THE EFFECT OF OFFSET PRINTING INK ON LASER TONER INK AGGLOMERATION UNDER NEUTRAL PULPING CONDITIONS

1-octadecanol is known to be a highly effective agglomerating agent for laser toner ink. However, the office waste paper used in the actual production often contains various types of inks. The effect of the offset ink and types of surfactants with different charge characteristics were studied relative to the agglomeration of the laser toner ink under neutral pulping conditions. It was found that the addition of a small amount of the offset ink printed waste paper was beneficial for the agglomeration of the laser toner ink. The optimal percentage of addition is 12.5% to 25%. The offset printed ink had a positive charge of 0.001±0.0005 mEq/g when the offset ink was treated by 70˚C water at neutral conditions. Addition of a proper amount of cationic surfactant was beneficial to improve the agglomeration at any ratio of the mixed laser printed and offset waste papers. When the percentage of offset waste paper was less than 50%, the addition of anionic surfactant and nonionic surfactant was harmful for agglomeration, and there was no significant effect at higher offset content