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Date: Mar 24 2025 From: Star Color
The printing industry is actively seeking more environmentally friendly, efficient, and sustainable solutions. Water-based screen printing inks are emerging as a powerful alternative to traditional solvent-based screen printing inks. Below, we will explore the core environmental advantages of water-based screen printing inks, their wide range of application scenarios, and a practical purchasing guide to help you gain a comprehensive understanding of this green printing material.
Environmental Advantages of Water-based Screen Printing Inks
With their unique water-based formula, water-based screen printing inks have a water content of up to 60%-70%, completely revolutionizing the traditional solvent system and exhibiting numerous remarkable environmental characteristics.
Zero VOCs Emissions
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have always been a major drawback of traditional solvent-based inks, as their emissions can cause serious harm to the environment and human health. Water-based screen printing inks have passed the GB 38507-2020 test, with no detection of benzene solvents, truly achieving zero VOCs emissions.
Safe and Non-toxic
Safety is an important consideration when choosing inks. Water-based screen printing inks comply with the EN 71-3 toy safety standard and the OEKO-TEX® textile certification, meaning they are non-toxic and harmless to humans. Even when applied to products that come into close contact with the human body, such as children's toys and textiles, they can ensure the health and safety of users.
Reduced Cleaning Costs
Traditional solvent-based inks require specialized screen washing water for cleaning the screen, which is costly and not environmentally friendly. Water-based screen printing inks, on the other hand, can be cleaned directly with water, making the operation simple and significantly saving on screen washing water expenses. Actual calculations show that cleaning costs can be reduced by more than 50%.
Textile Printing
Water-based screen printing inks excel in the field of textile printing. They are perfectly suited for both intimate apparel such as children's clothing and athletic wear, as well as home textiles like canvas bags and curtains.
For children's clothing and athletic wear, the wash fastness of water-based screen printing inks is particularly important. After ISO 105-C06 testing, their wash fastness exceeds 50 washes, with a color fastness level of 4 or above, ensuring that the patterns remain vibrant even after multiple washes.
Technologically, water-based screen printing inks have achieved low-temperature curing (130℃×90 seconds), a breakthrough that makes printing on heat-sensitive fabrics (such as spandex) possible.
Paper Packaging Printing
With increasing environmental awareness, paper packaging printing has higher environmental requirements for inks. Water-based screen printing inks have obtained food-grade certification (FDA 21 CFR 175.300) and can be directly used for printing on food packaging such as chocolate and tea, ensuring food safety.
For recyclable cardboard box printing, water-based screen printing inks have an ink de-inking rate of over 90% (INGEDE 11 standard), making the processing of recycled paper easier and effectively promoting resource recycling. In terms of process, their high opacity (density > 1.8) allows for excellent printing on kraft paper and corrugated paper, gradually replacing traditional offset printing methods.
Glass and Ceramic Decoration
Glass and ceramic decoration requires inks with high-temperature sintering and good adhesion properties. Water-based screen printing inks contain glass powder components, capable of withstanding temperatures above 600℃, and are suitable for decoration on items such as wine bottles and tableware with overglaze colors.
They have passed the GB/T 9286 adhesion test with a cross-cut test rating of 0, ensuring that the patterns adhere firmly to glass and ceramic surfaces. There are also innovative applications in photovoltaic glass screen printing of conductive silver paste, with a resistivity of <10mΩ/sq, supporting the development of the new energy industry.
Electronic Product Identification
In the field of electronic product identification, water-based screen printing inks stand out with their precision printing capabilities. For printed circuit board (PCB) marking, the line width accuracy can reach ±0.05mm, meeting the high-precision requirements of electronic products.
At the same time, their alcohol resistance exceeds 100 wipes (IPC-4101 standard), ensuring that the markings are not easily worn in daily use. Water-based screen printing inks do not contain silicone oil, avoiding interference with the bonding of electronic components.
Crafts and Cultural Creative Products
Crafts and cultural creative products emphasize creativity and special effects, and water-based screen printing inks meet this demand. Water-based foaming inks can achieve an expansion rate of up to 300%, suitable for making Braille books, embossed greeting cards, etc., adding a three-dimensional effect to the products.
Thermochromic/photochromic inks change color when exposed to heat (30℃-60℃) or UV light, bringing fun and interactivity to cultural creative products. The DIC ColorEco thermochromic ink is used in the cultural creative series of the Forbidden City, attracting the attention of many consumers.
Outdoor Advertising and Signage
Outdoor advertising and signage face harsh environmental conditions and have high requirements for the weather resistance of inks. Water-based screen printing inks have undergone QUV accelerated aging for 1000 hours, with a ΔE<2.0, demonstrating excellent UV resistance.
They have also passed the ASTM D4585 salt spray test, able to resist rain erosion. Their material compatibility is wide, suitable for printing on various materials such as vehicle wraps, PVC lightbox fabrics, and aluminum metal plates.
Medical Device Identification
Medical device identification has strict requirements for the biocompatibility and safety of inks. Water-based screen printing inks have passed the ISO 10993 cytotoxicity test and can be used for printing markings on surgical instruments, ensuring no harm to the human body.
In addition, they can withstand ethylene oxide sterilization (50℃×8h), meeting the disinfection needs of medical devices. In terms of safety tracing, they can achieve invisible QR code printing (minimum unit 0.1mm), suitable for medical UDI coding, facilitating the management of medical devices.
Leather Product Printing
Leather products require inks with good flexibility to accommodate frequent bending. Water-based screen printing inks have a bending resistance of over 100,000 cycles (SATRA TM31) and are very suitable for printing patterns on leather products such as shoes and belts.
Toy and Stationery Printing
Child safety is the primary consideration in toy and stationery printing. Water-based screen printing inks have a heavy metal content of <50ppm (CPSC-CH-E1001-09 standard), complying with strict children's toy safety standards.
They can also be used for washable crayons and specialized inks for magnetic drawing boards, providing safety for children's creative activities. Furthermore, special effect inks such as phosphorescent ink (afterglow time > 8 hours) and fragrance microcapsule ink add fun to toys and stationery.
Industrial Component Marking
Industrial component marking requires inks with oil and corrosion resistance, fast drying, and high readability. Water-based screen printing inks for engine part marking can withstand oil immersion (120℃×500h), with a QR code readability rate of over 99.9% (DPM standard).
Their quick-drying formula (surface dry < 5 minutes) can cooperate with robotic arms for high-speed printing, meeting the automation needs of industrial production.
When purchasing water-based screen printing inks, it is necessary to pay attention to the following key parameters:
| Parameter | Standard Requirement | Testing Method |
|---|---|---|
| Adhesion | ≥4B grade in cross-cut test | ASTM D3359 |
| Drying Speed | Natural drying ≤30 minutes (25℃) | GB/T 1728 |
| Color Strength | Density value ≥1.6 (black) | ISO 2834-2 |
| Water Resistance | No peeling after 24h immersion | GB/T 5209 |
Adhesion determines the firmness of the ink's adhesion to the printed material surface and is assessed through the ASTM D3359 cross-cut test. Drying speed directly affects production efficiency, and the natural drying time at 25℃ should not exceed 30 minutes, tested according to GB/T 1728. Color strength relates to the vividness and saturation of the printed color, with a density value of ≥1.6 required for black inks, measured according to the ISO 2834-2 standard. Water resistance measures the stability of the ink in humid environments, and it is considered qualified if there is no peeling after 24 hours of immersion testing according to GB/T 5209.
In summary, water-based screen printing inks, with their outstanding environmental advantages and wide range of application scenarios, are playing an increasingly important role in the printing industry. When purchasing, selecting based on the aforementioned key parameters can help you choose the most suitable water-based screen printing ink products for your needs, bringing higher efficiency and quality to your printing business.
