At a time when sustainability is becoming increasingly important to printers, ink companies are working overtime to develop inks and coatings with eco-conscious offerings.

When Avient recently introduced its Wilfex™ Revive™ Bio Plastisol™ Inks and Rutland™ Evolve™ Bio Plastisol™ inks, it caught the eye of many people, as screen printing inks had previously not reached more than. 50% bio-renewable content while matching performance.

Wilflex Revive inks have 50-59% bio-derived content and are tested to ASTM D6866. Wilflex Revive inks are offered in a base and white and are compatible with the Wilflex Epic PC Express Color Mixing System.

As for Rutland Evolve Bio Plastisol Inks, these contain 56-59% bio-derived content and are also tested to ASTM D6866. These inks are offered in white and mixing base inks. Both inks can be mixed to thousands of Pantone®-simulated colors using IMS 3.0, Avient Specialty Inks’ proprietary color formulation software.

Jake Ojeda, marketing and sales director, Avient Specialty Inks, said that the impetus for the new Wilflex Revive and Rutland Evolve Bio Plastisol Inks came from Avient’s customers, who are seeking sustainable solutions.

“Wilflex Revive and Rutland Evolve Bio Plastisol Inks are achieving something that was never thought to be an option for the screen printing world – over 50% bio-derived inks that perform like a standard plastisol ink,” Ojeda said. “Screen printing inks have featured bio-derived content before, but never to this extent. The reason? Screen printers, brands, and customers are now emphasizing sustainability more than ever. Avient Specialty Inks can meet this need without compromising performance.”

Ojeda noted that major screen printers said that they wanted sustainable inks.

“Our team listened to the sustainability goals of major screen printing brands and saw the need for a sustainable plastisol ink that reduces screen printers’ reliance on fossil fuel-based inks,” he said. “With rigorous development and testing to confirm the inks met ASTM D6866 standards, Wilflex Revive and Rutland Evolve were created.”

There were challenges in terms of meeting performance requirements.

“The biggest challenges in creating our Bio Plastisol inks included identifying the right raw materials and verifying our product’s performance exceeds that of the current alternatives,” said Ojeda. “With adequate research and development, we were able to create over 50% bio-derived inks manufactured from bio-renewable resources that do not compromise performance.

“Avient Specialty Inks’ new Bio Plastisol inks allow screen printers to seamlessly improve their screen printing shop’s sustainability efforts without changing their standard plastisol ink printing experience,” he added. “These inks provide excellent on-press performance, a soft hand feel, and great coverage.”

Ojeda said that Avient is receiving a lot of interest from customers for the Revive and Evolve inks.

“Screen printers are continuously looking for more ways to stand out from the competition and achieve their sustainability goals, making Wilflex Revive Bio Plastisol inks and Rutland Evolve Bio Plastisol inks the ideal screen printing ink solution,” he noted, adding that there will be more bio-derived inks coming from Avient.

“At Avient Specialty Inks, we pride ourselves on developing inks that are more sustainable and perform to the high standards our customers are accustomed to,” Ojeda said. “We have a vast portfolio of sustainability-supporting screen printing inks, including flexible cure inks that can reduce energy use, non-PVC, silicone, and water-based inks that are eco-conscious, and now bio-derived inks with up to 50-59% bio-derived content.

“We are excited to continue expanding our portfolio of screen printing inks, including our groundbreaking Bio Plastisol technology,” Ojeda concluded. “Avient Specialty Inks believes that offering sustainable solutions is not a temporary trend – instead, these new technologies will define the path of sustainable screen printing.”