Deinking of dry-toned prints from NexPress digital production presses

The output of 4/5-color digital presses of the Kodak NexPress product family and of other digital presses is increasing rapidly. Printed paper from these presses represent an increasing portion of waste paper beside other dry toner based output devices like office printers, copiers, faxes and multifunctional devices. Worldwide app. half of the paper is recycled - in Europe even more. The environmental legislation in Germany requests, that a recycling process like that of paper results in recycled products for the same application as far as possible technically as well as commercially. For paper that means that the recycling of paper used in commercial printing or offices ends in paper for the same applications and not just in e.g. brown kraft paper. Therefore printed paper from digital output devices like digital production presses has to be deinkable with the technologies already established in the paper mills for the conventional printing technologies existing as they are still providing the majority of printed paper. Some product development groups targeting the recyclability of their printed products since some time and we report - as an example - deinking results which show, that the prints from the Kodak NexPress family of digital presses match the deinking standards existing so far. This is valid for four-color prints as well as for prints produced in a five-color press applying additional clear toner and optional image glossing.