How Can Ink Mileage be Increased?

A recent newsletter from the Printing Industries Association of Southern California offered some sage advice for press operators. The amount of pigment in the ink has the greatest effect on ink mileage. Pigment is the most expensive ingredient in ink, which explains why less expensive inks usually have lower pigment content. The ink holdout of the paper will also have an effect on ink mileage. Paper coatings that keep more of the ink on the surface tend to require less ink.