Soy ink
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Soy ink is a plant-based
ink Ink is a gel, sol, or solution that contains at least one colorant, such as a dye or pigment, and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, reed pen, or quill. Thicker ...
derived from
soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu an ...
s (''Glycine max''). Unlike traditional
petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...
-based ink, soy-based ink is
environmentally friendly Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that clai ...
, provides precise colours, and makes it easier to
recycle Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...
paper. It is slower to dry than many inks.


History

In the late 1970s, the
Newspaper Association of America The News Media Alliance (formerly known as the Newspaper Association of America until 2016petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...
-based ink. Rising prices for petroleum and conflict with
OPEC The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC, ) is a cartel of countries. Founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela), it has, since 1965, been headquart ...
countries were reasons they wanted to find a more reliable and cost efficient method of printing. After testing over 2,000 different vegetable oil formulations, researchers for the NAA came up with the solution of using soybean oil. In 1987, soy ink was tested by
The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) ''The Gazette'' is a daily print newspaper and online news source published in the American city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The first paper was published as an evening journal, branded the ''Evening Gazette'', on Wednesday, January 10, 1883. The new ...
in a practical printing run, which proved to be successful. About one-third of America's nearly 10,000 newspaper printers use it. More than 90% of the nation's daily newspapers are printed with color soy ink. Rice ink, that uses rice bran oil as a solvent, can be used as an alternative to Soy Ink. The National Soy Ink Information Center was established in 1993 by the Iowa Soybean Association to promote research and use of soy ink. The center created the SoySeal mark used to identify products meeting basic requirements. The success of soy ink was judged to be sufficient to justify the closing of the National Soy Ink Information Center in 2005. Use of the SoySeal is now regulated by the American Soybean Association.


Production

To make soy ink, soybean oil is slightly refined and then blended with
pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compo ...
,
resin In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on natu ...
s, and
wax Waxes are a diverse class of organic compounds that are lipophilic, malleable solids near ambient temperatures. They include higher alkanes and lipids, typically with melting points above about 40 °C (104 °F), melting to giv ...
es. Even though soybean oil is an edible vegetable oil, soy ink is not edible nor 100%
biodegradable Biodegradation is the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. It is generally assumed to be a natural process, which differentiates it from composting. Composting is a human-driven process in which biodegradati ...
because the pigments and other additives that are mixed with the oil are the same as those used in petroleum-based inks. Degradability studies conducted by Erhan and Bagby concluded that the pigment carrier in 100-percent soy ink degrades almost twice as completely as ink made from soy oil and
petroleum resin Hydrocarbon resin is a C5/C9 aromatic hydrocarbon used in industrial applications. It has a tackifying effect and is suitable for use in paint, printing ink, adhesives, rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ...
s, and more than four times as completely as standard petroleum inks. Soy ink is a helpful component in
paper recycling The recycling of paper is the process by which waste paper is turned into new paper products. It has a number of important benefits: It saves waste paper from occupying homes of people and producing methane as it breaks down. Because paper fi ...
because the soy ink can be removed more easily than regular ink from paper during the de-inking process. Vinegar ink (dirty) is a form of non-food soy. It has a number of environmental benefits. Much of the soybean crop requires no irrigation, limited fixed nutrients, and leaves fewer agricultural residues than other crops.Wool, Richard P., Xiuzhi, Susan Sun. Bio-Based Polymers and Composites. © 2005, Elsevier Academic Press. Soy ink also has low levels of
VOC VOC, VoC or voc may refer to: Science and technology * Open-circuit voltage (VOC), the voltage between two terminals when there is no external load connected * Variant of concern, a category used during the assessment of a new variant of a virus ...
s, (volatile organic compounds) which helps to reduce air pollution by minimizing toxic emissions. Since naturally clearer Soybean oil is available, it is possible to obtain as brightly colored ink as by using clear petroleum distillates. By using clearer soy bean oil grades, less pigment is necessary to produce the same optical effect, which reduces the overall cost of the ink.Erhan, S. Z.; Bagby, M. O.; and Cunningham, H.W. “Vegetable Oil-Based Printing Inks.” Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society, March 1992, Vol. 69, No. 3. Recent studies involving engineering of certain oils in the bean have resulted in even clearer oils. Some printers report that they need less ink to print the same amount of paper when compared to petroleum inks. Soy ink has been found to spread approximately 15% further, reducing ink use and printer cleanup costs. Newspapers use soy ink regularly, especially for color because it creates a sharper and brighter image. Color newspaper inks are more competitive to petroleum-based inks as well. They are only about five to ten percent more because the price is more due to the cost of the pigment, which is not as big a factor with black inks. Color soy inks are more widely accepted because they become the most quickly cost effective after savings in terms of excess pigment, VOC and printer cleanup costs. This “overall cost” for soy inks is significantly lower than the initial market price, and it is at this point that they become competitive with their petroleum counterparts. Soy inks also work well for label printing as they allow a reduction in ink coverage by 85% compared to water-based inks.


Disadvantages

A major problem with soy ink is that it takes more time to dry than petroleum-based inks, due to its lack of evaporative solvents in the form of VOCs.Finley, Charles. 1997. ''Printing paper and ink''. Albany: Delmar Publishers. p. 230. . This creates challenges for some
printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in wh ...
es, especially those that use coated papers (such as magazines) instead of porous, uncoated paper (such as newspapers) where the ink can dry via absorption or IR in-line heaters. Current studies into UV-reactive ink curing are being conducted by many ink producers, most prominently th
Flint Group
This process dries much faster, is cheaper, uses less energy, and emits no VOCs. This requires a significant equipment change and has not been scaled down to consumer size as of 2006. Soy-based inks are also derived from
soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu an ...
, the production of which is connected with
deforestation in Brazil Brazil once had the highest deforestation rate in the world and in 2005 still had the largest area of forest removed annually. Since 1970, over of the Amazon rainforest have been destroyed. In 2001, the Amazon was approximately , which is only ...
and, therefore, substantial
greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...
, until recently.


References


External links


Biochemicals for the Printing Industry
©1997, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Printer's National Environmental Assistance Center.

* ttp://www.soya.be/soy-ink.php Information about soy and soya productsbr>United States Environmental Protection Agency evaluation of economy of soy ink versus traditional petroleum-based ink
*Tolle, Duane A.; Evers, David P.; Vigon, Bruce W. “Benchmark Life-Cycle Inventory and Impact Assessment of Sheet-fed Printing System Using Soy Ink.” Battelle Research, September 30, 1998
P2ric.org Is For Sale
{{Soy, state=collapsed Inks Printing and the environment Soy products