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How Does Ink Influence the Paper Recycling Process?

How Does Ink Influence the Paper Recycling Process?

Paper is one of the most environmentally-friendly materials that is easy to reuse and recycle. Its lifespan is also short and does not give a bad impact on the environment. However, a question then remains: does an inked paper recycling process require special treatment?

Most of the paper trash nowadays possess the printer ink on their surface. This inked paper comes from the book industry or office supplies, and it is impossible to reduce the use of inked paper in this modern era.

Just like another paper trash, there are many things you can do to recycle the inked paper. No need to worry about, here is how you can do to make use of the inked paper again:

Paper Deconstruction

Paper Deconstruction
Kemeri.com

Before the paper is recycled, it is first deconstructed into the pulps. The fibers will be reused into something else.

The paper deconstruction takes an important part in the paper recycling process. However, the step doesn’t end up there. After you deal with the fiber, it is time to remove the ink from the paper.

Flotation Deinking

Flotation Deinking
Andritz.com

This process features some chemical substances and detergents as they produce bubbles. The bubbles will help you to remove the remaining inks in the paper.

The process will also make the paper smoother, however, keep to your attention that you must throw away the ink into a safe place, not in the drains for drinking or bathing.

The flotation de-inking is considered as cheap, simple, and suitable for the home industry with a tight budget. It doesn’t take up too much time.

Laser Process

Laser Process
Linskogbalancing.com

Compared to the previous de-inking process, the laser process is faster and more effective to get rid of the remaining ink. The process is done by shooting the laser projector into the surface of the paper.

The ink will disappear in some minutes, and the result is smoother paper. However, pay attention to safety since the laser is something that not everyone wants to deal with. It also requires several additional safety types of equipment to protect yourself from harm.

After you are done with the de-inking method, now the paper is ready to be processed. The pigment-based ink can be removed through those processes. However, before doing all the paper recycling methods, consider picking the other ink options to reduce the bad risk of waste.

A Plant-based Ink

Compared to the pigment-based ink, the plant-based one is more environmentally friendly, and it has a good result on the paper. The remainder of the de-inking process of plant-based ink is chemical-free. Thus, you can throw it away anyway, including in your backyard full of plants.

A Food-Grade Ink

Ink is named “food-grade” if it’s safe for human consumption and may are available direct contact with food. For the ink to be actually used, there must be testing for it to be considered “food-safe”.

How the food-grade ink interacts with the packaging substrate, the character of the food itself, consumer use, and various environmental factors are just a few lab testing that has got to be done.

A Dye-Based Ink

Dye-based ink includes chemical substances. But, compared to the conventional ink, this dye-based ink is removable. No special process is required to remove the ink from the paper, so it is easier to deal with this dye-based ink.

Dealing with the ink in the paper recycling process doesn’t seem as difficult as you think. If you are a home industry owner, you can take the easier steps to de-ink your paper and make it more reusable.

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