Within the Greenprint® initiative, the choice of ink is a key environmental consideration. Therefore under the Greenprint® initiative the use of vegetable or soy based inks is mandatory for all print jobs. This practice utilises a renewable resource and substantially reduces Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions associated with petroleum or mineral based inks.

Other advantages include the ability to clean presses without the use of a high solvent cleaner and further reduce VOC emissions. The printed product is also easier to de-ink in the recycling process.

Vegetable based inks can be cleaner and brighter, and more rub resistant than petroleum inks. They are well suited to uncoated and recycled stocks because the ink doesn’t spread as much and they don’t cost any more than petroleum based inks.

To keep your print job true to the goals of the Greenprint® initiative avoid using metallic and fluorescent colours as they may contain chemical and metallic substances, which can be harmful to the environment. Ink with metallic pigments may eventually enter landfill, leaching potentially toxic compounds into the water table.