Is an HP Latex Printer "Safe" in a Small, Unventilated Office Space?

[jochwat]

I've got a side gig graphics biz running that I'm sure I've mentioned at some time here. Microbusiness running from a home office. I've gotten the opportunity to "expand" into some small office space in a building a few blocks away. Currently it's one room, about 12' x 10', with the opportunity to also have the adjoining room. The thought is that I could put a printer & cutter in the one room. Might be a bit tight, but I think it could work with an HP 115 Print & Cut setup. Question is, as "safe" as I've read and heard that the HP Latex machines are in regard to ink & fumes, can I run one of these in such a small spot, unventilated other than the doors? The offices do not have windows (they're interior rooms), and I'm not sure how much I'm going to be allowed to chop up the place. There's a possibility to remove the wall between the rooms (if structure allows) if that helps at all.

Any thoughts?

 

[jfiscus]

We thought ours really stunk as it heated up the vinyl, even more than our eco-solvent printers. Left a bad taste in your mouth in the print room. Supposed to be "safe" though. idk, but your neighbors will probably not be that excited about the smell.

 

[Solventinkjet]

As far as ink fumes go, you're good to go. The biggest health issue with HPs is the fact that they require so much heat. Heating up vinyl releases phthalates into the air which are known to cause cancer and birth defects.

 

[victor bogdanov]

Think about painters, construction workers, cleaners etc etc. many jobs have smells, fumes and chemicals. Very few jobs are 100% safe and chemical free, even working in a kitchen you'll be subject to carcinogens from flames/burning and chemicals used to clean the kitchen.

Surgery center/hospital workers are around chemical disinfectants all day long and studies show there are negative effects to this exposure

 

[Jason Thomas]

I would say a big "NO." It is not safe. I had the pleasure of working for a company that strived to take over all local sign business by buying up the other sign shops in town (like mine!). One of the acquisitions led to a lonely production manager and her HP latex, for which we only had a small, unventilated office for her and the HP to work in all day long. It smelled very unpleasant in there and the heat was hellish. I was happy for her the day that she was fired after returning from a van install that she performed in mud and rain.

 

[jochwat]

Thanks for the insights, folks. My full-time job is in buildings filled with lots of fumes and chemicals and stink (screen printing, flexo printing, digital printing, material coating, etc.), and I'm pretty used to it personally. We have two HP365s in another building, which is small, but way bigger than the side-gig space. The biggest concern was that it's a shared environment and while it wouldn't bother me, I didn't want to bother or, worse, put other people in the building at risk. I'll have to pay some close attention to any obvious smells when I'm back at those printers again and see how it goes.

 

[weyandsign]

I don't consider breathing any VOC to be safe. Imagine 20 years down the road developing problems from it. Think about long term.

Health Risks of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)

Prolonged exposure to small amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for sustained periods of time may increase health problems. Learn the risks and how to prevent them.

www.diversitech.ca

 

[victor bogdanov]

I don't consider breathing any VOC to be safe. Imagine 20 years down the road developing problems from it. Think about long term.

Health Risks of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)

Prolonged exposure to small amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for sustained periods of time may increase health problems. Learn the risks and how to prevent them.

www.diversitech.ca

better never cook then

"While the oven and stove are probably the most significant sources of airborne pollutants during cooking, many appliances that use heat, such as toasters, deep fryers and woks, can release particulate matter and VOCs into the air. This is especially true of appliances that are not used very often, because while heating, the device burns away any dust that has gathered on the surface, which then recondenses in the air as particulate matter."

Why Your Kitchen Air May Be Surprisingly Hazardous

Is there any better smell than a favorite food simmering away on the stove? There is a reason why home-cooked meals hold a special place in the hearts of so many. Throughout the ages, cooking has been used to bond with loved ones, impress potential suitors and provide for family members...

molekule.com

Speciation of VOCs in the cooking fumes from five edible oils and their corresponding health risk assessments

Cooking fumes are important volatile organic compounds (VOCs) sources of indoor air, however, emission characteristics of the commonly used oils (cano…

www.sciencedirect.com

 

[weyandsign]

better never cook then

"While the oven and stove are probably the most significant sources of airborne pollutants during cooking, many appliances that use heat, such as toasters, deep fryers and woks, can release particulate matter and VOCs into the air. This is especially true of appliances that are not used very often, because while heating, the device burns away any dust that has gathered on the surface, which then recondenses in the air as particulate matter."

Why Your Kitchen Air May Be Surprisingly Hazardous

Is there any better smell than a favorite food simmering away on the stove? There is a reason why home-cooked meals hold a special place in the hearts of so many. Throughout the ages, cooking has been used to bond with loved ones, impress potential suitors and provide for family members...

molekule.com

Speciation of VOCs in the cooking fumes from five edible oils and their corresponding health risk assessments

Cooking fumes are important volatile organic compounds (VOCs) sources of indoor air, however, emission characteristics of the commonly used oils (cano…

www.sciencedirect.com

Nothing to do with cooking. The question was weather latex fumes are "safe". I know I'm breathing VOC to some extent while printing, even with ventilation. But still choose to do it. Same with cooking. Still would not call it a safe thing to do in a small unventilated space.

 

[jcskikus]

My daily gig is working in a 12'x14' room, housing a HP 560 Latex, a Summa S-One D160, and a Mystic 1650 heat-assisted laminator. In the middle of the room and behind the laminator, is a 50"x78" table on locking casters. Tight? HELL YES!!! Printing with certain vinyls can make the place smell, where I leave the area out into garage bays. I regularly print on 3M IJ680CR here and the smell isn't that bad. Now the heat with the 230v HP printer is another thing. It can make the AC feel as if it isn't on at all.
I run two computers with a KVM switch so the design machine is not messing while RIP/printing with the 2nd box. Both are on UPS backup batteries, which are needed as the electricity cuts out a few times a year. It allows me to print for 5 minutes, so hopefully it can finish. The design computer lasts about 45 minutes before getting near 50%.
If the company wasn't moving within the next year, I wouldn't remain working in such a confined space. As it is, I have 3 eco-solvent printers, a 72" cutter and two laminators, and a 5'x11' rolling table at home inside a two-car garage. The smell isn't as bad as I use hepa filters which cut the airborn particulates dratically. The challenge at my day gig isn't so bad, knowing I won't be producing anything larger than the side of a pickup.

 

[Splash0321]

I never noticed much with my latex printer but it was in a 16x45 room.

Aside from the potential ventilation issue, the 10x12 room is pretty tight to operate a printer and cutter in. Would need to be the only things in the room.

 

[Ldireprophil]

a lot of small shops have multiple latex printers, don't worry about it.

 

[caribmike]

My daily gig is working in a 12'x14' room, housing a HP 560 Latex, a Summa S-One D160, and a Mystic 1650 heat-assisted laminator. In the middle of the room and behind the laminator, is a 50"x78" table on locking casters. Tight? HELL YES!!! Printing with certain vinyls can make the place smell, where I leave the area out into garage bays. I regularly print on 3M IJ680CR here and the smell isn't that bad. Now the heat with the 230v HP printer is another thing. It can make the AC feel as if it isn't on at all.
I run two computers with a KVM switch so the design machine is not messing while RIP/printing with the 2nd box. Both are on UPS backup batteries, which are needed as the electricity cuts out a few times a year. It allows me to print for 5 minutes, so hopefully it can finish. The design computer lasts about 45 minutes before getting near 50%.
If the company wasn't moving within the next year, I wouldn't remain working in such a confined space. As it is, I have 3 eco-solvent printers, a 72" cutter and two laminators, and a 5'x11' rolling table at home inside a two-car garage. The smell isn't as bad as I use hepa filters which cut the airborn particulates dratically. The challenge at my day gig isn't so bad, knowing I won't be producing anything larger than the side of a pickup.

I love your little set up! We just closed our 10,000 sf facility after 50 years and moved into our 1500 sf apartment below our house. Its a similar set up and super efficient. However, the Mimaki eco-solvent really needs to be vented outside. It gives me a huge headache from the fumes. What kind of desk/workstation is that? I need something like it.

 

[jochwat]

My daily gig is working in a 12'x14' room, housing a HP 560 Latex, a Summa S-One D160, and a Mystic 1650 heat-assisted laminator. In the middle of the room and behind the laminator, is a 50"x78" table on locking casters. Tight? HELL YES!!! Printing with certain vinyls can make the place smell, where I leave the area out into garage bays. I regularly print on 3M IJ680CR here and the smell isn't that bad. Now the heat with the 230v HP printer is another thing. It can make the AC feel as if it isn't on at all.
I run two computers with a KVM switch so the design machine is not messing while RIP/printing with the 2nd box. Both are on UPS backup batteries, which are needed as the electricity cuts out a few times a year. It allows me to print for 5 minutes, so hopefully it can finish. The design computer lasts about 45 minutes before getting near 50%.
If the company wasn't moving within the next year, I wouldn't remain working in such a confined space. As it is, I have 3 eco-solvent printers, a 72" cutter and two laminators, and a 5'x11' rolling table at home inside a two-car garage. The smell isn't as bad as I use hepa filters which cut the airborn particulates dratically. The challenge at my day gig isn't so bad, knowing I won't be producing anything larger than the side of a pickup.

Well, this is inspiring -- although you DO have the luxury of a window! But you've also packed the hell out of that room, and it makes me feel better about going forward with the plan... as long as the building power is up to snuff, or they're OK with getting it there... Thanks for the great example of this situation working out so well.

 

[jochwat]

I never noticed much with my latex printer but it was in a 16x45 room.

Aside from the potential ventilation issue, the 10x12 room is pretty tight to operate a printer and cutter in. Would need to be the only things in the room.

That's pretty much the plan.

 

[Haimduek]

The latex inks are pigments immersed in water so the by product is small amount of water vapor evaporating to the air at the curing stage. It will not smell . On the other hand the media such as banner (not all) when being cured with low heat will emit media odor but that has nothing to do with the latex inks.

 

[Stacey K]

I'm in a room 30x40 and if the printer is running continuously for hours it starts to smell. I open the window and its fine.

 

[jochwat]

I'm in a room 30x40 and if the printer is running continuously for hours it starts to smell. I open the window and its fine.

All I can open is the office door, which opens out to other (larger) office space. That space happens to be available to lease, but, not sure I could swing the cost over the good deal I've got for just the office rooms...

 

[garyroy]

Run a good carbon filter air recirculator in the room for starters.

 

[Solventinkjet]

It's funny seeing people's risk tolerances on here. I'm more in the camp of, better safe than sorry. Sure working in a room with a latex isn't going to affect you much today but doing it for 20 years is going to have some effect and I don't feel like taking that chance especially when putting in ventilation or simply opening a window with a fan in it is cheap and easy.