
A more recent approach that is, as yet, less widely available is to use vegetable-oil based cleaners. These are effective in cleaning off inks, as long as they have not been allowed to dry hard, yet do not have such an aggressive effect on the skin and are not volatile. This non-volatility does mean that greater care needs to be taken to dry off the rollers or blanket after cleaning.

An example of this type of product for those printers who want to eliminate VOCs but are uncomfortable with water-based products, are the range of Prisco Enviroklene blanket and roller washes from Printers Service of Newark, New Jersey and distributed in the UK by Keane Graphic Products. They surpass the most stringent limits on VOCs imposed by any state of the USA, let alone the UK, without having to rely on toxic chlorinated hydrocarbons or emulsification with water. Enviroklene does not swell blankets or rollers, is significantly less toxic than conventional solvent washes and is suitable for any size of web or sheet fed press.
Peter Harrison is Joint Managing Director of The Printing House Ltd,
and Print Buying Direct of Crewe, Cheshire, UK.

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For more information on printing and graphic design please see some of our recent blog articles;

• Environmentally Aware Printing – Chemicals in the pressroom
• Environmentally Aware Printing – Getting rid of empty ink containers – 3rd February 2010
• Environmentally Aware Printing – Disposing of inks
• Environmentally Aware Printing – Water-based inks and coatings
• Environmentally Aware Printing – Ultraviolet (UV) inks

Print Buying Direct is the online division and a Trading Name of The Printing House Ltd. One of the UK’s leading quality printing companies for short run, long run and wide format colour printing. Based in Crewe, Cheshire, in the North West of England – delivering to customers across the UK and Ireland.

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