mof calender

Material compatibility and deinking of mineral oil free Coldset inks

Short name: Deinakbility of mineral oil free Coldset inks

Fogra no. 52.039
Project leader: Dr P. Stolper
Partner: Technische Universität Darmstadt - Fachgebiet Papierfabrikation und Mechanische Verfahrenstechnik (PMV)
Funding: BMWK (IGF) via AiF
 

Timescale: 01.03.2021 - 28.02.2023

Research Report

Objective and relevance

In recent years, there has been frequent discussion about the problem of mineral oil components in recycled paper and board, which can pass into packaged foodstuffs and whose cause lies largely in the coldset printing inks that re-enter paper production via the waste paper cycle. Therefore, the need for mineral oil free Coldset inks is growing, especially since there are efforts in Germany and France to make mineral oil free inks mandatory. For small and medium print shops in particular, which base their existence on the manufacture of eco-labeled products, this development entails financial risks.

There is a clear need for development, particularly in the area of mineral oil free Coldset printing inks. Compatibility with the elastomer materials used in printing presses is not guaranteed with sufficient certainty and can lead to high costs in the event of damage. In addition, the necessary, good deinkability of printed products made from mineral oil free printing inks is currently not guaranteed.

Fogra employee Dr Philipp Stolper

Dr Philipp Stolper

Head of Materials & Environment

+49 89 431 82 - 354

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Your contact

I would be pleased to answer your questions about the project and look forward to exchanging ideas with you.

Solution steps

The following steps are necessary to achieve the targeted results of the research project:

  • Identification of parameters that are important for the deinking process

  • Printing tests with defined modified printing inks

  • Evaluation of the results with regard to the influence of individual components on deinking and thus optimization of the printing inks

  • Determination of the swelling behavior with known materials

  • Development and evaluation of a new roller test kit

mof oil swelling

Targeted results

One objective is to develop a new set of reference materials for carrying out swell tests with offset printing inks, as the set of test materials established in the industry for many years is no longer up to date. For ink manufacturers, this means an essential support in the development of new ink formulations. Furthermore, knowledge is to be gained about the effect of the oils used on rubber materials in order to be able to modify printing inks more specifically and to ensure compatibility with elastomers.

A further aim of the research project is to identify factors influencing the deinking result by systematically testing various mineral oil free newsprint inks on different newsprint papers and to optimize deinkability in cooperation with the ink manufacturers.