Eco-Friendly and/or Organic Inks?

[mimosatexas]

I am having a hell of a time finding any organic inks, which is probably understandable given the inevitable issues with shelf life, dry in, opacity, etc. that would surely come with using them.  I would love to find a line of organic or truly eco-friendly inks though if possible.  In particular right now I need them for flatstock, but I have plenty of interest in ink for shirts as well.  Anyone have a source?

More generally, I'd love to start a discussion on eco-friendly inks.  I use a few brands of waterbased and phalate free plastisol's, but I was wondering, on a spectrum from green to not at all green, how would something like the standard Speedball acrylics stack up?  What about Permaset Aqua?  How about the soy line from One-stroke?  How hard is it to make your own basic inks, something simple that would work on white cloth or paper?

[Rockers]

Sericol and Permaset have inks that have been certified organinc by the Soil Association.

[brandon]

And both of those inks produce great results

[brandon]

Actually we have been testing Permaset's new offerings yesterday and we will continue till next week. Very surprising results. Very opaque with results like the HSA inks. Have tons of wash / dry cycles to go through but so far so good

[tonypep]

Printed on 100% cotton rag paper with organic Akua ink. This series is hand colored later. Playing with different contrasts.

[ebscreen]

Check out the Ink Kitchen as well, he had some stuff on there about mixing your own.

Pigment
Base
Modifiers to make it perform like you want/increase shelf life etc.

That's all there is to it.

Super dilute agar with carbon black...

[mimosatexas]

Where are people buying permaset inks?  Specifically, it looks like the Permaset Permatone series are the GOTS certified inks, not the Aqua series.  Alternatively, it looks like the Texiscreen Aqua AJ series from Sericol would fit the bill as well.

I checked out the Ink Kitchen, and while he has a video showing him make some ink, he provides literally no information about it's ingredients or the process.  Anywhere I can look to learn more about this?

My client finally submitted a deposit for his first job and I need to nail down ink asap.  I'd like to go as "green" as possible.

[brandon]

Remember though, going Green is more than just the ink you use. It is also how you dispose of it or recycle it.

I know some places that use plastisol that are more Green than some water base shops.

[mimosatexas]

I agree.  I try to do as much as I can in that regard already.  I am honestly using this project to learn more about the ink side of things. 

[blue moon]

few thoughts . . .

just because it's waterbased, it does not mean it's eco friendly or green. there are additives in those that in some cases are worse than plastisol.
As already mentioned, disposal plays a huge role in the green factor. if you are sending to the drain or dump, plastisol actually has less impact on the environment.
also, from what I understand, 80% of energy and pollution related to the shirts comes from the wash cycle after it's sold! that's something to think about.

pierre

[mimosatexas]

That's a big part of why I was looking at GOTS certified inks, but I have had no luck sourcing a supplier in the states for either of the GOTS lines I found (mentioned above).  I also would LOVE to make them myself with locally available ingredients, as the carbon involved in transporting them from elsewhere hurts some of the "green" of the ink.  There are so many different ways to be green, and there really is no way to be 100% green when you consider the full process, from production of the components (paper/ink/equipment), to transportation, to disposal, etc.

Regardless, information is king, and understanding the tradeoffs and being able to explain them with authority to Eco-conscious clients is a huge plus.