Forum Standing Committee Working Groups
Substitution and Alternatives
Case studies - Examples
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Chemical alternatives for Screen Reclamation
The Design for the Environment (DfE) Screen Printing Project is a cooperative effort between the screen printing industry and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help screen printers improve their performance to protect the environment. Aim of the project is to provide printers information about chemical risk and pollution prevention along with performance and cost information, so that they can incorporate environmental concerns into day-to-day functioning.
Printers, EPA, product manufacturers and the screen printing trade association are all concerned with minimizing the environmental and health hazards of screen reclamation chemicals currently used in printing shops. Through DfE, these groups worked together to evaluate alternative screen reclamation products. A total of eleven alternative chemical "systems" were evaluated. Most "systems" included an ink remover, an emulsion remover, and a haze remover.