Printing ink is mainly composed of pigments, linking agents, solvents and auxiliary agents. Among them, organic solvents and heavy metals are the most harmful to human body. Let's take a look at the specific hazards of ink printing.
Ink pigments can be divided into inorganic and organic, with strong stability and insoluble in the medium. Some organic pigments contain carcinogens and should be banned; some inorganic pigments contain heavy metal elements such as lead and mercury, and should be banned in food and children's toys. The solvent of the ink can damage the body's subcutaneous fat, making the skin rough and dry. If inhaled for a long time, it will damage the trachea and lungs; the volatilization of solvents will cause environmental pollution, and long-term exposure to high concentrations of VOC will damage the nervous system of the human body; A fire will pose a safety hazard to the human body.
Therefore, the "green printing" of ink has gradually become the mainstream. What is green printing? In a narrow sense, it refers to the realization of environmental protection in the printing process; in a broad sense, it refers to the realization of environmental protection in the whole process of printing, including printing content and printing itself.
At present, many environmentally friendly inks have been produced, such as: water-based ink, UV ink, water-based UV ink, etc.
The difference between water-based ink and solvent ink is that it chooses water or ethanol as solvent, which significantly reduces VOC emissions, prevents air pollution, and does not affect human health. It is especially suitable for packaging printing materials such as food, beverage, and medicine.
Two-ultraviolet light-curable ink refers to the ink that makes the ink film-forming and drying under ultraviolet radiation. It has the advantages of not using solvents, fast drying speed, wear resistance, water resistance, and solvent resistance.