Environmentally Focused Ink Formulations

FUJIFILM Sericol manufactures a wide range of products for the printing industry using a variety of chemistry including UV curable technology and evaporative solvent technology. In order to become more environmentally focused, FUJIFILM Sericol continues to develop and refine its UV curable and solvent products to reduce their environmental impact and improve their eco-efficiency.

Environmental Standards and Impacts

The following standards have been applied to existing and new formulation developments within our laboratories;

Reduced Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) solvents wherever possible
Reduction of solvents that have a Hazardous Air Pollutant (HAPs) rating
Utilizing solvents generated from renewable sources if practical
Utilization of solvents from recycled or waste stream sources if possible
Reduction in use of binders and resins based on PVC or phthalate chemistry
Reduction or elimination of lead containing pigments

Typically, when considering UV curable technology, the environmental impact of the ink is far reduced compared to solvent inks. UV curable technology has the following benefits from an environmental perspective:

Zero or near zero Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
Zero Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs)
No leaching of components from fully cured the ink film.
Ease of recycling of selected plastic substrates printed with UV inks
Ease of recycling UV inks from paper and paper synthetics in traditional paper recycling processes compared to water based inks that dissolve in paper pulping operations.