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Water-based Screen Printing: An Eco-friendly Choice
Allan Chua
"One of the biggest concerns both consumers and producers face when producing merchandise such as eco-friendly t-shirts is its cost. Water-based screen printing products often are more expensive than the ones being manufactured through the more tradition screen printing methods. But more and more people nowadays would rather shell out a few dollars more in order to support and be a part of the environmental movement that campaigns against greenhouse gasses or global warming. For them it is wiser to just spend a little more on a sustainable item than save a few pennies on, for instance, shirts that were printed with inks made from hazardous chemicals or fabrics grown from plants that have been treated with environmentally unsafe pesticides. The more environmentally conscious people know that in the long run, they have served our fragile ecosystem well by choosing products that meet the strict requirements of sustainability.

One intelligent option is combining water-based screen-printing methods with naturally grown materials such as organic cotton, hemp, and bamboo fibers. This screen printing technique is safer for the environment and for humans as well. Organic cotton is grown using environmentally friendly methods and are kept healthy with the use of natural fertilizers. The exclusively imported hemp and bamboo fibers are also noted for their durability and quality.

Most screen printers commonly use plastisol inks because of its durability, inexpensiveness, and efficiency. Unfortunately for those who do not know its risks, plastisol inks contain a chemical called polyvinyl chloride that has been associated with many medical conditions such as infertility, cancer, and mental disorder, just to name a few. Aside from that, the cleaning methods for plastisol inks require petroleum-based substances that are equally harmful to the environment. Plastisol inks also contain environmentally unsafe volatile solvents and aromatic hydrocarbons making it a less green option.

In contrast, the highly sustainable water-based inks do not contain the harmful phthalates or polyvinyl chloride making them a better eco-friendly choice. These inks do not contain chemicals compounds such as chlorofluorocarbon and hydro-chlorofluorocarbon that are known to be ozone-depleting chemicals. What is good about water-based inks is that they are easily cleaned up using water instead of the usual solvents used for plastisol inks. Water-based screen printing is predominantly used for commodities like swimsuits, infant clothing, and underwear.

There are a few downsides to using water-based inks for eco-friendly screen printing. These inks sometimes cannot provide an exceptional quality print like other traditional screen printing inks. Although there are new specialty formulations for this product, water-based inks cannot really imitate some types and methods of prints used for the less green products that we often see.

Unfortunately though, there are still so many people who would rather opt for the dollar-less bargains because they do not understand the risks involved in not employing the water-based screen printing methods. Changes cannot be expected overnight, but surely there will come a time when a predominant number of people worldwide will learn to embrace the benefits of using eco-friendly products and practice more sustainable methods."

Source: http://easycontentpro.com

Know more about eco-friendly screen printing and water-based screen-printing, visit LifeWork LLC website.

"Water-based Screen Printing: An Eco-friendly Choice"
written by Allan Chua

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