Introduction

The children book market is becoming more and more prosperous as parents pay more and more attention to children’s reading. Every time the online book shop promotes, the data of children book sales is always quite amazing. At the same time, parents' requirements for children book printing are improving simultaneously, especially the safety and environmental standards of children book printing. Many publishing organizations have begun to mark children books with words such as "green printed publications".

How much do you know about professional environmental standards for children book printing?Here what needs to be reminded is that the environmental protection of printed matter cannot be confused with the quality of printed matter. The quality of printed matter means that the handwriting and lines are clear and the colors are bright. Yet the environmental protection of printed matter means that the printed matter do not bring health hazards to readers when they look through it.

The reason why children books are particularly mentioned is that when children read, harmful substances in printed matters are easier to ingest into the body. First, children, especially young ones, may have the habit of tearing and biting books when reading; Second, many children books have a large number of color pictures, and the amount of ink is much more than ordinary text-based books.

Therefore, children books should have higher standards in environmental protection than ordinary books.

In this regard, we can analyze the main materials for children printed books: ink, glue, paper and coating process.

Ink

The ink may contain benzene, especially color ink. Once solvents such as benzene were used,after the new book is printed, the solvents do not volatilize completely, and when readers open the package,it will give off an unpleasant smell . Benzene and toluene are highly toxic liquids with strong odor. They can not only damage the respiratory tract, but also cause acute poisoning and paralysis of the central nervous system. Short term inhalation makes people dizzy and nausea. Long term exposure may damage the bone marrow, resulting in leucopenia, thrombocytopenia and aplastic anemia.

To see whether the ink belongs to environmental protection ink and will have a negative impact on the children, we mainly consider the following two points: first, heavy metals. Due to the children's book reading habits, the heavy metals in the ink will enter the body through the children's hands and mouth and affect the children's body.The second is volatile matter. The solvents and additives used in ink include aromatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, esters, ethers, ketones, etc. They will evaporate as the ink dries and then enter the children's respiratory system.

So what are the main types of environmental protection inks? 1. Rice bran ink 2. Soybean oil based ink 3. Water based ink.

Related article：37 Questions to Ask Your Future Children Book Printing Company

Glue

Another source of pungent odor is the glue used for binding. Most of the glue used for binding books use quick drying agent. This volatile chemical usually disappears after 10 to 20 days. However, as the books are sealed in the packaging bags, the smell cannot be emitted, so readers will still have a peculiar smell after they get it in their hands; In addition, some adhesives contain a large amount of formaldehyde, emitting a strong smell. Long term exposure to such chemicals is very harmful to health and seriously affects children's physical development.

Related article：13 Steps for Successful Custom Children Book Printing

Paper

In children books, almost all white paper contains fluorescent agents. In the production process of white paper, many bleaching agents and corrosive chemical raw materials will be added. Although the pulp is washed and filtered, it still contains many chemical components harmful to childrens’ body.Moreover, the color of these papers is pale and the reflection is too strong. It is easy to make childrens’ eyes tired and their eyesight drops. It is not suitable for long-term reading.

As environmental protection printing has gradually become the general trend of the development of the whole printing industry, more and more printing enterprises try to print children books with light-weight printing paper. In addition to the advantages of natural color and comfortable hand feeling, light-weight printing paper pays more attention to environmental protection.

Because the traditional printing paper is coated with chemical coatings on ordinary paper, but the light-weight printing paper is basically pressed with wood pulp and does not contain fluorescent brightener, so it is more environmentally friendly. Because of its light weight and environmental protection, light-weight printing paper has gradually become a new choice for children book printing paper.

Related article：18 Tips on How to Save Money on Kids Book Printing

Coating process

Finally, let's talk about the coating process. Lamination is a finishing process for printing surface decoration, which is widely used in printing, packaging and other industries. However, at present, many coating processes still use coating technology, which brings great harm to our environment and body. Benzene containing solvents are widely used in the coating process, yet benzene is a strong carcinogen.

In our life, there are a large number of printing and packaging products coated with instant coating technology, such as the coated covers of books such as textbooks, which are very harmful, especially to children.

According to a research report of the National Cancer Society of the United States, children exposed to benzene containing products for a long time are most likely to suffer from blood diseases such as leukemia. Therefore, children books should not use coating process as much as possible.

See Paperback Printing VS Hardcover Printing

Conclusion

By following these four environmental standards, you are assured that your children books get an environmentally friendly and sustainable printing. This is not only good for the environment, but it is also good for the bottom line, as your consumers are increasingly looking for eco-friendly products.

When choosing a printing company, be sure to ask about their environmental policies and how they adhere to these four standards. By working with a printing company that is committed to sustainable practices, you can ensure that your children books are printed in an environmentally responsible way.

Here we recommend you a trustful book printing company--TIMI Printing.

TIMI is a book printing company staffed by self-publishing experts utilizing the world's superior book printing and binding equipment.

Every individual book publishing project is different, the results are always the same:

• Eye-popping colors    • Crisp and even ink coverage

• Quality paper stocks  • Sturdy, tight book binding

TIMI’s Book Product Advantages:

1.Use special craftsmanship to help the cognition of fun and let the children fully experience the wonderful changes of colors;

2.The drawing style is cute and the lines are simple, which enhances the fun of the children;

3.Muti-language version, sold well in Russia, Asia and Central and Northern Europe, with a cumulative sales volume of hundreds of thousands;

4.Using ultra-light EVA of maternal and child level, each page is embedded with high-density sponge, the whole book feels superb, soft and elastic;

5.Printing ink is food grade, safe and environmentally friendly, mothers and children can enjoy parent-child time at ease.

6.All our products are manufactured based on the quality management system ISO9001.

7.Product dimensions and specifications are tailored to suit customers' needs.

Why look further when TIMI can be your one stop solution, we deliver above expectations.

Need any help? Order a Free consultation.