Arjowiggins already had a strong relationship with HP, producing papers certified for its printing machines, but following customer queries in the wake of liquid toner problems at a German de-inking mill last year, it decided to open up its advanced Greenfield mill for industrial-scale pilots.

“There’s a natural synergy between digital printing and recycling paper – they’re both aimed at reducing waste,” said John Cooper, customer support director at Arjowiggins Graphics.

“We want to open up Greenfield, use our expertise and know how to offer input from a practical point of view.

“We have to do the work on an industrial scale to resolve this and I have a vision to set up Greenfield as a centre of excellence for de-inking digital print.”

Cooper said that the results of the initiative would be shared “in the fullness of time”.

Initial discussions for the project began in April, and a three-month pilot is expected to go ahead by the end of the year.

Senior HP scientist Nils Miller described the relationship as “a wonderful fit of objectives”, adding that while there are no fixed timescales as yet, “Drupa is such an important event, it’s a logical goal to not only have successful results under our belt, but also to have something we can publish by then”. 

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