Which printing ink is more environmentally friendly?

Date: Aug 16 2024 From: Star Color

The environmental characteristics of water-based inks, oil-based inks, soy inks and UV inks can be compared from the four aspects of VOC emissions, biodegradability, energy consumption and carbon emissions, and compliance with environmental regulations. It can be summarized as follows:

In order to more intuitively compare the environmental performance of water-based inks, oil-based inks, soy inks and UV inks, and give scores and rankings, we can set a scoring standard for each aspect based on the above analysis, and score and rank them. Please note that the following scores are relative and are intended to provide a rough reference.

1. VOC emissions

Ink Type	VOC emission characteristics	score
Water-based ink	VOC emissions are extremely low, almost zero. Using water as the solvent reduces the use of organic solvents, thereby significantly reducing VOC emissions.	10
Oil-based ink	Higher VOC emissions. Oil-based inks usually use organic solvents, which are easily volatilized during the printing process, resulting in increased VOC emissions.	1
Soy ink	Low VOC emissions. Soy ink uses soybean oil as its main ingredient, which is a renewable vegetable oil with low volatility, so VOC emissions are relatively low.	9
UV ink	VOC emissions are extremely low. UV ink produces almost no VOC during the curing process because it does not need to dry through solvent evaporation.	10

2. Degradability

Ink Type	Degradability	score
Water-based ink	Easy to biodegrade. The main component of water-based ink is water, which has little impact on the environment after disposal and is easy to be biodegraded.	9
Oil-based ink	Poor biodegradability. The organic solvents and pigments in oil-based inks are difficult to biodegrade, and have a greater long-term impact on the environment.	3
Soy ink	Easily biodegradable. Soy ink is mainly made from soybean oil, a renewable vegetable oil that is easily biodegradable after being discarded.	10
UV ink	Degradability depends on the specific ingredients. The curing process of UV ink does not involve solvent volatilization, but the degradability of the cured product depends on the properties of the resin, pigment and other ingredients used.	7

3. Energy consumption and carbon emissions

Ink Type	Energy consumption and carbon emissions	score
Water-based ink	Relatively low energy consumption and less carbon emissions. The drying process of water-based inks generally does not require high temperatures, so energy consumption is low, while reducing carbon emissions caused by energy consumption.	8
Oil-based ink	Energy consumption and carbon emissions are relatively high. The drying process of oil-based inks may require high temperatures, and the organic solvents involved in their production and use also increase energy consumption and carbon emissions.	4
Soy ink	Relatively low energy consumption and carbon emissions. The production and use process of soy ink is similar to that of water-based ink, with lower energy consumption and carbon emissions.	7
UV ink	Low energy consumption and carbon emissions. The curing process of UV ink requires ultraviolet radiation, but this process is relatively fast and energy-saving, while reducing carbon emissions caused by solvent volatilization.	9

4. Comply with environmental regulations

Ink Type	Compliance with environmental regulations	score
Water-based ink	Widely complies with domestic and international environmental regulations. Water-based inks are widely used in food, medicine and other packaging printing fields due to their low VOC emissions and environmental protection characteristics, and are encouraged and supported by environmental protection regulations.	10
Oil-based ink	Faced with increasingly stringent environmental regulations. With the improvement of environmental awareness and the strengthening of environmental regulations, the use of oil-based inks is subject to more and more restrictions, especially in areas with high environmental requirements.	6
Soy ink	Comply with environmental regulations. As an environmentally friendly ink, the use of soybean ink complies with the requirements of domestic and international environmental regulations and is encouraged and supported by relevant policies.	9
UV ink	Comply with environmental regulations. UV inks are widely used in various printing fields due to their low VOC emissions and high-efficiency curing characteristics, and comply with domestic and international environmental regulations.	9

In summary, from the perspectives of VOC emissions, biodegradability, energy consumption and carbon emissions, and compliance with environmental regulations, water-based inks and soy inks are more environmentally friendly, while UV inks also have certain environmental advantages. Oil-based inks, however, face increasingly stringent environmental regulations due to their deficiencies in these aspects.

Rating Summary

Ink Type	VOC Emissions	Degradability	EC & CE	Env. regs. compliance	Overall Rating
Water-based ink	10	9	8	10	37
Soy ink	9	10	7	9	35
UV ink	10	7	9	9	35
Oil-based ink	1	3	4	6	14

illustrate

Water-based inks performed best in terms of VOC emissions and compliance with environmental regulations, and therefore received the highest score. They also had relatively low biodegradability and energy consumption carbon emissions, and received the highest overall score.
Soy ink performed best in terms of biodegradability and received full marks. Its VOC emissions were also low, but its energy consumption and carbon emissions were slightly higher than those of water-based inks. Its comprehensive score was similar to that of water-based inks, ranking second.
UV ink ranks first with water-based ink in terms of VOC emissions and compliance with environmental regulations, but its biodegradability is relatively low and its energy consumption and carbon emissions are slightly higher. Its overall score is similar to that of water-based ink and soy ink.
Oil-based inks performed worst in all aspects, especially VOC emissions and degradability, and therefore received the lowest overall score.

Scoring criteria (out of 10 points)

VOC emissions : Score from low to high based on VOC emissions, with a minimum of 10 points and a maximum of 1 point.
Degradability : The ink is scored based on how easily it biodegrades after it is discarded, with the easiest to degrade being 10 points and the most difficult to degrade being 1 point.
Energy consumption and carbon emissions : Score based on the energy consumption and carbon emissions during the production, use and disposal of ink, with a minimum of 10 points and a maximum of 1 point.
Compliance with environmental regulations : The ink is scored based on whether it complies with domestic and international environmental regulations. Full compliance is 10 points, and full non-compliance is 1 point.

Please note that the above scoring and ranking are based on hypothetical scoring criteria, and the actual scoring may vary depending on factors such as the formula, production process and usage conditions of the specific ink product.

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