If you’re like most printers, you have drums of ink mixed with cleaning solution from past jobs taking up valuable space in your plant. But there’s a way to use every drop and save money…

As Print Manager at our home office, my team and I have developed a new process to completely eliminate waste ink disposal.

The old way: All water-based flexo ink from completed orders on our folding machines went into the same bucket as the cleaning solution. The ink was then dumped into a 55-gallon drum. This created 100's of drums of ink waste each year, which cost us $12,500 in disposal charges. In addition, we paid a vendor $.99 a pound to create recycled black ink and were purchasing about 14,000 pounds/year (adding $14,000 more to our annual ink waste bill).

The new way: We turn all used ink into recycled black, which is made by following a specific process and formula, and mixing used colors together to create black. We use a fine mesh screen to strain out any paper scraps or other debris that may get in it during printing. We have not wasted a single drum of ink over the past three years. Even better, we have no costs on our end in this process.

Any water-based ink is recyclable, so are you ready to waste not and want all of it?