Chemicals that are used in the Graphic Design Process
What are they used for?
Isopropanol –
This chemical has a wide range of uses, a solvent, an antiseptic, a cleaning agent, an astringent and muscle aches. As a solvent, it is used in a range of industries from printmaking to laboratory reagents. It dissolves a wide range of compounds and evaporates quickly, unlike ethanol it is relatively non-toxic making it safer to use. As well as this isopropanol can be mixed with most solvents including water, ethanol and chloroform therefore it is widely used as a solvent. When mixed with water it creates rubbing alcohol, more commonly known as surgical spirit, when turned into this form the chemical has a wide range of home-based uses from cleaning surfaces to cleaning and disinfecting wounds. As industrial solvent isopropanol has a number of different uses including; stripping paint, equipment cleaning in printmaking and dilation and extraction in laboratory chemicals. This would help a designer in their work for cleaning the equipment they have used to make it last longer and so they can use it for their next piece of work. However the chemical doe has its risks, repeated high exposure to it can cause headaches, dizziness, confusion, loss of coordination, unconsciousness and it is a major fire hazard when it comes into contact with it. When the chemical comes into contact with skin it can burn the skin and eyes, prolonged contact can cause skin rash, itching drying and redness. To control this a person will enclose the chemical, use ventilation and wear a face covering, if the chemical does come into contact with clothing or skin take off all garments run under water immediately and seek medical attention if the condition worsens.
Methanol-
A chemical that is used in thousands of everyday products including plastics, paints, cosmetics and fuels. It is water-soluble and readily biodegradable, its economic advantages make it an attractive alternative fuel for powering vehicles and ships, cooking food, and heating homes. Through the years the demand for methanol has vastly risen therefore making it more expensive, there are also thousands more methanol derivative products such as acetic acid and formaldehyde because the chemical is a base material. Methanol is a non-drinking type of alcohol meaning it is poisonous for human consumption, however, small amounts naturally occur in many living organisms as part of their metabolic processes, for example, the chemical does appear in many fruit and vegetables. Roughly 45 per cent of the world’s methanol is used in energy-related applications but can also be blended into gasoline to produce an efficient fuel known as methyl tertiary butyl ether which can have lower emissions than conventional gasoline. It is primarily used as an industrial solvent to help create inks, resins, adhesives and dyes and further to help manufacture important pharmaceutical ingredients and products such as cholesterol, streptomycin, vitamins and hormones. Despite all its uses and advantages the chemical also comes with its disadvantages and dangers. Burning methanol increases the emissions of carbon dioxide because it is made from natural gas and if made from coal methanol will double in carbon dioxide emissions even if efficiency remains the same, even if it is safer than gasoline it has a high amount of formaldehyde emissions. Methanol is highly flammable and toxic, it must be properly stored transported and used by people trained in its handling making it unavailable to use to everyone. It must not be ingested or inhaled by humans, it can be harmful if swallowed, absorbed through the skin or inhaled as it can cause irreversible injury to the nervous system, blindness or even death. Even minor exposure o methanol has consequences of the following; headache, weakness, drowsiness, nausea, difficult breathing, drunkenness, eye irritation, blurred vision, loss of consciousness, and possibly death. When using methanol a person must avoid prolonged and repeating of the methanol vapours and have proper ventilation to make safe working conditions. Using gloves and eye goggles limits exposure to the skin however if contact is still made a person must wash with soap and water for 15 minutes and seek medical attention if irritation continues; this follows the same with the eyes but excluding the use of soap. Ingestion of methanol is life-threatening, and if occurs take the victim straight to a medical professional and do not induce vomiting; the onset of symptoms may be delayed for 18 to 24 hours after ingestion.
Toluene-
A colourless, clear liquid that becomes a vapour when exposed to air at room temperature, it isn’t hard to distinguish if it is exposed as it releases a sharp, sweet odour. Toluene is used as paint, lacquer thinner, or a dyeing agent as it can help dry dissolve and thin other substances, but is also found in fuels. In a laboratory, it is used as a solvent for carbon nanomaterials including nanotubes and fullerenes and it can also be used as a fullerene indicator. The possession of the chemical is regulated in many jurisdictions and many of the products contain it because of the ability to use it for recreational drug purposes, making it harder for minors to obtain it. The chemical is also used in nail polish due to its ability to help dissolve other substances but in contrast, has also been used to enable nail polishes, hardeners and lacquers to be applied smoothly proving the many strengths of this chemical. Toluene is produced in the manufacturing of gasoline, it improves the octane ratings for fuel in race cars and other automobiles, the higher the octane number or rating the greater the fuel’s resistance to knocking or pinging during combustion. Because the chemical easily evaporates when exposed to the air, toluene can evaporate out of common household items such as glue, paints, paint thinners, adhesives, synthetic fragrances and nail polish into the air which is then inhaled. However, this can be resolved in future reference by using these products in well-ventilated areas and closely following the label warnings and instructions. When exposed to the chemical via breathing it in or contact with mouth or skin toluene can cause; irritated eyes, nose and throat, dry or cracked skin, headache, dizziness, feeling of being drunk, confusion and anxiety. If there is continued exposure the risks heighten and may lead to tiredness, slow reaction, difficulty sleeping, numbness in the hands or feet, or female reproductive system damage and pregnancy loss. If swallowed, toluene can cause liver and kidney damage.
Materials that are used in the Graphic Design Process
What are they used for?
Sign Vinyl-
There are many different types of sign vinyl used in graphic design; calendered vinyl, polymeric vinyl, transparent vinyl, matt vinyl, and gloss vinyl. It can be used in a range of eye-catching displays and advertisements and each one has its own separate use. Polymetric vinyl is resistant to most environments and has long durability so its perfect use is for creating banners as it uses plasticisers with large molecule sizes. Calendered vinyl film is used for short term application as it doesn’t have a strong resistance to harsh environments, it isn’t comfortable and doesn’t stretch well, their casts usually last typically from 3-6 years. This is because it is made of PVC material being squeezed between heated steel rollers to form a thin sheet of film. Most types of vinyl are manufactured differently making their durability and flexibility differently. Sign vinyl is a material much like a very large sticker, it is backed with an adhesive that can be applied to different surfaces, this can be to vehicles, windows, walls and a wide range of flat or curved surfaces. It can be an effective way to promote a business, sign vinyl can be cut in different ways to produce colourful and bright displays for advertisement making them stand out in any location. Solvent-based adhesives are best to use as they don’t whiten when applied wet and cold and they have great temperature resistance. The main reason most sign vinyl doesn’t have long outdoor durability is down to UV radiation being emitted by the sun. The UV radiation affects the colour of most vinyl signs and after a number of years, the sign will begin to fade.
Lino-
Lino printmaking is the method of carving a drawing into a soft linoleum block, rolling a thin layer of ink over it and pressing paper on top to transfer it. The prints look bold and can make a statement, they have hard lines, flat areas of colour and high contrast between paper and ink, but they can require patience to make. You can spend a long time carving to make just a simple design, but the printing is fairly fast so after you have created your initial design you can make multiple copies quickly and easily. Many artists find that working in lino can change their style and makes their work appear more powerful rather than drawings made with a pencil that can look tentative or flimsy. The tools needed for lino printing include; lino board, ink roller, carving tools, sheet for inking up (glass, plastic, a tile, another piece of lino, anything that is smooth, flat and non-absorbent), marker pen and a pencil. Lino was used as an alternative to wood by Artists such as Matisse and Picasso from the 1900s and became a popular process within the German Expressionist and Russian Constructivist movements of the 1910s and 1920s; the first British exhibition to feature Lino Prints was in 1929. By itself lino doesn’t look very inspiring, it comes in a dull grey known as ‘battleship grey’ and if cold can be hard to cut but with different sized blazed and experiment it can turn into something impressive.
Albumen Print-
Albumen paper was popular for photographic printing between 1850 to 1900 invented by William Henry Fox Talbot’s famous “Photogenic Drawing” process, disclosed to the world on February 21, 1839. it was coated in a layer of egg-white containing salt and sensitized with a silver nitrate solution. It would then print in the daylight under a negative, when a glass negative is placed directly on the paper and exposed to light, it forms an image on the paper, and the result would have a smooth surface with a fine sheen. Albumen prints could be toned with a gold solution which gave a rich purplish/brown colour which would reduce the risk of fading within the photo.nThe time floating o the albumen paper was around one minute and would then be taken into a warm loft for drying this is because it had a faster drying rate imparting higher gloss onto the paper. The albumen print became so popular because of its crisp, sharp image the best of its time. Very few have survived in their original condition. Approximately 85% of extant albumen prints suffer from the presence of a yellowish-brown stain in the highlights (nonimage areas), and almost as many exhibits overall image fading, with an accompanying shift in image colour from purple or purplish-brown to a sickly yellowish-brown.
Tools that are used in the Graphic Design Process
Chisels-
There are several kinds of cuts you can make with a wood chisel, a particular one may be more suited to perform a certain kind of cut than another. They can be made from numerous materials including chrome, vanadium, steel and forged steel. Brick chisels are specifically designed for cutting through hard materials, they feature a wide blade that allows for the effective cracking of wide surfaces such as masonry blocks. Masonry chisels are ideal for cutting bricks, cement blocks, cinders and can also be used for removing excess mortar. They are often attached to hammer drills or jackhammers and used in the process of demolition. Concrete chisels are most commonly used to make precise cuts through concrete, they commonly feature a handle and a strong bevelled edge blade that can cut through concrete with the force of a hammer or mallet. Cold chisels are made from tempered steel and are specifically made for cutting through cold metals, these will be metals that are not heated with heating torches, forges, or other devices. These chisels have a less acute angle to the sharp section of the blade than a standard woodworking one, this makes the cutting edge sharp but not as sharp. Cold chisels are made from steel and have 4 types; flat chisel, cross out a chisel, round nose chisel and diamond point chisel. The final type of chisel is the woodworking chisel, these can be used for a variety of purposes including the production of furniture. There are smaller varieties of this type of chisel for intricate crafting in woodwork, larger tools will be used for removing more sizeable areas of wood. These chisels feature 90 degree flat sides and have 3 different types; bench chisels, mortise chisels and paring chisels.
Stencil-
Stencil is used to create an image on a flat surface by allowing colour to reach the surface through the gaps. The idea of a stencil is that it can be used numerous times, the first findings of them were in Asia and Europe dating back to over thirty-five thousand years ago. There are many types of stencils such as; military stencils, graffiti stencils, utility stencils and printing stencils. Many armies throughout the world use stencils to mark helmets, vehicles and equipment as well as other common uses in the world such as objects, locations and usual vehicles. They can also be used in silk screening, a type of textile printing, where one colour can be applied at a time meaning that for multi-coloured silks there must be a number of silks colouring with a dry time between every colour.
Printing Block-
A printing block is used for producing repeat patterns on different materials like felt and leather. They are usually made of wood or metal or a combination of both. A design is drawn onto the surface of the block snd it is either engraved or carved, it is then covered with dye, ink pigment or a resist such as wax. It is then pressed onto the ground cloth and that is the end of the process of making it. Until the late eighteenth century ost blocks were applied by hand, but with new machinery from 1780 onwards machines were developed so that they could mechanically print on thousands of metres of cloth per day. It is the earliest, simplest and slowest method of all time, it is however capable of yielding highly artistic results, some of which are incomparably good to others.
3 Types of Protective Equipment (PPE):
Goggles- These protect your eyes in the workplace from flying hazards, liquids, dust, vapours and radiation. Different type of eye protection includes safety spectacles, goggles, face screens, face shields and visors. When graphic designers are using hazardous chemicals when printing this may splash and come into contact with a designer’s eyes causing consequences from burning in the eyes to blindness. To correctly use this piece of equipment a designer must ensure the eye protection chosen has the right combination of impact/dust/splash/molten metal eye protection for the task and fits the user properly, a visor alone would not effectively protect someone from chemical splashes.
Mask-These protects your lungs from oxygen-deficient atmospheres, dust, gases and vapours. Different types of masks include simple filtering facepieces, respirators and power-assisted respirators. In graphic design, masks may come in handy when cutting wood or using aerosol cans for spray paint. To correctly use this piece of PPE, you must be using the right type of mask for what you’re doing, using a thin paper mask is not as safe as using a round face mask that sticks closer to the skin as gases and vapours can still make their way into the mask and into the lungs.
Paper Mask
Heavy Duty Masks
Gloves- Gloves help against getting scratches and cuts when handling sharp materials or something that may cause harm to the skin like chemicals. There are three different types of glove technologies: seamless knit, polymer, and cut and sewn. These come into use with graphic design in many ways, to simply stop paint from getting onto your hands or to avoid cutting yourself with metal or to stop chemicals from touching the skin in processes such as albumen printing. To correctly use this piece of PPE a person must assess the risks/hazards that may come with what they’re using to pick the correct type of glove to protect their hands based eg handling or operation of heavy equipment, and the most common risks are contacted with sharp edges or heavy abrasive areas, seamless knit technology gloves have become the glove of choice.
What is a RECCE?
A RECCE is an inspection or exploration of the desired place a person wants to do their scene or project to determine whether the area is suitable and safe.
A filming crew will do a RECCE to assess both personal safety for all involved and also the costs of the project and whether these work with the budget of the film. Without a RECCE your project may end up being more expensive as if you take your crew, cast, interviewee, equipment to your desired location and find out on the say it is unsuitable and unsafe your project would end up being delayed and more costly for wasted time.
It is important for health and safety as it uncovers any potential issues a crew might have shooting in the location and makes these avoidable or makes the crew aware of this and to take extra care to prevent serious injury. These can be for the following reasons such as lack of access for vehicles and equipment, unsuitable light levels or reflections, background noise, lack of space for the crew and equipment, and safety issues such as uneven floors or poorly maintained electrics. As well as this if serious harm or any kind of harm does come to cast or crew you are liable for this and may end up having an insurance claim on your hands by the end of it which could all be avoided by inspecting the area and doing a RECCE first.
As well as doing a RECCE for the purpose of health and safety a person may also do one to provide themselves with some inspiration and generate ideas from being in the location. Seeing what is actually in the location and the lighting in it can form different ideas for different shots and maximise the characteristics of a particular location, elevating the final work.
3 Risks and 3 Hazards relating to the print industry- what can be done to prevent it
A risk in screen printing is the effect of the UV light used to harden the emulsion onto the material you have printed on to, UV light can damage the skin and eyes when viewed directly or from reflected surfaces. A way to prevent this is to use specialist glasses to minimise the exposure of UV light to the eyes and to cover up the skin when screen printing.
In printing inks the main component is the pigment, black inks usually contain carbon black in comparison to white which uses titanium oxide, calcium carbonate, zinc oxide and clay. Coloured pigments can e organic or inorganic, inorganic coloured pigments usually contain metals such as lead, chromium, copper, mercury, iron and more. If this were to come into contact with the skin in a cut and enter the sin causing heavy metal poisoning. A way to prevent this from happening is wearing gloves and covering the skin also wearing a face mask will help to prevent poisoning by minimising the number of fumes inhaled.
Cleaning solvents, which can be used to clean equipment and the area before or after printing contains many hazardous chemicals that when inhaled can have serious consequences. Printing parts have to be regularly cleaned to prevent the accumulation of dried ink and paper dust, common cleaning solvents include kerosene, glycol ether, alcohols, toluene, hexane and specially formulated proprietary solvent blends. these can also present fire risks so it is also important to have either fire blankets or free extinguishers nearby. As well as this, it is also important to wear a face mask and to keep the place you’re working in well ventilated to vapours are blown away and become less likely to be inhaled.
Exposure to organic chemicals through inhalation and contact through the skin can include problems such as dermatitis, irritation and sensitization of the skin and respiratory tract. Long term health effects may include internal damage to organs such as the liver, kidneys and lungs.
Because of all the materials and chemicals that are used in the printing industry the risk of fire is high, being aware of your surroundings and being prepared in preparation for printing reduces the risk, keeping reacting chemicals separated from each other and having extinguishers and fire blankets always nearby.
Being experienced with the equipment you’re using or being around someone who is experienced helps reduce the risk of harm. Using chemicals or machinery you’re not familiar with or how to use can lead to multiple problems in the short and long term. Not only may you break a piece of machinery you may bring harm to yourself by not knowing what is hazardous and what isn’t.
Legislation in Health and Safety
The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992
Laid before Parliament 2nd December 1992
Came into force 1st January 1993
4.—(1) Every employer shall ensure that suitable personal protective equipment is provided to his employees who may be exposed to a risk to their health or safety while at work except where and to the extent that such risk has been adequately controlled by other means which are equally or more effective.
We need this legislation to keep people safe both short and long term when using equipment or chemicals that can cause risk, without this an employer runs the risk of hurting themselves or something happening to them further down the line. I believe this legislation is right to be enforced as every employer has the right to go to work and feel safe and should not fall under harm by just doing their job.
6.—(1) Before choosing any personal protective equipment which by virtue of regulation 4 he is required to ensure is provided, an employer or self-employed person shall ensure that an assessment is made to determine whether the personal protective equipment he intends will be provided is suitable.
We need this legislation to ensure that the right piece of PPE is worn to keep employers safe in the workplace, wearing the wrong type of PPE defeats the object of wearing it and continues to pose a risk to the employer. Without this, an employer can still come under harm, for example, if they are wearing the wrong type of glove for the materials they’re handling they still can come at the risk of cutting themselves. I believe this legislation is important as not only does it protect the employers it makes them have to be aware of their surroundings or what they’re using making them take extra caution to prevent harm.
9.—(1) Where an employer is required to ensure that personal protective equipment is provided to an employee, the employer shall also ensure that the employee is provided with such information, instruction and training as is adequate and appropriate to enable the employee to know—
(a)the risk or risks which the personal protective equipment will avoid or limit;
(b)the purpose for which and the manner in which personal protective equipment is to be used; and
(c)any action to be taken by the employee to ensure that the personal protective equipment remains in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair as required by regulation 7(1).
This legislation is needed to provide training to an employer on how to effectively use PPE and what to avoid to keep them safe. Without this, an employer may simply not use the PPE provided as they will not be aware of the risks they run without using it. I believe this legislation is important as it forces an employer to be aware of the risks they take by not following the rules and risks laid out, they will take on some of the responsibility for their own safety.
Health and Safety Poster
Task- Using the health and safety hazards around the college, produce a poster.
To make my own health and safety poster, I began by researching different posters along the same lines that have been created and used before. I created a mood board of these ideas so when it came to making my poster I could come back to these for inspiration and them all be in the same place.
Following this, I listed some of the ideas I could base my poster off, these include:
- Moving swiftly through the barriers
- The wet floor around water dispensers
- Leaving space in corridors for people to walkthrough
- Remembering your keycard
- Always have your lanyard on
- Keeping open bottles and cans away from computers
- Not waiting around the barriers
I decided to use my idea of not waiting around the barriers and using your card as this isn’t a poster I have seen around my college and is something that I see as a problem. I began by opening the illustrator and using the ellipse tool to add the green to the top and the bottom of my page as this is the colour confetti is recognised for, I also added the confetti logo into the corner of my page to make it personal for the college. Moving on to the actual illustrations o my poster, I used the pen tool to make simple designs to show the actions of the orders on the poster. I needed to make an illustration of a hard and the barriers, I didn’t want to make these too complex and take away the meaning of the poster and become distracting. Filling these with plain colours but also ones that don’t match any skin colour also makes my poster inclusive and again doesn’t take away the message of this poster being serious, adding bright happy colours would make the poster look less serious. I added bold san serif font in black to contest on top of the white background and make it stand out as this is the most important of my poster and what I want to be seen most. This finished the look for my health and safety poster.
What I like about my poster is the simplicity of it, what I have included in my poster gets the message across clearly by being minimal and by keeping it as basic as possible means people won’t spend loads of tie looking at it and will do what it says on the poster, making it distracting would take away what the point of the poster is for in the first place. If I were to change something about my poster would be to add a smart catchphrase on it as when looking at other posters, it is something graphic designers will do to make their point more memorable and therefore more likely to be followed.
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