A property of a liquid that describes the ease with which it will evaporate, or turn into a gas. Volatile liquids, such as many organic solvents, typically have low boiling points, and readily evaporate. Liquids or solvents with a low degree of volatility have rather high boiling points and require the addition of heat and/or pressure to evaporate. The volatility of a solvent is an important consideration in the manufacture of a printing ink vehicle; inks which dry via evaporation of the vehicle require the use of a solvent which will evaporate at room temperature, or at the temperature of the drying oven in which the printed material will be placed. Solvents used in inks that dry by other methods may require less volatile solvents. (See Vehicle.)
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