Odor and Its Relation to Retained Solvents in Printed Films.

The reduction of odor to quantitative terms is an elusive problem because it involves a psychophysical phenomenon. There are many potential causes of odor in a printed film, some of which can be measured and some of which cannot. The most practical approach seems to involve both gas chromatography as well as an odor panel. The instrumental measurement of residual solvents is a related problem. There are several techniques of sampling, measuring, and presenting the data obtained. The effect of the printed substrates on these measurements cannot be ignored. The impetus for this type of work has been and will surely continue to be increased quality assurance on the part of converters and their customers plus increased pressures due to broadening governmental requirements.