Why does ink from newspaper come off on your hands so easily?

Answer 1

Nowadays most newspapers use soy-based inks instead of petroleum-based.

I wouldn't eat it though, but it does make cleaning-up much easier.

Answer 2

Hillbillies is correct. Blame it on automation. I worked in the back at a newspaper. The porosity of the paper does have an effect. Newsprint was designed to be more porous than typing paper. Most glossy print items (sales flyers, etc.) are clay based. Newsprint now a days is also recycled. Which means (even though they use bleach to clean it up) the paper already contains ink. There is no process at this point where the ink is "set". So with the lack of dry time, humidity and the speed with which your paper is delivered after being printed. It smears.

Only solution is to do what the Brits do. Iron your newspaper. Gets a chuckle, but it's true. Can you afford a butler?

Answer 3

Think of the billions of newpapers printed every day. Most newpaper companys don't have the money to constanly provide expensive ink or paper. Now for books they use nicer paper and ink since when you buy a book you keep it in a library or whatever. Newpapers are usually thrown away after they are read so to save money the companys just use cheap paper and ink that sometimes rubs off on your hands.

Answer 4

Because newspapers go from press to newstand in a few hours; the ink doesn't have time to dry completely.

Answer 5

Carefully this is Plumb..(Pb)ant very toxic...the paper of the newspaper is absorbing this metal.Did you know that the royal family in England, are receiving the newspapers,after the butler is ironing them?

Answer 6

The paper is pourous and dosen't hold the ink well.