Ink Recycling
The recycling of inks often appears as being a necessary evil, an arduous solution to an expensive problem; that of an expanding ink inventory. Even though it's true that conventional solutions are demanding in skills and time, there are means that can greatly simplify the life of an ink technician. The problem of an run away ink inventory is too often attempted to be resolved with a single approach. It is usually a good practice to identify multiple rework methods to to assure the recovery of as much ink as possible.
Before starting to attack the ink inventory from multiple angles , inks that are not salvageable or incompatible should be disposed of. When considering the disposal of un-salvageable inks dwelling over the cost paid for the inks rather than acknowledging the monetary implications keeping them on hand in not helpful. Storing usable inks takes space and can cause general disorder in the ink room. Their removal reduces cluster and increases the chance of the remaining inks to be recycled.
Once this first inventory sweep is completed, the rest of the inks need to be classified in the following categories:
1) Inks that can be transformed in popular colors
2) Inks that help create recycle bases
3) Inks that require to be recycled one at a time
4) Inks that can only be incorporated in a recycle black
5) Inks that are already classified as being popular colors and for which no recycling is necessary
A popular color can be of two different types: it is whether a color that is frequently printed or that has a high consumption rate. When both meet, it is an opportunity that cannot be missed! This alternative, when possible, should ALWAYS be the preferred one since the first goal of a transformed ink is to be used on press.
All printers have recurring types of color. This phenomenon is random and is only influenced by customer demand. Some industries prefer red while for others it is green or blue. No matter what type of color it is, available inks from the inventory need to help create bases that are located within the usable color hues of the printer. It's important to keep the mixes as clean as possible by avoiding to incorporate inks that have too much black in them for example. It's also preferable to exclude inks that have opaque white.
Some inks, that could not be recycled in popular colors, need to be recycled one by one. These inks need to be considered through a thorough daily routine. It is those types of ink that, if neglected, become the inks that need to be scrapped two or three years later.
Other inks, containing a good quantity of black in them will need to be dumped in a black recycle. It is important that a certain percentage of recycle be not exceeded in order to keep a black that will be acceptable in density and that will retain all required physical properties.
To conclude, the inks that are already classified as popular colors are easy to deal with: they have no need to be recycled and will be used on press.
There are three ways of dealing with the alternatives that were mentioned:
1)Color match visually. This technique requires experience and superior color discrimination.
2)Use a software that will consider the inks to be recycled through mathematical calculations. This alternative, even if efficient, still requires an experienced technician that will visually accept the color.
3)Use of a spectrophotometer software that will indicate how to rapidly adjust a color to a desired target and that will then assist in validating the exactitude of the final color.