Inkie (ink from cow's dung) / Adibah Nabilah Azhan ... [et al.].

In 2023, around 21 thousand metric tons of printing ink were produced in Malaysia (Statista, 2024) and 3.6 million tones worldwide (Global Printing Inks Market Overview | Smithers, n.d.). Throughout the last few years, printing ink has witnessed a spike in demand as it is utilized for printing books, posters, magazines, newspapers, calendars, journals and photographs. However, like many other manufacturing sectors, ink production emits large amounts of greenhouse gases which can be harmful for humans and the environment itself. On top of that, improper management of chemical waste could pollute the air, and damage the ecosystem. With an insight to create green chemistry products and control waste management, therefore, an innovation towards producing a more sustainable and eco-friendly ink is being figured out. Cow dung has been chosen as the product-based substance due to the fact that in Malaysia, cow is one of the highest numbers of mammals and its dung can be obtained effortlessly. The production of eco-friendly ink begins with collection and separation of cow dung from various farms, cellulose extract, sterilization, cellulose modification, formulation, quality control, packaging and distribution. Interviews with manufacturers and consumers have been done to understand their preferences, differences and viewpoint regarding the creation of cow dung ink. As a result, 5 elements have been determined to be implemented in this new product development which are cost-effectiveness, eco-friendly, fast-drying, vivid and opaque colors, and excellent adhesion. This eco-friendly ink comes with various packaging sizes; refillable ink cartridges, and containers for bulk supply, according to who is the end customer. A smaller size for business to customer sector and bigger size for business-to-business sector. The packaging is composed of recyclable containers, which reduces the overall environmental impact, as an effort to optimize eco-friendly practices.