The oil is extracted from the soybean, and food processing companies use most of it as an ingredient in thousands of food products. Ink manufacturers blend this same food-grade soybean oil with pigments, resins and waxes to make ink. Whether the goal is to clean the air, reduce dependence on foreign oil sources, or use sustainable resources, soy ink can help accomplish these objectives. As the United States moves toward a more stringent environmental policy, one of the beneficiaries will be those using soy ink. Unlike petroleum inks, soy ink does not release VOC into the atmosphere upon drying.
Materials printed with soy ink are easier to recycle.
Soy ink consumes 44 million pounds of soybean oil annually. For more information on soy ink, visit the National Soy Ink Information Center.