Printing & Photography Industry

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Reliable and sustainable treatment for ink and developer wastewater

The printing and photography sectors generate wastewater containing inks, solvents, surfactants, developers, fixers, and residual metals (silver, chromium, nickel).
These effluents are often colored, oily, and highly variable, requiring advanced treatment to ensure compliance and reuse.

Deepflow provides modular integrated systems that combine chemical precipitation, activated carbon adsorption, membrane separation, and vacuum evaporation, achieving both color removal and heavy metal reduction.
For high-volume rinse or plate-cleaning water, the PFET polymer-film evaporator offers a cost-effective and corrosion-resistant solution, while Aevya vacuum evaporators handle more concentrated developer or fixer solutions.

Complete treatment concept for color and metal removal

Our RaeX chemical-physical process stabilizes pH and removes suspended solids and colorants through coagulation and flocculation.
Next, Seltra ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis systems ensure crystal-clear permeate and COD reduction up to 95%.
The distillate can be reused directly for washing, rinsing, or plate cleaning, while concentrated residues are reduced in volume and safely dewatered using the RedGan drying system.

Typical wastewater sources

Ink and pigment rinsing water
Developer and fixer baths (silver recovery)
Plate cleaning and roller washing wastewater
Photo film rinsing water
Ink dilution and cleaning residues
High-salinity rinse water from color calibration systems

Process flow

1. Equalization & buffering → pH and flow stabilization

2. RaeX pretreatment → coagulation/flocculation, color & metal removal

3. Seltra membrane separation → ultrafiltration + reverse osmosis

4. Aevya / PFET evaporation
• Aevya for concentrated developer/fixer streams
• PFET for large-volume rinsing or cleaning wastewater

5. RedGan drying → sludge and residue reduction

6. Water reuse → distillate recycled into washing, rinsing, or plate-cleaning circuits

Your advantages at a glance

Removes inks, colorants, metals, developers, fixers efficiently
Up to 95% reduction in wastewater and COD
PFET for high-volume rinses, Aevya for concentrated baths
Compact and modular — easy to integrate in production lines
Distillate ready for direct reuse
Optional Titanium Grade 2 / Super Duplex 2507 design for aggressive solutions

Recommended products

DES – Single-effect, steam/waste heat
DEH – Single-effect, heat pump
DE2S – Multi-effect, steam/waste heat
DE2H – Multi-effect, heat pump
DEP – PFET polymer film evaporator
DJY – Chemical dosing skid
DPFR – Pipe flocculation reactor skid

Q&A

Q

Can RaeX automatically adjust chemical dosing based on real-time water changes?

A

Yes. Advanced RaeX systems use pH, conductivity, and turbidity sensors with PLC control to adjust reagent dosing dynamically.

Q

How is clarification efficiency evaluated?

A

It is assessed through turbidity, total suspended solids (TSS), floc quality, and retention time — by comparing inlet and outlet performance.
Q

How should flocculant or reagent solutions be stored to maintain stability?

A

They should be kept in sealed containers, at stable temperature, away from light, and at consistent concentration to prevent degradation.

Q

How often should deep chemical cleaning be performed compared to routine CIP?

A

When standard CIP cannot restore performance or solids removal efficiency, a stronger chemical regeneration should be carried out.
Q

How should polymers be mixed to optimize particle binding?

A

Begin with vigorous mixing to disperse the polymer, followed by gentle agitation to promote floc growth — the “bridging” principle.

Q

How does temperature influence floc formation?

A

Higher temperature accelerates reaction kinetics but may reduce floc stability and adsorption performance.