Packaging Printing Pollution and Environmental Protection Measures

1 The relationship between packaging, printing and life Today's society has grown to the point where all goods need to be packaged and all packages need to be printed. Printing is the most important means of packaging and processing of product packaging. Unprinted packaging is almost unimaginable. Printing plays a role in transmitting information and promoting products. At the same time, for some commodities, printing also plays an important anti-counterfeiting role. Today's packaging and printing are moving toward more exquisite and higher value-added products.

2 The impact of printing on the environment In various aspects of the printing process, such as Kunming University of Science and Technology, He Zushun, Hu Weiping, Tan Yiguo, improper handling of the process, it will cause environmental pollution problems, which will have an adverse impact on people's body and environment, mainly in:

The first is air pollution. The organic compounds (VOC) discharged from the solvent ink in the drying process, the isopropyl alcohol in the alcohol wetting liquid, the hot melt adhesive used in the wireless glue binding, and the volatile gas in the coating coating are all contaminated by air and are harmful to human health.

The second is water pollution. Inorganic substances such as etching liquids and electroplating waste liquids containing heavy metals used during the plate making process, ink discharge liquids such as offset printing, gravure printing, flexo printing, silk screen printing, and organic substances contained in the developing and fixing washing waste liquids of photographic film and printing plates. It is one of the causes of water pollution and it also causes soil pollution.

The third is noise pollution. Printing machines, air compressors, and various molding machines all generate noise of varying degrees. In addition, the noise produced by the binding equipment is also great.

The fourth is the waste pages generated during the printing process and the pollution of printed materials. The pollution caused by discarding the containers containing ink, glue, and polish oil, the waste products produced during printing or test printing, and the environmental pollution caused by discarded printed matters.

3 The green design in the printing process The pollution in the printing process is mainly generated in the factory, so the green design in the printing needs to be controlled and improved in the following steps:

1) There is a trend in prepress design and graphic processing, especially in gifts and health products. Some companies often make a fuss about packaging materials and printing in order to increase the sales price of products: The use of the best materials, the most processes, multiple security, and the need for glazing, laminating, and hot stamping are all ones. This has led to the prevalence of over-printing and over-packaging. One is a waste of limited resources and energy, and the other has also increased the impact on the environment. It also increases the cost of packaging and ultimately increases the burden on consumers.

This requires the designer to take more responsibility for the environment. In the design and creativity of the interior design, the color, texture and luster of the printing materials themselves should be used to the fullest, avoiding the design of full-printing and avoiding over-printing: in the case of satisfying the decoration requirements Minimize the use of hot stamping, laminating, etc., and minimize packaging materials to reduce the difficulty of recycling after discarding the printed matter.

2) Imaging platemaking computer direct plate making technology directly outputs the RIP image information to the printing plate through the electric CTP, removing the film as an intermediate link, reducing the steps of film output, developing, fixing and printing in the plate making, and greatly It has reduced the discharge of waste liquids that are harmful to human health, such as silver and hydroquinone, and has also reduced the harm of ultraviolet light to human body and air pollution, and has brought good news to environmental protection.

3) The most environmental impact of printing in the printing stage is solvent type, especially benzene solvent type inks. First of all, the organic solvents in the ink pose a serious hazard to human health. Ink solvents can damage human subcutaneous fat. Long-term exposure to certain containers can cause dry, rough skin. If it penetrates into the skin or infiltrates blood vessels, it can endanger people's hematopoietic function with blood circulation. Solvent gas is sucked into the airway, bronchus, lungs, and through blood vessels and lymphatic vessels to other organs, which may cause chronic poisoning.

The current solution is to use non-benzene solvent inks or water-based inks, uV inks, or solvent recovery devices.

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.

4 Promotion of flexo printing Flexo printing has developed rapidly in developed countries such as Europe and America due to its good printing quality, wide range of substrates, low investment, high efficiency, and good environmental performance. Flexo printing uses water-based inks and does not contain toxic organics, which is exactly in line with the green development 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.

Flexo can also use solvent-free uV inks, so there is no solvent emissions and no environmental pollution. In short, flexographic printing uses a green, environmentally friendly material, and its application range is constantly expanding.

Promote waterless and non-alcoholic waterless offset printing Using ink-repellent silicone resin-coated printing plates, removing the coating in the graphic part can absorb the ink and achieve graphic transfer. Therefore, no fountain solution is needed. Achieve ink and water balance. The dampening solution contains volatile organic compounds such as isopropyl alcohol that, once inhaled by the human body, can affect the function of the kidneys 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 non-aromatic hydrocarbon inks, which have no VOCs and therefore do not affect the human body and the environment.

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 meets this requirement. This substitute is mainly composed of one or two chemicals of ethylene glycol and ether plus other additives and has good environmental performance.

5. The use of UV varnish is promoted in post-press processing. Since UV Varnish is almost solvent-free, organic volatiles emissions are minimal, thus reducing air pollution, improving the working environment, and reducing the risk of fire.

Minimize the use of lamination processing. First of all, it will cause white pollution like the plastic products we normally use. The thin film covering the surface of the printed material is as difficult to degrade as other plastic products. In addition, benzene is involved in the process and it is harmful to the human body. In addition, the coated paper cannot be recycled and it wastes natural resources.

Source: Print World