The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) that regulates air emissions in the Los Angeles, California area, has started the process to revise Rule 1130, Graphic Arts. The changes were announced during a workshop on September 22, 2026 and would lower Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) limits for some inks, coatings, and fountain solutions used on lithographic presses and set new limits for digital printing inks. These changes are not final, but if you operate a facility within the South Coast’s jurisdiction, they could have a major effect on your business and the ability to produce products, and we need to hear from you about the proposed changes.
PRINTING United Alliance is in discussions with SCAQMD staff to represent your interests and ensure that any revised limits account for the materials, equipment, and performance requirements of printing operations. To make a strong case, we need to know if the proposed limits would work for your operation.
The changes under consideration include:
- Conventional inks and coatings: The limit could drop to 100 grams per liter (g/L) or less. Today, limits are 225 g/L for flexographic inks used on porous materials and 300 g/L for other inks such as lithographic inks and coatings.
- Digital inks: Digital inks could have a new limit of 300 g/L.
Therefore, please tell us what printing methods, materials, and inks that you use along with the VOC content ranges for inks and coatings. If you have supplier data, such as SDSs or other VOC records, please include them. Also point out needs for specialty products, such as metallic, fluorescent, matte-finish, or spot-color inks.
For each use, tell us if you could meet a 100 g/L limit for conventional inks and coatings or a 300 g/L limit for digital inks. If not, explain why. Problems may include no products for sale, equipment issues, drying or curing problems, poor sticking, color matching, strength, customer needs, or added cost. If you tested lower-VOC products, tell us what happened.
Additional Request for Members with Lithographic Presses
SCAQMD may set fountain solution limits near 16 g/L for heatset web presses and 50 g/L for sheetfed presses. The limits would apply to the final mix used on the press, after it is diluted. The limit for non-heatset web press fountain solutions would remain the same at 50 g/L.
Please let us know that the current VOC content is for the fountain solutions being used and if you could meet the proposed limit. If not, explain why. Examples include trouble balancing ink and water, more waste, lower print quality, or equipment problems. Results from tests on lower-VOC mixes would be very helpful.
These are preliminary recommendations, not adopted requirements, and were made in response to printing company site visits. SCAQMD staff plans to continue site visits and stakeholder discussions and release proposed rule language in the fourth quarter of 2026. The presentation lists a tentative public hearing in March 2027.
SCAQMD staff are seeking additional information from printers, ink manufacturers, and equipment suppliers regarding VOC content of inks, coatings and fountain solutions currently being used. The principal unresolved question is whether lower-content products and alternative compliance approaches can meet the operating and performance requirements of the full range of affected printing applications including conventional and digital print technologies.
Next steps
SCAQMD’s preliminary proposals could significantly lower VOC limits for conventional inks, coatings, and certain fountain solutions while establishing new limits for digital printing inks. Printers, manufacturers, and suppliers should evaluate the proposed limits, product availability, and performance and provide data and information to PRINTING United Alliance before the proposed rule is released so we can work with the staff to ensure the rule does not have any negative consequences for printing operations. We need to know if any of the proposed limits cannot be met and why they can’t be met so that information can be shared with the SCAQMD.
To share information, discuss potential impacts, or get involved, contact Gary Jones at gjones@printing.org or Sara Osorio at sosorio@printing.org.
In this article, Gary Jones, vice president, EHS Affairs, PRINTING United Alliance, covers recent actions by the South Coast Air Quality Management District to address VOC emissions from printing operations. Reach out to Gary should you have additional questions specific to how these issues may affect your business: gjones@printing.org.
To become a member of PRINTING United Alliance and learn more about how our subject matter experts can assist your company with services and resources such as those mentioned in this article, please contact the Alliance membership team: 888-385-3588 / membership@printing.org.