Purchase costs

Although water-based paints are often more expensive to purchase due to their higher pigment­a­tion, this is more than compensated for by the lower paint consump­tion. In addi­tion, there are no costs for build­ings, machines such as exhaust air treat­ment systems and equip­ment without the explo­sion protec­tion devices, which leads to consid­er­able savings. Addi­tional purchase of solvents for viscosity adjust­ment and cleaning is not neces­sary, which further reduces costs.

Energy costs

Drying water requires more energy than drying solvents. In prac­tice, however, it has been shown that lower temper­at­ures and higher exhaust air volumes have proven to be effective for drying water-based systems, so that the energy costs are equal­ised and the energy costs are compar­able to those of solvent-based systems.

Further costs

Addi­tional savings result from simpler author­isa­tion proced­ures, the elim­in­a­tion of a thermal post-combus­tion plant, solvent balan­cing and lower expenses for occu­pa­tional safety instruc­tions and meas­ures. Building and insur­ance costs are also lower, as no flam­mable chem­icals need to be stored.

It is often assumed that high print quality cannot be achieved with water-based inks.

The combin­a­tion of modern ink systems, coordin­ated machine tech­no­logy (machine, anilox roller, printing plate), pre-press and corona pre-treat­ment enables the highest quality prints, not only on paper but also on a wide variety of films.

A common miscon­cep­tion is that water-based inks cannot offer the same perform­ance as solvent-based inks. Today’s drying systems and optim­ised ink formu­la­tions allow high printing speeds.

Water-based inks require a neut­ral­ising agent to make the binding agents water-soluble. In the past, a large quantity of ammonia or organic amines was used for this purpose.

When the ink dries, not only the water but also the neut­ral­ising agent escapes from the ink film, making it water­proof. Modern systems are formu­lated to be low-odour, which is why the unpleasant, pungent smell of ammonia or amine is a thing of the past in today’s water-based ink systems.

It is assumed that water-based inks do not adhere well to certain mater­ials, such as plastics, or are diffi­cult to process. The combin­a­tion of modern ink systems, coordin­ated machine tech­no­logy (machine, anilox roller, printing plate), pre-press and corona pre-treat­ment enables the highest quality prints, not only on paper but also on a wide variety of films.

Extensive exper­i­ence: More than 40 years of expertise in the devel­op­ment of water-based inks.

Cleaning machines used to be considered prob­lem­atic. However, thanks to advanced cleaners, improved ink formu­la­tions and adjust­ments to working methods, cleaning is now easier and more effi­cient.

Another major advantage is that water-based paints no longer require the purchase and hand­ling of solvents, which can lead to cost savings.

The waste water produced during cleaning must be treated or disposed of separ­ately.

Water-based printing inks do not contain any plas­ti­cisers or solvents that have a high migra­tion poten­tial, but the migra­tion beha­viour of water-based inks must also be checked.