Alcohol Free Founts Are Increasingly Important

The unpredictable cost of IPA will put increasing emphasis on the widespread adoption of reduced or alcohol-free fountain solutions.

That is according to the British Coatings Federation (BCF) which said that printers are also facing the increasing demands from local councils to cut emissions.

The BCF added that whilst the environment may be the hot topic of the moment, sheetfed ink manufacturers are already ahead of the game, having undertaken a range of initiatives that demonstrate how seriously they take their responsibilities to the industry and the planet.

One example has been the continued development of reduced alcohol and alcohol-free fountain solutions, which will be crucial in the coming 12 months.

Stephen Hannon, chairman of the BCF's sheetfed group, said: "Many BCF offset printing ink manufacturers are now offering bio inks based on vegetable oil based esters.

They are inks that are as environmentally friendly as it is possible to be with the sheetfed process.

With increasing numbers of printers seeking ISO 14001 accreditation these new ink systems will be particularly important this year." He added: "Another example of environmentally-driven change is in ultra violet curing, where benzophenone and ITX-free ink systems are now standard within the carton industry and which we believe will, relatively shortly, become the norm for all UV printers." Hannon believes that a increasing level of environmental awareness from everyone in the supply chain is resulting in the development of, 'greener' products and BCF sheetfed ink manufacturers are in the vanguard of that movement.

They are investing in research and development programmes to make products available for their customers.

He explained: "Sometimes, it is difficult for printers to keep abreast of all these advances.

For example, there are some current misunderstandings regarding the new alcohol reduced and alcohol free founts, some of which contain alcohol, or alcohol derivatives.

As suppliers it is one of our roles to ensure that our customers not only have the range of products they are looking for but that they also have access to reliable information on which to make fully informed purchasing decisions.".

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