As society has progressed, printing has become indispensable and plays a major role in industry. At the same time, developments in recent years show that environmental awareness has been greatly heightened. In the context of environmental friendliness and printing inks, water-based inks are the better choice compared to eco-solvent or UV inks.
Brother’s latex inks, are 55-75% water. Inks that are free from harmful chemicals such as PVC or phthalates. Solvent-based inks, on the other hand, use organic solvents and have been criticized for emitting high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are harmful to the human body as well as the environment. Unlike solvent and UV inks, water-based inks contain little to no volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Brother inks are free of harmful chemicals and are safer for the operator, the end user and the environment compared to solvent or UV inks.
In addition, Brother water-based inks contain no hazardous air pollutants and are non-flammable and non-flammable. The use of these inks does not require special ventilation and does not release ozone. Which means these inks require no out gassing time and avoid the problematic reactive monomer chemistry. And they carry the UL GREENGUARD and GREENGUARD Gold certification marks, meaning the product has been tested and evaluated to meet stringent chemical emission limits. UL GREENGUARD certification is an internationally recognized product emissions certification and labelling program for manufacturers of low-emitting products, furnishings, and materials for indoor environments such as schools and healthcare facilities. These are all points that are helping the wide format digital printing industry gain popularity due to its combination of quality, affordability, environmental friendliness and health considerations.
Brother
Founded in 1908 in Japan, Brother manufactures a wide range of electronic, industrial and household equipment and is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of direct textile printers and industrial sewing machines. The Brother Group has sales and distribution offices in more than 40 countries around the world and employs more than 40,000 people.
The headquarters for the distribution of industrial products such as sewing machines, direct textile printers and, more recently, large format printers for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East is located in Emmerich am Rhein. Including the branch in Italy, more than 80 employees are responsible for the EMEA region. Emmerich is also the spare parts center for the above-mentioned region. More than 10,000 machines as well as machine spare parts are stored there and more than 50 countries are supplied daily from the small town on the Lower Rhine.
