It's the enes, hydes and ones.
A long-retired master printer came back to Metzgers recently for a visit, and could not believe he was in a print shop. The classic aroma – acrid inks and washes – was gone.
Those aromas come from Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), various chemicals whose names usually end in “enes” and “hydes” and “ones.” While important to a number of industries, including printing, VOCs are bad in two ways:
So we use soy and vegetable-based inks, substitute standard varnishes with aqueous coatings, replaced film and chemistry with digital pre-press, and we send everything else to recyclers.
Where we must still use VOCs, both liquid and vapors are captured, filtered and – where possible – reused. When its useful life is over, it goes to a recycler or an EPA-certified disposal site.
And we’re not done…there are new technologies and processes on the horizon, and Metzgers will be among the first to adopt the proven ones.
Related Videos - Green is good.
Those aromas come from Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), various chemicals whose names usually end in “enes” and “hydes” and “ones.” While important to a number of industries, including printing, VOCs are bad in two ways:
- They are classified as environmentally harmful by the EPA and other regulatory bodies for the damage they do in air, water and soil.
- Many are also greenhouses gases that contribute to global warming.
So we use soy and vegetable-based inks, substitute standard varnishes with aqueous coatings, replaced film and chemistry with digital pre-press, and we send everything else to recyclers.
Where we must still use VOCs, both liquid and vapors are captured, filtered and – where possible – reused. When its useful life is over, it goes to a recycler or an EPA-certified disposal site.
And we’re not done…there are new technologies and processes on the horizon, and Metzgers will be among the first to adopt the proven ones.
Related Videos - Green is good.
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