The feasibility of Pinus insularis (Philippine Pine Tree) Resin as an Alternative Binder in

Inkjet Printer Ink

A Research Proposal
Submitted to the Department of Science
University of Asia and the Pacific




In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Course
Introduction to Biology (Laboratory)


IMC 3 Group 3

Caballar, Nichelle Jane
Dee, Ayesha Mykiela
De Perio, Deborah Psalm
Go, Claudia Grace
Marmol, Cedric
Yupangco, Rachel Monica

March 20, 2013
CHAPTER I
Introduction
Background of the study
Most people of today dont realize that the printers they use for printing articles, labels,
photos and such are harmful to Mother Nature. This is because printers use ink cartridges with
toxic chemical components. The main component of ink is petroleum and its case contains a non-
biodegradable component, polymer plastic. These toxic components can cause problems in
landfills thus leading to the destruction of our environment (Salmons, 2012). People are only
concerned in the quality and quantity of the printed materials thus overlooking the harmful
effects it can truly bring. Because of this, curiosity and concern have hit our team thus aiming us
to find another solution to producing green and eco-friendlier inks that can help lessen the
destruction of Mother Nature.
In this experiment, the group will test the use of Pinus insularis (Pine tree) resin as an ink
binder for the printer. The resin will be collected from the pine trees located in Baguio City,
Philippines. The group will then make their own ink that will then be transferred in an HP ink
cartridge. This will then be tested in an HP printer to check whether or not the experiment
worked. The purpose of accomplishing this experiment is for the group to help save Mother
Nature. It is also for the group to promote the use of free and eco-friendly resin as a print binder
that will help lessen the destruction of the environment.

Significance of the Study
This study will be conducted for the researchers to obtain a low cost ink derived from
natural resources such as resin from pine trees. With this, the community will be able to utilize
natural resources present in the environment. Since resin is a renewable resource, the researchers
would like to know its feasibility as a sustainable resource.
This study may open doors to bigger research and development opportunities for resin.
Not only the resin from pine trees but also from other trees. With this development, other
purposes of resin may be discovered. The development of resin technology may further provide
livelihood, advancement of technology and economic growth in the country.




Objectives
This research study mainly aims to investigate the feasibility of Pinus insularis (Philippine
Pine Tree) resin as an alternative binder for inkjet printer ink. The researchers also want to prove
and achieve the following objectives:
1. Does the amount of Pine tree resin in the ink solution affect its quality?
2. Would Pine tree resin be harmful during the experiment?
3. Is there a significant difference between the ink made from Pine tree resin and
commercially available ink in terms of:
a. Quality of ink
b. Cost of ink

CHAPTER II
Review of Related Literature
Printers are one of the very many useful machines bought by people over time. In
computer technology, a printer is a device that produces paper documents electronically via
desktop or any connected computers. Printers also vary in different types such as toner-based
printers, liquid inkjet printers, solid ink printers, dye-sublimation printers, and inkless printers.
Major component of a printer in order to produce is its ink (though there are specialized printers
that do not need ink to produce).
According to Sharon Huntington in her article about ink, ink started from carving into
cave walls to Chinese use of pine smoke and lamp oil about five thousand years ago then to the
modern advanced ink today. But there are some issues of using chemical ink in regards of
todays environment. According to research, there are three main environmental issues with ink
and those are volatile organic compounds, heavy metals, and non renewable oils.
Ink is the reason why different things can be printed on paper. Without it, the printing
process is impossible to do. The main component of ink is petroleum and its case contains a non-
biodegradable component, polymer plastic (Salmons, 2012) . In an article about the harmful
effects of printer ink (The Ink Blog), it was stated there Petroleum is one natural resource that is
being consumed at a rate that exceeds the rate nature can produce it, thus damaging the
environment. Petroleum based inks release Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in to the
atmosphere. VOCs are gasses that contain harmful chemicals which cause negative health
effects. They are released in to the air as the printer ink dries on to paper.
Studies show that printer inks also contain high heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium,
chromium, mercury, lead, and zinc. The Pacific Ink company also stated in their blog, The Ink
Blog, that these damaging metals end up in our soil when printed pages end up in landfills.
Printer inks absorb in to the paper they are printed on. When printed pages end up in landfills
the paper decomposes and the heavy metals are released in the soil. Once in the soil there are
many ways that the metals are damaging to the environment. These toxic components can cause
problems in landfills thus leading to the destruction of our environment (Salmons, 2012).
Printing ink contains varnish, colorant, solvent and additives, which are harmful to the
environment thus poisoning the environment. The emission of varnishes and solvents like
VOCs, methanol and xylene in the air, and colorants and heavy metals like titanium oxide and
iron causes environmental pollution affecting the health of organisms (Miller, 2008).
Material in the most particular use of the phrase is a hydrocarbon release of much
vegetation, particularly coniferous vegetation. Resins are appreciated for their material qualities
and associated uses, such as the of varnishes, glues and meals replacement windows providers.
They are also appreciated as an essential resource of raw components for natural features, and as
elements of incense and fragrance. Flower resins have a very lengthy record that was recorded in
historical Portugal by Theophrastus, in history the capital by Pliny the Older, and especially in
the resins known as frankincense and myrrh, appreciated in historical red sea. These were
extremely appreciated ingredients, and needed as incense in some spiritual rituals. Ruby is a
difficult fossilized resin from historical vegetation.
Inkjet cartridge ink is composed of a chemical base, colorant and additives. The three
bases available are water, oil, and natural gas solvents. Water and natural gas solvents are the
most commonly used. Ink can have additives to guard the pH levels, preserve the ink, prevent
evaporation or prevent the growth of fungus. Laser toner cartridges use dried toner that contains
the dye and pigments used to print images.
Consumers can recycle the print cartridges. Staples and other stores that sell ink
cartridges have a recycle drop-off points for customers to dispose their old cartridges. Once the
cartridges are picked up, they are sorted by manufacturer type because many companies carry
out their own recycling processes. The cartridges are broken down and various metals, such as
aluminum and iron, are separated from the plastic. The raw materials created are used to
manufacture new cartridges or other products.
Due to the high pollution content now, inventors are looking to create green ink that is
biodegradable and eco-friendly.
CHAPTER III
Methodology
Materials and Equipment
Pinus insularis (Pine tree) resin
Plastic container
Stirring rod
6 Beakers
3 Syringe
1 120 mL bottle of Glycerine
Charcoal
Hammer
2 empty ink cartridge
Cheese cloth (katya)
Hot water
HP inkjet printer
Procedure
The Pine tree resin was collected using a bolo knife in Baguio city and was stored in a plastic
container. The collected resin was kept for later use in the experimentation.
Before the actual experiment, the researchers grinded the charcoal to make it powdery. This
was done using a hammer and was kept in a plastic container.
For the experiment, the resin was dissolved in a fixed amount of hot water. The charcoal
acted as the pigment in the experiment. The researchers performed different sets of ink solution
mixtures:
1. The first set (Ink A) contained 4g of resin, 40 mL of glycerine, 40 mL of water and 10 g
of powdered charcoal.
2. The second set (Ink B) contained 5g of resin, 40 mL of glycerine, 40 mL of water and 10
g of powdered charcoal.
All the solutions were mixed in their respective beakers using a stirring rod. The prepared
mixture was filtered in an a clean and empty beaker using cheese cloth to remove excess
particles.
Each mixture was transferred into its respective empty cartridges using a syringe.
For the test print, the researchers used HP inkjet printer. The researchers provided the
respective test print paper per mixture and compared it with the test print using the commercially
available ink. The researchers conducted a water test to compare the quality of ink when sprayed
with water and when rubbed.

CHAPTER IV
Results and Discussion
The main objective of the study is to investigate and prove the effectiveness of Pinus
insularis (Philippine Pine Tree) resin as an alternative binder for inkjet printer ink. After
following a series of steps in the experiment, the researchers were able to have and gather the
following data:
Concentration of Solution of Inks
INK A INK B
Pinus insularis resin 4 g 5 g
Water 40 mL 40 mL
Glycerine 40 mL 40 mL
Powdered charcoal 10 g 10 g

Comparison of Ink samples to commercial ink
INK A INK B COMMERCIAL INK
Color Gray Gray Deep black
Water test
Quality when
sprayed with
water
Smudged Smudged Smudged
Quality when
rubbed
Smudges and faded Smudged and faded Smudged


Ink A and Ink B varied in the amount of resin while all the other variables remained
constant. The quality of ink A and ink B are the same although the two varied in terms of the
amount of resin. The amount of the powedered charcoal is proportional to the color of the ink.

In terms of cost:
Total expenses of ink solution: Expenses per resin ink solution:



TOTAL VOLUME OF INK FILTERED = 30 mL
TOTAL PRICE OF INK PRODUCED = Php 33.00 per cartridge
Glycerine (120 mL) Php 90.00
Resin 0.00
Charcoal (20 g) 6.00
Total Php 96.00
Glycerine (40 mL) Php 30.00
Resin 0.00
Charcoal (10 g) 3.00
Total Php 33.00
Comparison of price with commercial ink
Commercial ink = Php 410.00 per cartridge
Pine tree resin ink = Php 33.00 per cartridge

Based on the gathered data, the total volume of the ink solution made is 30 mL and costs
Php 33.00 per cartridge. Compared to commercial ink, the Pine tree resin ink is a lot more
cheaper.







CHAPTER V
Conclusion and Recommendation
Conclusion
Based on the experiment, the researchers conclude three things. First, even though the
amount of resin varied, the quality of the material stayed the same. Second, the Pine tree resin
was not harmful during the experiment but rather helpful and reliable. Lastly, differences
between comercially available ink and the ink made from Pine tree resin were percieved
especially in the quality and cost of ink. The ink made from Pine tree resin was way cheaper
compared to the comerically available one but the quality of this cheaper ink was poorer.
Overall, the researchres conclude that Pine tree resin, free from nature, can be used as an
alternative binder in inkjet printer ink.
Recommendation
The researchers recommend more extraction of resin in Pinus insularis (Philippine Pine)
tree to create many ink solutions. Furthermore, more tests containing different concentrations of
water, glycerine and powdered charcoal must be studied in order to find out if these materials
could also affect the quality of the ink produced.













Documentation




Materials and Equipment used in
the experiment
Weighing of resin and powdered
charcoal using a triple beam
balance to get their exact amount

























Dissolving resin in hot water
Dissolved resin (unfiltered)
Unfiltered Resin inks A& B















Filtering of Resin inks A &B using
katya
Filtered Resin inks A & B (30 mL)



References
Harris, B. (04 October 2012).What is resin? Retrieved from:
http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-resin.html

HSE Consulting and Sampling, Inc. (2006). Literature review for Glycerol and Glycols.
Retrieved from: http://tsp.plasa.org/tsp/working_groups/FS/docs/HSE.pdf
Miller, J. (March 2008). Printing inks and the environment. Retrieved from:
http//www.fineeyecolor.com/files/inks_and_the_environment.pdf

Salmons, F. (26 February 2011). InkJet cartridge recycling programs. Retrieved from:
http://www.greenmi.net/inkjet-cartridge-recycling-programs/
Westernman, K.(1997). What is Glycerin? Retrieved from:
http://www.pioneerthinking.com/crafts/crafts-soapmaking/glycerin.html

Injecting the Resin ink into the
cartridge