Sound the Fire Alarm

Who could forget the horrific images of people leaping to the deaths to escape the inferno of the twin towers?  Little, if anything, is more excruciatingly painful than severe burns.  Yet not until tragedy strikes do most take fire safety seriously.

Solvent Hazards

Fire is undiscriminating. It can flare up at any time. And can happen to anyone. After finishing a vinyl graphics application job, a former colleague and mentor had loaded the back seat of his car with rags which had been soaked in solvent for cleaning, before heading down the road. As John drove, he attempted to light one cigarette with another, that he had just finished smoking. After getting a light, he threw the old cigarette out the window. Unbeknownst to John, the cigarette blew back into his car, landing in the pile of rags. Shortly thereafter the rags ignited. As long flames trailed out the back windows of the car, alarmed motorists frantically honked their horns to alert John of his precarious predicament.  

Many of the solvents that are used in sign making are screen printing are either flammable or combustible.  Flammable solvents are those that can have a “flash point” at temperatures lower than 100°F.  The flash point is the lowest temperature at which a solvent can catch fire – the lower the flash point, the more dangerous the solvent. 

Combustible solvents can catch fire at temperatures at higher than 100°F but lower than 200°F.  The following is a list of some common solvents that might be in your shop:

Acetone- Flammable
Adhesive Remover- Highly Flammable
Brush Cleaner- Flammable
Denatured Alcohol- Highly Flammable 
Enamel Reducer- Extremely Flammable
Lacquer thinner-  Extremely Flammable
Mineral Spirits- Combustible
Paint Conditioner/Flow Enhancer- Combustible
Turpentine- Flammable
Wax & Grease Remover- Highly Flammable
Xylene- Flammable

Without good ventilation, solvent vapors can become concentrated near open containers of liquid solvent. These invisible vapors are very dangerous. Remember, the vapors burn, not the liquid. It only takes a spark or high temperatures to start a fire.

What You Can Do

“The best way to keep the incidence of fires low is to conduct regular fire inspections in your business,” says Katy Lellelid of the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association (SGIA). “The  purpose of conducting fire inspections is to identify the problems so that you can correct any violations and bring the plant into compliance with fire regulations.”

In conducting your inspections, here are some hazards to look for:

• Keep solvents and other hazardous materials in clearly labeled containers with the name of the chemical or brand name. To minimize the risk of fire, if you have more than a few quarts of solvent in your shop store any flammable liquids in a fireproof cabinet that meets your local fire code. Solvent-soaked rags should also be stored in covered metal containers. Never store any type of combustible material in a furnace room.

• Keep a fire extinguisher mounted within ten feet of your storage cabinet and make sure that it is regularly inspected and kept in working order. A commercial-grade multi-purpose fire extinguisher will cost less than $75. To remind your employees not to smoke where the flammable liquids are stored, post “NO SMOKING” signs in your shop.

• Mount fire extinguishers along the walkways to your emergency exits. Extinguishers should be with 75 feet of an exit.

• Have fire extinguishers inspected every 12 months.

• In the United States, every workplace must have at least two separate fire exits. These fire exits should be located far apart, so if a fire blocks one exit, workers can safely exit through the other. Illuminated “EXIT” signs must in place and in working order.

• Never lock or block any exit door. Aisles should be free and clear of anything that could hinder evacuation. While this may sound like stating the obvious, each year needless fire deaths occur because exit doors are locked.

• Battery powered emergency lights should also installed in areas such as stairwells to provide lighting if the electrical power goes out. Batteries should be regularly checked and replaced as needed.

Lead By Example

If you want your employees to follow your shop’s safety rules, lead by setting a good example. As fire marshal in my home town, my father often pontificated about fire safety.  He didn’t always practice what he preached. One rule that regularly broke was never to use gasoline as a cleaner. A gallon of gas has the explosive power of twenty sticks of dynamite. Its fumes are extremely flammable and easily ignite with a spark.   My father learned this when his hands went up in flames, resulting in second-degree burns.  He also learned to extinguish his cigarette when working with solvents.

Fire Extinguishers

Companies are required to provide an adequate number of the right type of fire extinguishers and to ensure that this equipment is inspected regularly. When I was asked after a speech what is the right type of fire extinguisher to have on hand, I couldn’t answer the question? 

So I called Jack Roughgarden, R Tape Director of Information Technology and former Fire Chief of his home town in New Jersey. Jack educated me on what fire is, the different classes of fires and which type of fire extinguisher is best for each class of fire.

The simple definition of fire is rapid oxidation of a material at a high temperature. At an elevated temperature the solid fuel turns to a gas and combines with oxygen. When heat is introduced, a chain reaction occurs and the fuel visibly ignites. The fire tetrahedron is a four-sided geometric representation of the four factors necessary for fire: fuel (any substance that can undergo combustion), heat (heat energy sufficient to release vapor from the fuel and cause ignition), oxidizing agent (air containing oxygen), and uninhibited chemical chain reaction (sufficient exothermic reaction energy to produce ignition). The fuel/air ratio must within flammable limits, which describes the amount of vapor in air necessary to propagate flame. Removing any of these four factors will prevent, suppress, or control the fire.

 “Everybody should know where the fire extinguishers are and how to use them,” says Roughgarden. Screen printing plants are vulnerable to a variety of different fire hazards that may require different types of extinguishers. Using the wrong extinguisher can be dangerous and in some cases deadly.  

“Pressurized water is great for putting out wood, paper and trash fires,” Roughgarden says. “Water works by cooling down the burning material below its ignition point” and is defined as a “Class A” fire.  “Class B” fires involve combustible liquids such as gasoline, grease and oils, water should never be used. The same goes for electrical fires. Water conducts electricity, which can cause the fire to spread and  you could also electrocute yourself in the process. “Class C” CO2 gas  extinguisher is the only safe approach.

Dry chemical extinguishers can be used for wood and paper fires, electrical fires and combustible liquid fires and fall under the classification of “ABC Type Extinguishers”. These multi-purpose extinguishers, however, are only good for one use.  After that, you need to have them recharged.  Dry chemical extinguishers also have a limited shelf life and should be inspected annually.

 “In a screen print plant, the multi-purpose dry chemical extinguishers are great for nearly every type of fire,” says SGIA’s Lellelid.  “Fires in a UV curing unit are a different story. The dry ammonium phosphate chemicals can screw up the electronics. For UV, a CO2 extinguisher is the way to go.”

The best advice in fighting electrical fires is to cut the power first.   Carbon dioxide extinguishers work best in quickly smothering the fire, replacing oxygen with CO2.  Be careful when using this type of extinguisher in tight confines.  Carbon dioxide can suffocate a fire, but in high concentrations it can also suffocate you.

Using pressurized water to extinguish combustible metal fires can result in disastrous and explosive results. Combustible metals include, but are not limited to magnesium, titanium and potassium. For combustible metals use a  “Class-D” extinguisher. These extinguishers contain a pressurized dry powder formulated to smother a burning metal and are designed to be operated differently that other types of extinguishers.  Before using a “Class-D” extinguisher, you must first open the value on the nitrogen cylinder to pressurize the tank.

 “When a fire starts, your first responsibility is to sound the alarm and call the fire department,” Roughgarden says. “After you do that, provide assistance to anyone in your immediate area who may be in need of help to exit the building immediately.”

According to Roughgarden, the next step is to contain the fire.  Closing doors, windows and exhaust vents as part of your exit procedures helps control the spread of fire to other parts of the building. At this point, those individuals trained in the identification and classification of  fire and the proper usage of the appropriate extinguishment methods may proceed with the containment and suppression of the incident.   

Conclusion

Fire extinguishers and first aid kits are essential  tools for use after a fire or accident  occurs.  “Ultimately, though, the key to any successful  safety program is prevention,” says R Tape President and CEO Mike Roughton.  “As part of a broader safety protocol, you must regularly demonstrate to your organization that you take fire prevention and their safety seriously.” 

Roughton recommends writing a formal fire safety plan and reviewing it regularly with your employees. Your plan should include fire inspections, evacuation drills and most importantly employee education.  Because there are different types of fires along with different fire fighting procedures, your employees must be trained.

“Only those trained in fire suppression techniques should engage in fighting a fire,” Roughton says.   “Leave the dangerous work to the professionals and don’t risk employee’s lives in a valiant attempt to save assets.  Too often many employees  unnecessarily risk life and limb, even though they have not been adequately trained in fighting fires.” 

Latex Printing Technologies

Recently, HP has been detailing its plans for pigmented, water-based latex inks that will be used in new printers being released by the company in the Summer of ‘08. HP has one of the broadest portfolios of large-format equipment for producing virtually any indoor or outdoor graphic application so it’s no surprise the company is a leader in technological developments for the wide-format printing industry. A key point for the water-based latex ink is that it doesn’t present the environmental problems such as noxious smells and toxic fumes often associated with solvent-based outdoor inks.

The new inks use what HP calls its aqueous-dispersed polymer (“Latex”) which provide the necessary durability and image longevity needed in outdoor applications. Critical physical and chemical properties of the ink are attained using a combination of water (70%), co-solvents for aqueous inks (30%), and additional additives. Co-solvents and additives are used to achieve the necessary functionality and performance characteristics. The co-solvents in HP Latex Inks are similar to the type and concentration used in HP’s water-based Designjet inks. Since the latex formulation is water-based, it reduces the environmental impact and improves the production environment. The latex ink produces extremely low levels of VOCs, requires no special handling, and is non-toxic, non-flammable, and non-combustible. Connections to special ventilation equipment is not required due to the extremely low levels of VOCs emitted which is controlled by heaters and airflow onboard the new HP printers.

Image durability and permanence are important characteristics of any ink. The new HP Latex Ink embeds itself in, and become part of, the media surface which increases the durability and permanence of the image.  HP reports that prints made using HP Latex Inks on a range of media that are displayed outdoors offer display permanence comparable to prints produced with low-solvent inks: up to 3 years unlaminated and up to 5 years with lamination. Indoors, prints made with HP Latex Inks on a range of media offer in-window display permanence up to 5 years unlaminated and up to 10 years with lamination. A CIELab gamut plot of HP Latex Inks shows that the inks, when used in a 6-ink color printing system, produce a color gamut about 4% larger than the gamut for HP low-solvent inks.

In a new, innovative ink cartridge design, HP has been able to reduce material usage and has even developed a recyclable cardboard outer shell for its Latex Inks. They have also developed recyclable substrates for use with the new ink to enable printing to be more environmentally minded, offering an alternative for creating a variety of indoor and outdoor applications.

Summarizing the technological attributes of this new system, one quickly can see the benefits. Water-based inks emit very low amounts of VOCs. Therefore, no special ventilation is required which reduces installation and operating costs of the equipment making for easier installation and relocation and reduces or eliminates permitting for air discharge. Virtually odorless printing improves the production and operating environment of a business and its employees. Safety measures are simplified by using non-combustible, non-flammable inks. Reduce the environmental footprint by using recyclable materials and works to meet the ever increasing customer demand for ecological awareness in print production.

InfoTrends/SGIA InfoCast: Joe Lupone

Podcast: Roland DGA's Vice President talks with InfoTrend's Tim Greene about Roland and the wide-format industry.

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