Reston, VA - NPES -The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies, and the National Association of Printing Ink Manufacturers (NAPIM), announce the revision of two safety standards applicable to ink equipment manufacturers:

• B65/NAPIM 177.1-2017, Safety standard – Three-roll printing ink mills, which applies to all three-roll mills used in the printing ink manufacturing industry, establishes safety requirements for safety controls, operating procedures, and the design of three-roll mills. The revision includes changes in the scope as well as the requirements related to mill/roll cleaning and safe knife-changing procedures.
• B65/NAPIM 177.2-2017, Safety standard – Printing ink vertical post mixersprovides standardized guidance, advice, and recommendations to both equipment designers and operators aimed at reducing the risk of personal injury during the operation of vertical post mixers. The revision includes changes in the scope as well as the requirements related to two hand controls and employee safety.

“The ink industry strongly relies on three-roll mills and vertical post mixers to produce high quality ink systems,” says George Fuchs, Director of Regulatory Affairs and Technology at NAPIM and chair of the B65 Committee that developed this standard. “The safe operation of these pieces of equipment is of paramount importance to ensure employee safety. The ANSI safety standards for three-roll mills (B65/NAPIM 177.1) and vertical post mixers (B65/NAPIM 177.2) provide up to date, accurate and detailed guidance for users of this equipment covering design, training, and safe operation.”

Joseph Cichon, VP of Manufacturing at INX International Ink Company states, “These standards allowed many different companies—both equipment makers and equipment users—to work together to improve the knowledge about hazards for mixers and mills, and collectively identify countermeasures to help protect the workers. They include instructions on safe operation and proper safeguards that can be added, or put in place, to assure a safe work environment. Since these standards were initially introduced and reviewed by the community, many manufacturers have opted to include safety measures such as automatic braking systems for roll mills and automated sensors that will turn off the equipment when an unsafe situation might arise.”

NPES serves as the Secretariat to ANSI CGATS, ANSI B65 and the USTAG to ISO TC130 (Graphic Technology). This work was completed by the ANSI-accredited B65 Committee, which consists of subcommittees that address safety for printing press systems, cutting machines and stand-alone platen presses, as well as binding and finishing systems.

The B65/NAPIM standards are available for purchase from NPES. For more information and to order, visit the NPES Standards Workroom at: www.npes.org/Programs/Standards-Workroom.aspx, or contact Debbie Orf, NPES Senior Director ICC and Standards at phone: 703/264-7200 or e-mail: [email protected].