For many, this is sadly not a consideration at all…if Scruffles\u00a0 gnoshes on your favourite T, grows three goolies and starts walking backwards, who cares, it\u2019s fashion baby, and there will be a few casualties on the way. But for others, in rope sandals and hessian undercrackers, convinced that eating anything other than fallen fruit is murder, it\u2019s a big deal. And so it should be. We may be unsure of exactly which part of the Dagobah system our ink comes from, but we should do our best to find out and offer our customers an informed choice. What follows are a collection of probably half baked truths from the Joker\u2019s chemical lair, but it\u2019s what I\u2019ve picked up over twenty five years of conversations I partly understood. For that reason, we have always tried our best to get it right, without jumping on the green bandwagon…there are those who do, and frankly I\u2019m suspicious of the possibly blow dried villain, selling you a car that won\u2019t break down, because its engine is \u2018based on the helical friction principal\u2019, or some other baffling chit chat that you can\u2019t really check up on. As we proceed however, if you are a chemist and think I\u2019m wrong, feel free to enlighten me, just try not to bend me double and take me over the periodic table.<\/p>\n
Solvent based inks, also called plastisols…are they the Devil\u2019s breakfast? There are those who have wondered for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Phthalates \u2014 these are not a war like inter galactic enemy of James T Kirk, nor a fitness routine designed to locate your pelvic floor, but a plastic softener put into ink to make it more stretchy and printable. A chemist once told me there are six phthalates, three of which are banned, and of the three that remain allowed, one is present in some solvent based inks. So why is that scary? Legend has it that Marks and Spencer once ran a test on these, and there was a suggestion that if a kid chews on a print for long enough, it can have an effect on the growth of their reproductive system. I guess because of its association with children, this had everyone filling the latrines with chocolate fudge, could plastic softeners have this effect? While we wondered, little Johnny was in the corner chewing on a plastic toy from Phthalates R Us, and Dad was off to work with his sandwiches wrapped in cling film, how soft a plastic is that? It all came to nothing, as these things often do, and I haven\u2019t been asked for a phthalate free ink for many years, but it\u2019s always one to keep our eye on.<\/p>\n
The other question with solvent based inks is, how easy are they to dispose of? I have been asked at times if it\u2019s true that when incinerated they give off hydrochloric acid. Now any acid is potentially very bad, as I said to a green elephant on the bus last night, but I think our answer to this is, we never incinerate plastisols inks…they pretty much last forever, so we just keep them and use them all up in the end, which hopefully solves that one.<\/p>\n
Water based inks and discharge…lovely with nuts, a refreshing summer cocktail? There are those who like the sound of these, predominantly because they have water in the title…fresh from the mountain stream, a squirt of mango to add a little colour, and the whole damn world is safe, right? Well I\u2019ll stick to PG Tips if it\u2019s all the same with you, because the word to look out for here, I\u2019m told, is formaldehyde…isn\u2019t that what they use to embalm bodies, a preservative? I expect so, and that explains why all we printers are so chiselled, youthful, and unable to speak. It isn\u2019t good; you don\u2019t want any on your cornflakes, but are you at risk? Not as far as I\u2019m aware, the danger if there is any is to your friendly printer, and hence we use the more expensive low formaldehyde inks, to make sure we don\u2019t start glowing like we\u2019ve just had a lovely two weeks in Chernobyl.<\/p>\n
It is also worth considering if you are an Econaut, that although water based inks sound nice, we put them through a big gas gulping textile dryer at half the speed of solvent based inks…the carbon footprint of a mouse, turns into that of a gorilla…<\/p>\n
So, what do you choose when trying to do a nice print, while keeping the penguins in a fully furnished igloo? Water or solvent based? Only my opinion, but it\u2019s six and two threes, swings and roundabouts, six of one and half a dozen of the other, which brings me back to informing the customer as best we can so they can make a difficult but educated choice, and as always, choosing the nicest ink to fit the graphic…As a Libran, I hope that\u2019s a balanced view.<\/p>\n