A number of de-inking studies has been presented at the PTS, CTP De-inking Symposium in Munich, Germany, including a major study from Fogra involving DPDA members HP, Ricoh, Kodak and Canon.

The Fogra report test de-inkability of nine newsprint, coated and uncoated papers on digital ink-jet machines, with the HP T200, InfoPrint 5000, Kodak VL2000, and the Océ ColorStream 3000 and JetStream 1400 selected for the study.

Half of the paper and printer combinations used in the test received the highest rating of 'good', while one failure, attributed to a pigment ink still in development, was noted. According to Fogra, the results indicate that papers with low polar surface energy share are likely to be harder to de-ink.

Other studies released at the Symposium included Canon Océ Printing Systems's research on the importance of paper selection when de-inking aqueous inks, while HP presented a paper showing how ten commercially available papers can be de-inked to meet Ingede Method 11 and ERPC Scorecard testing standards.

"I think the industry is beginning to recognise that there are many successful combinations of paper and ink-jet inks that pass the Ingede Method 11 and ERPC Scorecard de-inkability assessment," suggests Don Burns, business development director for ink-jet technology partnerships at Kodak. "I was pleased to discuss these results with Ingede representatives, who agreed that there are indeed some positive ink-jet combinations that should be promoted."