Toxics Use Reduction Case Study
Deluxe's Solvent-Free Printing System
SummaryDeluxe Corporation, one of the largest lithographic printers in the United States, has developed a water-washable ink system that eliminates the use of petroleum-based solvents. These solvents, which generally consist of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), are found in ink and the cleaning solutions used to wash ink from press blankets. The evaporation of these solvents accounts for a significant amount of the emissions from the lithographic printing industry. The development project was initiated in response to increasingly strict U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed emission standards under the Clean Air Act that affect the printing industry. VOCs present employee health and safety concerns and contribute to ozone formation in the lower atmosphere. Deluxe Corporation estimates that nationwide, prior to introduction of its new ink and blanket wash system, the company emitted 2 million pounds of solvent into the air each year. However, by now using its new solvent- and VOC-free printing system in its more than 55 printing plants, Deluxe's VOC emissions have fallen by at least half. In addition, the company has alleviated employee health and safety concerns related to solvent use and has reduced its hazardous waste.
BackgroundDeluxe Corporation is a 79-year-old Fortune 500 company with annual sales of $1.6 billion. The company, headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, employs more than 17,000 people. Deluxe Check Printers is the company's principal business and is the nation's largest check printer, with a 50 percent market share and operating in 30 states. Other Deluxe divisions print computer and business forms, gift wrap, and greeting cards. The company uses lithography for 95 percent of its printed products. Historically, to clean lithographic ink from printing press blankets, petroleum-based press wash solvents have proven to be most effective.
TUR PlanningIn 1990, faced with air permitting challenges in many states and anticipating stricter pollution regulations from EPA, Deluxe set out to develop a water-based or reduced-VOC press wash. After a year, Deluxe abandoned its quest and focused instead on printing as a system — that is, the company began to look at lithographic ink and press wash as interdependent, not independent, elements. The company studied ink chemistry and soon developed a solubility conversion mechanism by which the solubility of lithographic ink could be selectively controlled. Once Deluxe incorporated the solubility conversion mechanism into manufacture of traditional lithographic ink formulations, the company found that the ink performed as a conventional insoluble lithographic ink during printing, but could be converted to a soluble state and cleaned from press components afterwards using a simple water solution. The company found that its new printing "system" worked on conventional press equipment and required no new technology. In addition, the solubility conversion is reversible. As a result, used blanket wash can be treated chemically and the solubilized ink will precipitate. This allows easy separation of the ink from the wash and results in easy laundering of shop towels. In April 1993, Deluxe officially announced its development of a solvent-free printing system, including its water-washable ink and VOC-free press wash solution. The company has filed, and has pending, several patents covering the system. Since then, the company has refined its system, and has found that its ink meets or exceeds the performance of conventional lithographic inks. The company is now using its new system in its nationwide network of printing plants. Deluxe began selling the system on a limited basis in the first quarter 1994.
Other Benefits
The charts show monthly usage and VOC emission calculations for the Deluxe Corporation's Massachusetts check printing plants in Boston and Springfield. The calculations were made using the mass balance method. Implementation of the new printing system at the Boston plant resulted in a 49 percent reduction (344 pounds) per month in the level of VOC emissions. Implementation at the Springfield plant resulted in a 70 percent (881 pounds) per month reduction.
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