Upcoming changes to EU regulations are likely to have a major impact on the hazard classification and labeling of industrial continuous ink jet (i-CIJ) inks.The requirements for an ideal i-CIJ solvent are discussed from a physical properties, health, safety and environmental (HS&E) perspective, with reference to both traditional and more recently introduced solvents, and to the use of water. The effects of two major EU Directives are then discussed. Firstly, the 25th Adaptation to the Dangerous Substances Directive assigns additional risk phrases and hazard symbols to a range of solvents used by the industry. Examples of the effects are given. Secondly, the new Preparations Directive introduces the requirement for the environmental classification of preparations. The criteria forcing use of the N symbol are outlined and examples using dyestuffs are given.Other recent EU legislation is briefly summarized, and future trends in the use of solvent-based i-CIJ inks will be postulated.
Richard Marsden, "Effects of Impending EU Regulations on the Search for “Safe” CIJ Inks" in Proc. IS&T Int'l Conf. on Digital Printing Technologies (NIP15), 1999, pp 450 - 454, https://doi.org/10.2352/ISSN.2169-4451.1999.15.1.art00020_2