The
Maple-Vail Book Manufacturing Group has a new process called
THINKTech that allows books to be printed on a heat-set web press without any curing. Some of the benefits are:
- The process uses a special ink and fountain solution that results in VOC emission levels in the 1-2.5% range for sheetfed presses, significantly less than the 19-25% levels for soy or petroleum-based sheetfed inks and fountain solutions.
- With the THINKTech process, images dry in seconds and result in a better print quality and reduced spoilage.
- Shortly the low-VOC print system will be implemented on the company's web presses which will reduce VOC emissions further, since typical web printing produces VOC emissions in the range of 34-42%.
- The new technology on the web presses promises significant energy savings since it eliminates the need for web chillers and ovens.
- Maple-Vail also uses a soy blanket wash with only 0.29% VOCs, a fraction of the more common petroleum-based washes.
For more details, read the announcement in
Book Business here>> or visit the
Maple-Vail environmental page here>>
