Draft results are in from a 1996 survey of screen printers which measured screen reclamation practices for non-textile printers. Almost all, 95%, of the printers perform some screen reclamation, the vast majority of which, 81%, do it on site. Changes in the reclamation practice were far more frequent in the ink removal method than in emulsion or haze removal by a factor of four to six. The reasons and effective motivations for changing a reclamation practice were most likely to be worker health and safety improvement, followed by quality improvement.

Author: Survey by EPA DfE, avail. thru SGIA Govt. Affairs, 703.385.1335
www.sgia.org
Source: SGIA International Tabloid, August, 1999, p. 16.