A Cooperative Project
between the
U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency
and the
Printing Trade
Associations
Nationwide
EPA742-F-95-010
FOR
•THE
SCREEN PRINTING PROJECT BULLETIN 3
U.S.EPA
SCREEN PRINTING
from a survey of screen printers, DfE identified
many alternative workplace practices that par-
ticipants found helped them prevent pollution
while reducing chemical exposures and screen
cleaning costs.
This bulletin describes simple changes in
screen reclamation work practices that have
resulted in significant reductions in costs, envi-
ronmental impact and worker exposures.
Although this bulletin concentrates on prevent-
ing pollution in the screen reclamation
process, it highlights a basic framework for
pollution prevention through improved work
practices that can be applied to any process in
your shop.
Work Practice Alternatives
for Screen Reclamation
The Design for the Environment (DfE)
Screen Printing Project is a voluntary
cooperative effort between the screen
printing industry and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) dedicated to helping
screen printers improve their efforts to reduce
risk to their workers and the environment in
cost effective ways.
Printers, EPA, product manufacturers,
and the screen printing trade association are
all concerned with minimizing the environ-
mental and health hazards of screen
reclamation. Through the DfE Screen Printing
Project, these groups are working together to
Background
A survey of screen printers (conducted
by the screen printing trade association) deter-
mined that almost 36 percent of the respon-
dents had implemented changes in workplace
practices to reduce their use of ink removal or
screen cleaning/reclamation products. With lit-
tle or no capital expenditures, pollution pre-
vention through improved workplace practices
can result in cost savings through the reduced
use of materials, lower waste disposal costs,
less worker exposure and other benefits.
Improving work practices to prevent pollution
is simply a common-sense approach to run-
ning a print shop.
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Getting Started
The first step in a pollution prevention program is to
examine your process and identify the waste generated by
each process step, any inefficient use of resources, and areas
where improvements can be made. This examination can be
accomplished through an in-house process evaluation. Under-
taking a process evaluation involves observing, measuring,
and recording data on the materials used and waste generat-
ed in your shop. This information will then allow you to take
a comprehensive look at your facility and to focus your atten-
tion on areas where waste reduction and cost savings are
most easily accomplished. After your initial evaluation, peri-
odic in-house evaluations will help you determine the effec-
tiveness of alternative products and practices being
implemented. The process evaluation results should be
shared with all employees to raise employee awareness about
the benefits of the pollution prevention program, to provide
them with feedback on pollution prevention progress, and to
get their input on improvements. In-house evaluations can
give both operators and managers the incentive to strive for
continuous improvement.
How Everyone Can Help
Process Improvements
After obtaining a good understanding of your material flows
and waste streams through a process evaluation, you should
identify your opportunities for pollution prevention. While the
materials use and waste generation are different in every shop,
and solutions particular to your operation may need to be
PROCESS EVALUATION
Waste
Dip rag in
Ink Remover
(IR)
IR evaporates
IR drips
Rags are
hazardous
waste
Apply with
spray bottle
developed, many of the printers contacted through the survey
found similar pollution prevention solutions to be effective,
including:
Keep chemicals in safety cans or covered containers.
This minimizes chemical losses from evaporation and spills.
Use plunger cans, squeeze bottles, or specialized spraying
equipment to apply chemicals.
The use of such equipment can reduce materials and acci-
dental spills.
Use manual spot application of screen reclamation chemi-
cals and alternative rinses.
One printer reduced chemicals use for screen cleaning 15%
by using spot application of ink degradant, and a low pres-
sure rinse, followed by a high pressure water blast.
Reuse shop towels to reduce ink remover use.
If using towels for ink removal, reuse the towel from the last
pass of one screen for the first pass on the next screen. This
will reduce the number of towels disposed of or sent to the
laundry service.
Try increasing your water dilution.
Some printers have been able to dilute their screen reclama-
tion products without reducing performance.
Evaluate Your Process
Avoid delays in reclaiming screens
Avoid delays in cleaning and reclaiming screens.
If screens are cleaned promptly, the chemicals needed to
remove ink, emulsion, and haze can be reduced.
Recover solvent from rags for reuse.
Some printers realized significant savings in their chemical
costs by recovering solvent from used rags either by gravity
draining, wringing the solvent into a covered container, or
using an explosion-proof centrifuge.
Recover used cleaning product and chemical overspray
for reuse.
One printer found that used cleaning chemicals could be
captured, treated in a small still to remove pigments, and
then used again. Another printer found that installing a sim-
ple "catching frame" around each screen to capture over-
spray during chemical application steps allowed significant
amount of chemical to be reused.
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U.S.EPA
Materials Management and
Inventory Control
Many printers have found that proper materials manage-
ment and inventory control cut both the amount of chemicals
used and their screen cleaning costs. Keeping track of chemical
usage clarifies materials flow, how it relates to waste generation
rates, and where pollution prevention opportunities can be
implemented. Materials management and inventory control
techniques used by many printers to help reduce material use
and disposal include:
Manage inventories on a first-in, first-out basis.
This will minimize the disposal of expired materials.
Maintain accurate logs of your chemical and materials
stock, use and waste generation rates.
This will help you evaluate your shop's materials flow and
identify where wastes are being generated.
Minimize the amount of chemicals in the production area.
This will encourage materials conservation.
Keep all wastes separate and in clearly marked containers.
This allows wastes to be reused or recycled, and prevents
hazardous wastes from contaminating non-hazardous wastes.
Keeping it Going
According to many printers, a reluctance to change to
alternative screen cleaning products or work practices is one of
the largest obstacles to pollution prevention in their shops.
Much of this unwillingness to try new products, technologies,
and procedures arises from employees' lack of awareness of the
benefits and a belief that the alternatives will not work. Training
on health and safety issues and on materials handling and dis-
posal procedures will help employees understand both the ben-
efits of proper materials handling and disposal and the potential
consequences of improper workplace practices to their health
and safety, the environment, and company profitability.
Seek your employees' input on pollution prevention
activities to encourage their participation; the people clos-
Capture
est to the process often come up with the most creative
approaches to pollution prevention. Awareness of materials
use and waste generation can be fostered by centralizing the
responsibility for storing and distributing chemicals, by making
employees accountable for the waste they generate, and by
providing incentives for waste reductions.
Prior to Work After Implementing After Additional After Continued
Practice Changes Initial Ideas Evaluation Evaluation
Reduce Your Chemical Use
Through Continuous Improvements
It is important that employees are aware of your compa-
ny's commitment to environmental goals and pollution preven-
tion. Depending on the company size, it may be helpful to
prepare a written environmental policy and written procedures
on proper equipment operation, maintenance, and materials
handling and disposal. Providing feedback to employees on
materials handling, disposal and pollution prevention perfor-
mance re-emphasizes your commitment to pollution prevention
and encourages your employees to continue to improve their
workplace practices.
Finally, pollution prevention should be an ongoing process
where work practices are monitored regularly to ensure that
improved practices already identified are actually being imple-
mented on the shop floor, and that new opportunities for pollu-
tion prevention are being identified continuously.
Reuse Your Reclamation Chemicals
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What is the Design for the
Environment Screen Printing Project?
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA)
Design for the Environment (DfE) Screen Printing Project is
a voluntary project that encourages printers to consider
environmental concerns along with cost and performance
when purchasing materials. Replacing hazardous chemicals
with environmentally-safer substitutes is one way to reduce
the impact of printing on the environment while maintain-
ing product quality. Many printers, however, may not have
the time to identify and test environmentally-safer substi-
tutes.
That's where DfE fills the gap. EPA has teamed up
with screen printing industry representatives (including
trade associations, printers, and suppliers) in the DfE
Screen Printing Project. The Project's goal is to evaluate
and publicize pollution prevention opportunities in screen
printing, particularly in the screen reclamation process.
For More Information...
For more detailed information on technological and
chemical alternatives for screen reclamation, see the DfE
Screen Printing Project summary booklet, Designing Solu-
tions for Screen Printers — An Evaluation of Screen Recla-
mation Systems. Additional case studies and other bulletins
summarizing the evaluation of screen reclamation alterna-
tives are also available.
For copies of this bulletin, other DfE Screen Printing
Project materials, or for more information about the project,
please contact:
Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse (PPIC)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
401 M Street, SW (7409)
Washington, DC 20460
Telephone: 202-260-1023
Fax: 202-260-4659
or
Screenprinting and Graphic Imaging Association International
(SGIA)
10015 Main Street
Fairfax, VA 22031
Telephone: 703-385-1335
Fax: 703-273-2870
You may also contact the DfE Home Page at:
http://www.epa.gov/dfe or the SGIA
Home Page at http://www.sgia.org/
Recycled/Recyclable
Printed with Soy/Canola Ink on paper containing at
least 50% recycled fiber.
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