The speed of industrial development in the world today is alarming and the industrial pollution generated is also alarming. Toxic industrial waste water, waste gas, solid waste, etc. are gradually devouring our homes. At the same time, more and more people are beginning to care about our living environment and have begun to realize the importance of environmental protection for sustainable development. Today, environmental protection has been deeply rooted in people's minds. At present, printing companies all over the world are promoting environmental protection. They have stepped up the development of green materials and pollution-free printing methods. Among them, the most outstanding is the American company Ecoprint. They not only develop environmentally friendly papers, cooperate with ink manufacturers, improve ink production lines, remove components that harm the environment from childhood, use non-polluting fountain solution substitutes, and even use non-polluting wind power for energy. Summarizing the production experience in recent years, combined with the current state of technology, we can work hard to reduce the environmental pollution caused by printing. Use environmentally friendly ink Water-based ink Water-based UV ink New environmentally friendly ink R&D and use There are now dry film imaging techniques that use a special film to solve the above problems. It does not have the exposure and development process of traditional film, and does not require any chemical substances to image it, so it is called "green film". Using CTP and Digital Proofing The digital proofing technology corresponding to CTP is gradually eliminating the traditional proofing process of making film prints. Digital proofing and CTP technology together announced the advent of the digital printing era. At the same time, it also announced the use of the film for many years, the existence of hidden dangers of environmental pollution will soon exit the printing market. Heavy metals and toxic agents that are harmful to the human body and the environment will no longer be used. This technology undoubtedly greatly accelerates the pace of printing toward environmental protection. However, CTP and digital proofing techniques are not perfect. At present, because CTP has not yet been produced on a large scale, the price is relatively high and the cost of use is relatively large. Only a few large enterprises are willing to purchase, while many other small and medium-sized enterprises still use the traditional low-cost plate making method. This is also true for digital proofing. Not only is the machine expensive, but the cost of proofing is also about twice that of the traditional one. These factors have restricted the development of environmentally friendly printing technologies. Vigorously promote flexographic printing Flexo can also use solvent-free UV inks, so there is no solvent emissions and no environmental pollution. In short, because of the use of environmentally friendly green materials, the flexographic printing industry is continuously expanding its scope of application, and it is the first place in the field of packaging and printing. Therefore, to achieve green printing, we must vigorously promote flexographic printing. Try waterless and alcohol free printing In addition to removing the fountain solution from the production process, we can also look for alternatives to reduce the risk of IPA to workers' health and the environment. Alcohol-free printing just meets the requirements. This substitute is mainly composed of one or two chemicals of ethylene glycol and ether plus other additives and has good environmental performance. Of course, the use of substitutes will also bring some new problems, such as the new fountain solution volatilizes too slowly, which is not conducive to the cooling of the machine, and the substitutes have no effect of alcohol on the dampening system. Developing digital printing market Electrophotography Inkjet printing Magnetic recording imaging Electrocondensation imaging Eliminating film and plastics Use environmentally friendly coating In addition to the above several major approaches, as long as we are a committed person in the production practice, we will find more parties. Small Cage Trap,Strong Mouse Cage Trap,Humane Mice Trap Cage,Metal Mouse Trap Cage Hebei Liebang Metal Products Co.,Ltd , https://www.lbtraps.com
In the printing industry, ink is indispensable and used in large amounts, but it is also the most serious harm to human health and the environment. The first is the volatile organic VOC. The volatilization of the ink solvent will cause serious greenhouse effect, form photochemical smog, and also damage the human nervous system; followed by the heavy metals such as pliers, chromium, and mercury in ink pigments, if they contain these heavy metals. The use of ink for food packaging or printing in close contact with the human body can have disastrous consequences. In order to reduce the damage of the ink to the environment, it is necessary to use a new non-polluting ink.
UV curable ink
UV-curable inks are those that use different wavelengths of ultraviolet radiation to change the ink from a liquid to a solid and form and dry. Because the ink does not contain any volatile solvents, no VOCs or other harmful substances are emitted, and the contamination is almost zero. , is a truly environmentally friendly ink. It also has the advantages of good luster, bright color and fast drying speed. It is an ideal ink. At present, UV ink technology has become more mature, but when using it, it should pay attention to prevent UV damage to the operator and avoid the generation of ozone. It is possible to solve these problems by providing operators with UV protection work clothes and rubber gloves, and constantly blowing air around the UV lamps.
This ink uses water and ethanol as solvents, with very low VOC emissions, little environmental pollution, and no harm to human health. It is currently the only ink approved by the US Food and Drug Association in all printing inks. In the United States, 95% of flexo products are printed using water-based inks. In addition, it also has the characteristics of non-flammable, colorful, non-corrosive plate, good adhesion, strong water resistance and so on. It should be noted that water-based bleeds are generally alkaline. Therefore, the waste water from cleaning ink tanks, ink rollers, plates, etc., must be precipitated before they are discharged by adding acidic substances. Otherwise, water pollution may occur.
Since diluents of currently used UV inks are toxic and irritating to the skin, such thinners should be improved. Water-based Uv ink is born under this background, it uses ethanol and water as diluents. This ink has the good environmental characteristics of the above two inks.
For example, vegetable oil inks, soybean oil is currently the most used. According to the American Soybean Oil Association Standard, the soybean oil content of sheet-fed offset printing ink is more than 20%, and the soybean oil content of rotary offset ink is more than 7%. Japan's Osaka Printing Ink Company has also recently introduced a new type of environmentally friendly ink, which is a sheet-fed offset printing ink based on 100% vegetable oil ink based on soybean oil, which meets environmental requirements.
Non-contaminated film and developer
Since not all companies currently have the ability to use CTP and digital proofing technology, laser imagesetters are also everywhere, and the use of silver salt films has become an unavoidable problem. Silver ions are contained in the waste water at the time of fixing and thus cause damage to the environment. The harm of the developer can not be ignored, and the developer is generally harmful to the human body such as hydroquinone. Long-term exposure can cause hair loss, skin redness, and serious eye diseases.
The computer-to-plate technology directly outputs the graphic information after RIP to the printing plate through the computer, removing the film as an intermediate link, reducing the steps such as the output, development, fixing and printing of the film in the platemaking, and greatly reducing the silver content. Emissions of waste liquids, such as hydroquinone, which are harmful to the human body and the environment, have also reduced the harm of ultraviolet light to the human body and air pollution, and have brought good news to the environment.
Due to its good printing quality, wide range of printing materials, low investment, high efficiency, and good environmental performance, flexo printing has developed rapidly in developed countries such as Europe and the United States. One of the important reasons flexo printing is playing a leading role in the packaging field is that it uses water-based inks and does not contain toxic organics, which is exactly in line with the green trend of modern packaging printing. The biggest feature of water-based inks is the significant reduction in VOC emissions, which reduces air pollution and improves the working environment in the pressroom. Due to its environmental characteristics, it is particularly suitable for the packaging and printing of food, beverages, and pharmaceuticals.
Waterless offset printing Using ink-repellent silicone resin coated printing plates, removing the coating in the graphic part can absorb the ink and realize the graphic transfer. Therefore, the fountain solution is not required to achieve the ink balance. The fountain solution contains volatile organic compounds such as isopropanol, which can be inhaled by the human body for a long time and can affect the functions of the kidney and lungs, and even cause dermatitis or damage to the nervous system. The commonly used inks for waterless offset printing are soybean oil inks and aromatic-free inks. No VOCs are produced between the two. Therefore, they do not affect the human body and the environment. Therefore, removing the fountain solution and using non-solvent inks can be said to be a major contribution of waterless offset printing to environmental protection.
Since digital printing is directly from computer to print, film and plate are not required, many intermediate steps of traditional printing are omitted, and the use of toxic chemicals such as developer is avoided. Digital printing adopts a new imaging technology, which can largely avoid a series of problems brought about by the volatilization of organic solvents in the transfer process of traditional graphics. The main imaging principles of digital printing are as follows:
Its basic principle is to use a laser scanning method to form an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor, and then use the Coulomb force between the charged toner and the electrostatic latent image to visualize the latent image, and finally transfer the toner to the substrate. . Since electrophotography uses toner, no volatile organic compounds are produced during the entire printing process, which is a pollution-free imaging technology.
The ink is ejected from the fine nozzles onto the substrate at a certain speed, and finally the ink image is reproduced through the interaction between the ink and the substrate. According to the way of ink jet, it is divided into continuous inkjet and drop-on-demand inkjet.
This technology relies on the magnetic material to form a latent image under the action of an external magnetic field, and then uses the interaction of the magnetic force of the magnetic toner and the latent image to complete the visualization of the latent image. Finally, the magnetic toner is transferred to the substrate to complete the printing. .
The electrochemical reaction causes the ink to coagulate, so that the ink is fixed on the imaging drum surface to form an image, and the non-image-reactive ink is still liquid and can be scraped off. Finally, the ink fixed on the surface of the drum can be transferred to the substrate by the action of pressure.
For the sake of beauty and protection of mountains, many prints are now covered with plastic. However, this process will cause serious environmental pollution. First of all, it will cause white pollution like the plastic products we normally use. The film covering the surface of the printed material is as difficult to degrade as other plastic products, and benzene is involved in the processing, which is harmful to the human body. In addition, the coated paper cannot be recycled and it wastes resources. The source of cellulose for papermaking in China is the recycling of old paper, which is made into pulp after deinking and recycled. However, the coated paper cannot be recycled. On the contrary, if it is simply disposed of by incineration, it will cause secondary pollution. Film coating process also often appear blisters, wrinkles, film off and other issues. Therefore, the film-covering and plastic-molding process is a technology that destroys the environment. We should avoid using this post-printing process.
Post-printing, like laminating, can also protect the cover and increase the gloss of printed products. However, the process is simpler and less costly than lamination. In the past, solvent-based coating oils were used. VOCs were volatilized during use. They were unsafe and caused great damage to the environment. The new aqueous coatings and UV coatings contain no solvents and can be used in a wide range of applications. Especially in the field of packaging and printing, waterborne varnish has been widely used in the packaging of products such as cigarette labels, wine labels, and food packaging bags because it does not cause harm to human body.