Environmental F.A.Q's Are lithographic inks environmentally friendly? A very difficult question… According to the CSA-ISO Standard 14021 claims such as “environmentally friendly”, “ecological (eco)”, and “green” are vague claims and should be reserved for products/services whose  life cycles have been thoroughly examined and verified. An environmental claim that is vague or non-specific or which broadly implies that a product is environmentally beneficial or environmentally benign shall not be used. CAN/CSA-ISO 14021, Clause 5.3 However, it is certainly possible to create products which, when compared to other products, can be considered to be more sustainable. The choice of raw materials, production methods and corporate environmental beliefs can lower the inevitable impact on the environment. The goal for both Hostmann-Steinberg and our customers should be to maximize this potential for all our key product groups   Do you have an environmental logo on your ink? Unlike many other printing ink manufacturers and distributors we have decided not to create our own enviro logo as we believe that its only credibility would be within our company. In early 2009, through the National Association of Printing Ink Manufacturers (NAPIM) we were able to utilize their “BioRenewable Content” ink logo. We believe that not only does this give us an element of credibility, but also provides independent confirmation of the content of selected ink lines.   Can your packaging be recycled, reduced or reused? Our inks can be purchased in steel cans, plastic kits, cardboard or plastic cartridges, and, for large users, drums and refillable totes.  This provides the customer with many options for storage and disposal. The majority of these containers can be recycled, or cleaned and reused where facilities exist.  The steel vacuum cans are the easiest to recycle, and have the added benefits of minimizing skin formation and eliminating the use of waxed skin papers.  The used vacuum cans are stackable and are made of high grade steel that is very attractive to metal recyclers.     What questions should we ask when a supplier claims their products are "Environmentally Friendly"? Why is it environmentally friendly?  May we see the Life Cycle Analysis and the independent verification? May we see independent verification of VOC, metals content and Biobased content, biodegradability as well as the appropriate testing method? Does your supplier have an active environmental steering committee with defined environmental goals and objectives for now and in the future? What are these goals and objectives?  How is your supplier and its team able to work with you to further minimize negative environmental impact?  What information, control and input does your supplier have in relation to its own suppliers of raw materials and packaging providers?   Do your inks contain biorenewable resources? Yes, and this is one of our key goals. Hostmann-Steinberg conventional lithographic inks contain several vegetable oils (e.g. linseed oil, soy oil) and pine gum rosin. These are obtained from plant material and are, therefore, biorenewable. The amount of biorenewable material depends on the type of ink. Most heatset inks will have at least 20% biorenewable material, while sheetfed inks will usually be above 60% biorenewable. We are working constantly to increase these percentages without creating negative effects on print quality and printability. Hostmann-Steinberg has now gained third party validation on various product lines via ASTM Method D6866 which is the US government approved method for determining the renewable/biobased content of natural range materials, including ethanol additives, bio-diesel additives and biobased products.   Is substrate printed with your ink biodegradable / compostable? According to the Biodegradable Plastics Institute, as long as the percent of ink on the final product is less than 1% of the total weight, then a change in the substrate’s “biodegradability” is not necessarily an issue. This is true as long as you are not “coating the application” to the point where the microbes can not reach the substrate. To be compostable, the printed material must break down into carbon dioxide, water and biomass at the same rate as unprinted paper. It also needs to look like compost, should not produce any toxic material and should be able to support plant life.   Are your inks biodegradable/compostable? We do not have conclusive test results on whether bulk ink is biodegradable or compostable.  Some components in printing inks (e.g. inorganic components) are not microbially degradable at all, some (e.g. organic pigments) are generally poorly degradable and some are readily biodegradable (e.g. many resins). Our goal is to work with our customers to minimize the overproduction of special mix inks through the use of our experience, knowledge and computerized ink estimation tools. Technology, in the form of spectrophotometric equipment and software, provides us with the opportunity to minimize waste by reworking unused inks into alternative colours wherever possible. Printing ink that can not be reworked into another product, must be handled as liquid industrial waste, not landfilled.   Are your inks “Heavy Metal Free”? There is no legal definition of “heavy metal”.  Hostmann-Steinberg process inks comply with the metal restrictions of: Canadian Hazardous Products Act, Chapter H-3, Schedule 1, Part 1, item 9 ASTM Standard Consumer Safety Specification on Toy Safety F963-07 e1  European Standard EN71-3 1994/A1:2000 U.S. Toxics in Packaging Regulation (CONEG) European Union Directive 94/62/EC Hostmann-Steinberg special match inks comply with the metal restrictions of: U.S. Toxics in Packaging Regulation (CONEG) European Union Directive 94/62/EC Barium is one of the metals listed in the first three standards, and may be present in a special match if Warm Red is used.  The remaining seven metals are not intentionally added. An environmental claim of "... free" shall only be made when the level of the specified substance is no more than that which would be found as an acknowledged trace contaminant or background level.   CAN/CSA-ISO 14021, Clause 5.4   What is a Life Cycle Analysis? "Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) identifies and deals with unanticipated environmental impacts before they occur. LCA differs from other pollution prevention techniques in that it views all the resource and energy inputs to a product (Life Cycle Inventory), as well as the associated wastes, health and ecological burdens (Life Cycle Impact Assessment), and evaluates opportunities to reduce environmental impacts (Life Cycle Improvement Analysis) from cradle to grave". From “What EPA Means When it says, 'Life Cycle Assessment'”   K. R. Stone, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency  (http://www.p2pays.org/ref/08/07286.htm) Has a Life Cycle Analysis been done on lithographic inks? The 1998 Battelle study on Soya ink only looked at two of the three parts of a Life Cycle Analysis.  A comment within the study indicates that this is not equivalent to a thorough examination of the product life cycle. “LCIA is a hazard indicator system largely based on resource use and emission loading, and should not be construed to represent actual environmental impacts.”  From “Benchmark Life-Cycle Inventory and Impact Assessment of Sheet-fed Printing System using Soy-based Ink”, D.A. Tolle, D.P. Evers, B.W. Vigon (http://www.p2pays.org/ref/07/06767/)