Greetings Cards Made With Vegetable Based Ink

A thoughtful greeting card begins with the care that goes into making it, from the paper to the printed design. At Whistlefish, we use vegetable-based inks to print our greeting cards. These inks use plant-derived oils in place of some or all of the mineral oils found in conventional oil-based printing inks.

Our Printing Pledge is one of five Green Matters pledges, guiding the choices we make about materials, printing and waste. But what goes into vegetable-based inks, and what do they mean for recycling?

What are vegetable-based inks made from?

Vegetable-based inks can contain oils from linseed, rapeseed, safflower, soya beans, corn and other plant sources. Different oils may be blended to suit the printing process and the finish needed.

The oil is only part of the recipe. Inks also contain pigments that provide colour, resins that help bind the ink to the paper, and other ingredients that control how it prints and dries. This means that “vegetable-based” does not necessarily mean the whole ink is made from plants.

These inks have been around for quite some time. In 1987, soya-based ink was successfully tested in a newspaper printing run by The Gazette in Iowa, marking an early milestone in its use for newspaper printing.

Why choose vegetable-based printing inks?

Conventional oil-based inks can contain mineral oils derived from petroleum, a finite resource. Vegetable oils come from crops that can be grown again, so using them can reduce reliance on fossil-derived ingredients.

That is one reason for choosing them, although no single ingredient tells the whole environmental story. How the crops are grown, how the ink is made, and the paper and printing processes used all matter too. Vegetable-based ink is one part of a wider approach to making cards with care.

How do vegetable-based inks affect recycling?

When paper is recycled, it is broken down into fibres. Depending on the paper being produced, a de-inking stage may separate the printed ink from those fibres so they can be used again.

Some vegetable-based ink formulations can be easier to remove during this process. However, the results depend on the ink, the paper and the recycling method, so easier removal and energy savings cannot be assumed for every printed item.

Recyclable and biodegradable also mean different things. A card may be suitable for paper recycling without every ingredient being biodegradable. Using vegetable-based ink alone does not make a finished card suitable for composting.

Recycling your greeting cards

Our greeting cards are recyclable, including those with our foil finishes. Our guide to recycling foiled greeting cards explains more about these decorative details.

When you are ready to part with a card, check your local recycling guidance. Remove any added ribbons or glitter-covered sections before recycling the paper and envelope. You can also consult Recycle Now’s greeting card recycling advice.

Bringing colour to a thoughtful card

You have probably seen fields of rapeseed glowing yellow on a walk or drive through the countryside. It is lovely to think that oils from familiar plants can have a role in the printing process, too.

For a cheerful burst of colour, explore our Neon Card Collection. Designs such as the Sweet Treats Birthday Card bring a playful touch to a birthday message, with plenty of room inside for your own thoughtful words.