An Industry-Wide Headache
The good news is, experts and specialists from within the highly solution-oriented printing and paper manufacturing industries are already on the case. Following is a brief look at some of the issues and how they are being addressed.
The Munich, Germany-based International Association of the Deinking Industry, (INGEDE) consists of 40 mostly European mills. Particularly within the past year, the organization has voiced concern that water-based inks from the next generation of inkjet web presses pose challenges to the paper recycling process. The fear is high-speed inkjet web presses deposit water-based inkjet inks into porous stocks which soak up the inks like sponges. Subsequently, the inks can’t be successfully removed during recycling, and then bleed into the pulp during the repulping process, causing the pulp to darken. Recycling mills seem to be coping with casual production of inkjet prints from households and offices, maintained INGEDE. “But, the high-volume, high-speed webs change the scenario,” said the group’s spokesman, Axel Fischer.