Saturday, 29 October 2011

Eco Friendly Inks and how they Revolutionize Packaging

There are tons of great ways to be eco-friendly. You can get boxes that are sustainable, encourage people to recycle, or even enhance your packaging with bioplastics if you try to get people to toss away the plastic so they break down.

But what about printing? What a lot of people forget is printing is not very sustainable unless you take matters into your own hands and implement sustainable means.   This type of packaging for design plays a critical part in how many types of customers look at your packaging.



Traditional inks are made with petroleum, which isn’t sustainable.   This has created a negative impact in terms of our carbon emissions.. However, with sustainable plastics and inks, we’re able to reduce our carbon footprints, and using eco-friendly printing techniques really shows you care about the environment. 

What Eco Friendly Inks Entail 

Eco friendly inks are inks that won’t completely destroy the environment.

These tend to be soy-based, such as through soybeans, or water-based, where with water and various processes it creates the inks that are there. algae -based inks are another, where, through algae, you’re able to print on a medium. This can be great for a lot of customers, especially if they want to reduce their carbon emissions.

Regular printing uses petroleum, which is not sustainable.   It also releases volatile organic compounds to the air, which increases greenhouse gasses.   Basically, it’ll just cause more pollution. 

It doesn’t break down either, which further aggravated the problem.



But with eco-friendly inks, you’re reducing the emissions that you have, and also putting out less pollution. A little goes a long way with this, and it can be great for ensuring that your eco-friendly items are in the correct area. 

Overall, you want to consider this for your packaging, especially when printing out certain items. 

The Benefits and Challenges 

A lot of eco-friendly inks are great for reducing toxic waste. There's so much waste already in the environment that you want to use practices that are safe and sustainable, so you’ll definitely want to use this.

You’ll find that with this, you’re able to reduce pollution, at least through your practices.   

With this as well, you’ll also be able to tell customers about the sustainability efforts that are there. While it may seem like a small thing, customers do pay attention when you just have sustainable printing practices. Who knows, maybe others will as well be able to see your results and also get on board the train to sustainability.

There are some challenges that come with this type of packaging, especially with the inks. For starters, they’re a new type of ink for the items at hand.   It does cost a lot more than regular printing, and isn't as readily available. So, if you plan to use this, bear in mind you might need to shoulder the costs for the sustainable alternatives.



Thue other downside is the compatibility that this has with the current packaging that you have. With eco-friendly inks, they don’t work on all types of packaging. Paper yes, but if you’re using plastics, it’s less likely to work. If you’re using a plastic-based packaging, consider switching to alternatives, and also consider as well adjusting the inks that you have with those packaging materials.

Food, cosmetics, and apparel do benefit from this type of packaging, and you’ll be grateful that you have this. consider sustainable inks for your packaging needs, and see for yourself the profound impact that this type of packaging has for you, and the results of your sustainable efforts on customer perception of your brand.