CHAPTER 14: Printing Inks From Renewable Resources

A higher legislative burden, resource scarcity and an increasing environmental awareness throughout the population have resulted in a growing demand for more sustainable products. This is also true for the printing industry. As a result, many printing ink manufacturers have shifted to more environmentally friendly inks. Thus, water-based and UV-curing systems have already started to replace solvent-based inks, which leads to a reduction of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released during the printing processes. In addition, the use of bio-based monomers as building blocks for printing ink is further increasing. Besides the traditionally used vegetable oils, cellulose derivatives, and rosin, new bio-based compounds are being utilized in this field to replace petrochemical ink ingredients, such as polymeric binders, solvents, and additives. This chapter gives an overview of the developments in the field of printing inks derived from renewable materials, discusses advantages and drawbacks of the systems described and addresses problems unsolved so far.