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Dangers of working with Solvents? Solutions?
Im curious as to how others are dealing with the smell of their printers. I work in a print workshop with 2 x solvent printers and 1 x water based pigment ink printer, we have 2 carbon filter airwash unit that run full time, and our print room is seperated by a wall from our design and RIP printers. Some days we are still very overwhelmed by the smells coming from the rooms. I would like to know the following…
– How do others deal with this problem?
– How dangerous are these solvents? Health complications in the future etc? (I have read the MSDS sheets, and there is too many big words in there for me to understand whats what)
– Who do i call to measure to particles in the air to see whether or not im in any danger?
– Does airconditioning in the room perpetuate the problem? (We seem to have solvent smells all the time, even when the printers are not running)Any responses on how to resolve and how other have setup thier prints shops would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Pauly
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13 Replies
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mate, I sit right beside my printer, about 2 feet away. I don’t have an airwash, although I’m saving to buy one.
At the moment I run a fan across the print as it comes out of the printer, blowing the fumes toward an exhaust fan I have in the wall.
I don’t find it too bad, but some clients do comment on the smell.
My room is airconditioned too, and the colder the room the lower the smell, but it does seem to slow down the drying off the print head.
Cheers
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I run 2 DGI printers and 1 Seiko Colorpainter.
I’ve been using solvents since 2003, so now I can hardly smell anything, but my customers say the air in the shop is with a lot of odor.We call techs from the hospital who look after employees illness.
They measured for 2 days with masks in operator’s nose and mouth, they tested the results and nothing harmful appear.Well…that’s according to Chilean regulations.
Maybe you can call this kind of people to test your place
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Yes you can have a test like this, we used to have them when I worked at K shoes as an engineer because we were dealing with all sorts of chemicals etc.
We were all given a special badge to wear for the day and this was then sent off to a lab to be checked for harm full stuff, I was told it is very expensive though.Steve
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i think the fumes do harm to us, but i find the printer fumes not as bad as the screenprinting ones ive been breathing in for over 20 years one of the reasons i have an ulcer, and ed has one too 😕 i just make sure i drink plenty during the day (no not alchohol before you ask) milk or water and get as much fresh air as i can, the healh and safety dont bother us as we have no staff , so instead we have expelairs installed which help to a small degree 😀
nik
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We keep our printer in a separate room, just go in there to change media etc., however, my Springer Spaniel has fits of sneezing if he goes in there following one of us, so it must effect him!
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Just reading Nics reply reminded me about a mate in the motor trade who told me their paint spraying guys had to consume a certain amount of milk a day to help flush anything. Even though the booths they worked in were state of the art. It had to be milk rather than water apparently.
I use to work in the electronics industry and I’m sure solder fumes affected me that and all those nice fibres from PCB’s…….
Personally I think if I had a printer and couldn’t afford pukka extraction I would make something up myself. Not just sucking polluted air out but maybe drawing fresh air in.
Tim.
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quote Tim Painter:Personally I think if I had a printer and couldn’t afford pukka extraction I would make something up myself. Not just sucking polluted air out but maybe drawing fresh air in.
Tim.
You’re dead right there Tim
My last job when I was an engineer was with a company that made dust extraction/control equipment for quarries, cement works etc.
One of the main problems we encountered was extraction systems that didn’t account for replacing the removed air with something, be it a product or just more air.
If you do have an extraction system make sure more air can come in to replace the extracted air otherwise it’ll never work, this can be a simple hole in the wall or you can use a fan to pull more air into the room.
I know it’s simple but you’d be amazed at how many times it’s missed.Steve
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Run some google searches on the chemicals that make up the solvent inks…
Quite interesting that all of them produce neurotoxicity over long exposure periods (or short term exposure but high concentration levels..)Our JV3 has only been running for 4 months (output 50m roll a day), but I experienced quite a few of the symptons after only a month of outputting… short term memory loss, aches/pains etc…
The mimaki is installed in a small room with an exhaust fan, waste duct + extra fan from the main unit. This wasn’t enough extraction….fumes were building up in the plotter room to huge levels and then creeping into the workstation areas…
Currently upgrading to an industrial strength extractor/intake system to keep the airflow turning over large amounts of volume in the plotter room. (plus maintain a consistant temperture and humidity level)
I now wear gloves, safety glasses and a long coat whenever performing maintenance!
Sounds over the top… but I was really, really sick… and by being cautious my health has returned back to 100%.If your machine is installed in a small room, or a design office, then airflow/turnover is very important. Different story if its installed in a large open factory/warehouse…
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Where abouts in Oz Daniel? Just being nosy
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At a couple of sites near me, running mutoh toucans, extraction tubes were actually modified onto the machine. From the top cover, three equally spaced flexible tubing was fitted, that went straight above the machine into an extraction unit. It worked quite well.
Another was running "environAir" filtration box systems.(www.environair.com.au) . These worked well, but must have the filters cleaned quite frequently.
One last example I saw that worked surprisingly well was simply a large fan placed near the door inline with the printers position. It would draw the fumes straight out the door. (There was another door at the other end however, so new air could flow in (as previously stated).
Not sure if this helps, but just what I’ve seen around.
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quote Shane Drew:Where abouts in Oz Daniel? Just being nosy
Gday Shane, based on the Gold Coast
Eddie: Thanks for the enviroair link, looks promising
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quote Daniel Gillen:quote Shane Drew:Where abouts in Oz Daniel? Just being nosyGday Shane, based on the Gold Coast
Battle of the titans? (:) (chat.)
hahaahaha
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quote Daniel Gillen:quote Shane Drew:Where abouts in Oz Daniel? Just being nosy
Gday Shane, based on the Gold Coast
I do a lot of Gold Coast work too, based in Logan City tho.
We should catch up some time….
I think Australian Graphic Supplies in brisvegas sell an exhaust system too. Give Luke a call (ags.com.au)
Cheers
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