Green Cleaners Step Forward

Oct 1, 2008

The traditional screen printing shop can be filled with the unpleasant odors from cleaners and solvents derived from petroleum products. Handled safely and disposed of properly, these chemicals have been important tools for screen printers for many decades.

As shops move toward printing more eco-friendly inks on more eco-friendly and organic garments, it's only natural to apply the same principles to screen reclamation, washout stations and other cleaning processes for greener alternatives.

The chemical industry has responded with eco-friendly ink cleaners, emulsion removers, dehazers, degreasers and other chemicals derived from citrus, soy, corn, oats and other agriculture bio-mass.

Do these green cleaning products work? Yes, sometimes better than petrol-based formulations.

Are they more expensive than traditional cleaners and solvents? The short answer is yes, though how much varies by brand, and shelf pricing can be deceptive.

"If purchased in bulk, [green cleaners] can be very competitive with traditional pricing," says Daniel Boren of CCI Chemical Corp., Vernon, Calif. Ryan Moor, of Ryonet Corp., the national distributor for CCI's new Enviroline, points out that using green cleaners means fewer EPA regulations to worry about, a better work environment for employees and less local government regulation. "It's easier to control, easier to use and easier to manage," Boren says. "And that reduces cost."

Jason Davenport, marketing director, Franmar Chemical, Bloomington, Ill., a distributor that specializes in green chemicals for screen printing shops, points out that shelf prices can be deceiving. "One quart of our Bean-e-doo Textile Ink cleaner — at $12.95 — will clean 90-plus standard size screens," he says. "One quart of mineral spirits may only cost $5, but it only cleans about 10 screens. So, not only do you have monetary cost savings, you also have labor cost savings — happier employees who can clean better and faster — and environmental impact savings — fewer disposal problems, for example."

Soy-based cleaners also are gentler on screen mesh and leave less haze than mineral spirits, Davenport says. "Another soy product we have will remove the haze (or ghost) image from a screen [and] will not eat or weaken the mesh," he says. "Conventional cleaners, if left on too long, will actually eat right through the mesh."

Simon P. Clifford, president, Tekmar, Santa Barbara, Calif., agrees. "Ghost removers, for example, on the conventional side can be caustic and quite hazardous," he says. "Some of the newer replacements are safe and effective and very quick to work. There will always be a trade off on the pros vs. cons. However, the eco-friendly cleaning products will ultimately perform as well or better than conventional products." — T.M.

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