Keen to be green, uniting ecology and economy

Presently, printing companies are increasingly judged by their level of environment-compatible production. To meet the requirement in this regard, manroland offers a host of environment-compatible solutions for webfed and sheetfed printing systems, right up to technologies for energy and heat recovery or for reduced paper waste and energy waste through friction, which contribute to sustained green production. Their specific washing agents and fountain solutions help to avoid pollutants and waste or save energy. Consumable materials from manroland’s printcom are especially environment-compatible and contribute to sustainable production. Measured by volume, isopropanol (IPA) is the most significant air pollutant in many printing companies. According to the application, printcom offers specially developed fountain solution additives for alcohol-reduced or alcohol-free printing. printcom fountain solutions are used all over the world, meeting the requirements of different water qualities, as well as special conditions for foodstuff packaging or in critical microbiological environments. However, alcohol-reduced or alcohol-free fountain solution concentrates alone are not enough. Because these agents tend to contaminate faster, the demand for a circulation system that keeps the fountain solution clean for as long as possible is growing. This requires special, easy to install filtration devices that not only delay contamination but also permit longer intervals between changing the fountain solution and reduce the amount that needs to be disposed of. Besides that, the filtration devices work with returnable filter cartridges so no waste is generated through used filters.

Currently, printcom is developing fountain solution additives that show a considerably reduced buildup of paper particles and ink residue on the blankets and so they need to be washed less often. Besides higher productivity, there is less used washing agent and wash-up paper waste to be disposed of. In most cases, the benefits are greater for webfed presses than sheetfed presses. In an ideal case, wash-ups are reduced by half. The potential savings are not only to be found in longer intervals between wash-ups but also in the time needed for this task. The dosage of solvent additives in the washing agent influences the amount of wash-up fluid mixture that must be disposed of after each cleaning. In principle, washing agents with high-performance additives can be used much more sparingly for removing oil, grease and dirt than low-dose solvents. This is because high additive washing agents combine spontaneously and stably with water and dissolve printing ink more easily, and the amount of washing agent needed can be reduced by 50 percent or more. Besides the obligatory approval for compatibility with the press and industrial safety regulations, tested washing agents such as those offered by printcom also exactly provide the specified cleaning performance.

When the job structure necessitates frequent ink changes, the printing units must be washed-up more often. For pre-cleaning the rollers, printers as a rule use paste that then needs to be removed by a roller washing agent. This procedure doubles washing agent consumption. Part of the residual fluid is waste, but part of it vaporizes to form Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) that pollute the working environment. The situation is similar when coatings are used. Volatile isopropanol or water-alcohol mixtures are often used to clean coating circuits, coating plates and anilox rollers. Besides the safety hazard that comes from the low flashpoint of these materials, the user is exposed to strong fumes. With both inks and coatings, water-based washing agents together with a retrofit provide a suitable alternative. An additional supply circuit in the roller train and a coating cylinder washing device not only speeds up the wash-up process. This being automated, washing-up the printing units and coating cylinder is definitely much more user-friendly.