Oh Soy!

On occasion I have been known to pick up on trends and one that has made it on to my radar recently is the rage over Soy. Its popularity in grocery store products are a testament to the health benefits of Soy based products and the fact that you hear coffee fanatics requesting it as part of their Latte order shows quite clearly that people have become fans of the stuff. So when I started to see information about Soy in reference to printing, it caught my attention.

After some investigation into this new topic, I feel the need to share what I have unearthed about this new printing trend. Based on the numerous articles and printing sites I perused, it is clear that the use of Soy in printing is not a totally new thing. There are quite a few commercial printers that have been using Soy based ink for quite some time laying the ground work for these latest developments. In fact, one statistic I encountered shared that 95% of American daily newspapers print with Soy based ink.

I suspect you are now asking yourself, “What is this new development?” Drum roll, please…. Soy based ink toner for personal printers! Now, before you think, “big deal”, and stop reading consider one thing that makes this a big deal. Originally Soy based ink was only able to be used in a commercial forum because it required a longer time to dry. This feature made it unsuccessful as a toner for personal printers because we all know that in today’s world one needs to print and go! No time to waste waiting for the ink to dry. With this drying issue resolved, Soy based ink toner can be produced for the personal printers of the world allowing users to support environmental efforts while also receiving a few other benefits. Below are some of the bonuses of using Soy based toner:

• Lower levels of VOC’s (volatile organic compounds)

• Soy ink makes paper recycling easier

• Soy is a renewable resource – unlike petroleum which is the base for most standard inks

• Use of Soy ink promotes farming

• Proponents of Soy ink believe the ink is actually brighter than the standard petroleum based ink

• Some reports indicate that Soy based ink requires use of less ink for printing

As this trend picks up momentum, there are likely to be many options for purchasing these products. Although I fully support a competitive market, please consider that there is a SoySeal Mark (sample graphic below) already in use to note Soy based ink products that meet a basic quality requirement. Be sure that the products you purchase have this seal to ensure that what goes into your printer is intended to produce the results you seek.

http://www.soygrowers.com/resources/soyink.htm