The Disposal of "Waste Ink"

A prominent large New Orleans area newspaper was struggling with a major dilemma. This dilemma surrounds the disposal of "waste ink."

"Waste ink" is that portion of ink that is lost in the printing process due to spill, drainage from presses, and excess dosing. This ink is collected in bins, troughs, totes, etc., and brought to a central location for disposal. However, disposal of this ink was extremely expensive due to its environmental impact. Therefore, with the help of an ink recycling company, the customer began reclaiming this ink by recycling it through centrifuging and filtration methods. Once recycled, this ink was able to be dispersed into the "Virgin ink" flow to be re-absorbed into their process.

However, the recycled ink, although clear, was "off spec" in print quality. Improper dosing and mixing properly with the Virgin ink would cause poor printing and therefore lost time and products as those papers would have to be scrapped.

Solution to the Problem

To solve these problems, Kirkwood Co. supplied a NETZSCH NM Mini Metering Pump coupled with a Koch in-line static mixer. This configuration allowed the recycle ink to be injected into the Virgin ink flow. The in-line static mixer would disperse and mix the additive to ensure a homogeneous stream after injection.

The system is installed and operating well. The customer advises that they may require additional recycle ink flow in the future. Since the NETZSCH NM Mini Metering Pump allows four different flow ranges with a simple rotor/stator change while maintaining the same dimensional envelope, this will be an easy and cost-effective upgrade.

Mike Cothern, Kirkwood Co., Inc.