Vegetable Based Inks

Your consideration of what ink to use should first consider the impact your choice of ink will have on the environment. Soy and vegetable based inks are widely recognized as the environmentally friendly choice.

There are different types of printing inks available for lithographic printing. Inks are made up of various ingredients such as pigments (organic or inorganic) which create the colour, an oil base liquid that is mixed with the pigment and then dries, and a binding agent made of either organic resins or polymers.

Vegetable Based Inks

The environmentally friendly alternative to petroleum based inks are vegetable based ink. These inks are made from vegetable oils, and release between 2-4% of the VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) into the atmosphere. Soy and vegetable products are used in ink for their oils, which act as the vehicle for the ink pigments.

An environmentally responsible printer will offer vegetable based inks over older, technologically outdated solvent-based inks.

Vegetable based inks are no more expensive than regular solvent-based inks.

Go back to the Environmentally Responsible Printing homepage.