| There are many factors to consider when choosing a
blanket wash or other press chemical that is best for your shop. Perhaps
the most obvious are purchase price and performance. But there are
other, less obvious factors that are just as important. How flammable
is the wash? Is it a regulated material? How hazardous is it to worker
health or to the environment? Even if it is cheaper to buy, a wash
that is more hazardous, or one that is regulated, may have large hidden
costs that make it more expensive in the end.
The worksheet contained in this bulletin
identifies many of these costs, both obvious and not so obvious.
Use it to compare your blanket wash options - it may help you find
a blanket wash that is better for your shop.
Why A Worksheet?
The worksheet provided with this bulletin
gives you a place to keep information about the washes you try out
at your shop. Make extra copies of the blank worksheet and record
information about each blanket wash you test. After trying a variety
of washes, you can use the completed worksheets to compare them and
find the one that is best for your shop. The worksheet is not a scientific
evaluation and may not cover every potential cost. If a test wash
scores significantly better than your normal wash, this means the
test wash might be a better choice, but does not guarantee it.
The Worksheet: How Does it Work?
The worksheet can help you compare
test blanket washes to your normal wash. Complete the worksheet
after you (or your press operators) know how well the test wash
works (this may take a week or two of use). When you answer the
questions and add up the scores, the worksheet will tell you if
the test wash may be a better choice for your shop.
All information needed for the worksheet is available from:
- the press operators in your shop who have been using the test
- the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) that comes with the blanket
- your blanket wash supplier
The environmental, health, and safety costs of blanket washes
are often hidden. If your test wash is less harmful to your workers
or the environment, or is less flammable than your current blanket
wash, you may save money by using it even if it costs more per gallon.
Potential savings include:
- Decreased regulatory costs (such as disposal costs, pollution
control equipment, permitting, permitting fees, training, fines)
- Improved worker health and safety
- Decreased insurance costs (such as workers compensation, fire,
- Other decreased costs (such as energy)
Choosing a Better Wash: An Example
By testing a variety of washes you may be able to find one that
is cheaper to use and better for the environment. During the DfE
Lithographic Printing Partnership, a vegetable
ester wash was found that worked well and cost less than a petroleum-based
wash. Cost per wash was calculated based on price per gallon, time
required to wash a blanket, number of towels, and amount used. Results
showed the vegetable ester wash was cheaper to use per blanket than
the petroleum-based wash at one facility, but was more expensive
at another facility. While savings may be even greater when factors
such as those on the worksheet are also considered, these mixed
results show how important it is to evaluate products in your own
| Use the Worksheet to Choose Other Chemicals for Your Shop
The nine worksheet questions
can be easily adapted to compare other chemicals, such as
roller washes, you test in your shop. These nine questions
are important to consider when making any chemical decisions
for your facility.
Don't Give Up
Keep in mind that the process of choosing a better blanket wash
will require some experimentation and an open mind. Not every blanket
wash will work well at your shop right away, but some may work better
as press operators become more comfortable with them. For this reason,
allow a set period of time for trying a blanket wash, and stick
to it. For more ideas on cost saving ways to reduce pollution and
waste at your facility, see other Design for the Environment (DfE)
Bulletins for the Lithographic
Questions to Ask When You Call Your Blanket
| To complete the worksheet
you will need to ask your supplier some important questions: (Some
blanket wash manufacturers may supply this information on the MSDS,
but they are not required to do so.)
- Does the blanket wash contain chemicals deemed hazardous under
any environmental statute or OSHA?
- What is the percent Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) content
of the blanket wash?
- What is the Vapor Pressure of the wash in mmHg?
About the Design for the Environment Lithographic
| The goal of the Design for the Environment (DfE) Lithographic
Printing Partnership is to provide lithographers with information
that can help them design an operation which is more environmentally
sound, safer for workers, and more cost effective.
Concentrating on the process of blanket washes, the partners of
the DfE Lithographic Printing Partnership, in a voluntary cooperative
effort, evaluated 37 different blanket wash products. Information
was gathered on the performance, cost, and health and environmental
risk trade-offs of the different types of substitute blanket wash.
For more details on the evaluations, please refer to the booklet,
Evaluating Blanket Washes: A Guide For Printers. In addition
to the Lithographic Printing Partnership, similar DfE projects are
currently underway with both the screen printing and flexography
industries. To obtain additional copies of this or other bulletins
and case studies, or for more information about EPA's Design for
the Environment Program contact:
Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse (PPIC)
1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW (7407-T)
Washington, DC 20460-0001