Finally, they settled on spent coffee grounds as the ideal ingredient for their screen printing ink. The grounds are mixed with vinegar and later strained. The brew is then cooked to let extra fluid evaporate until the mixture mimics the consistency of screen ink. After cooling down, the ink is ready to print. Sounds simple? “There are a few little secrets that we are leaving out simply to honor the countless hours it took for us to begin producing a viable product, however, that’s pretty much it”, says Mohr.
Mohr has worked for more than 30 years as a screen printer but his new project is – to a large extend – uncharted territory for him. “The techniques and ingredients we are using to execute print work are unlike anything I have been involved with or been aware of in my years as a screen printer”, he says. But over the years, he has been able to acquire a bag of tricks. “Although this approach is brand new I am able to put a lot of those old trade secrets to work.”
coffee-ink
Printing with ink made from coffee grounds has a number of advantages. The first one is cost because quality screen inks are expensive, whereas vinegar is cheap and coffee grounds are usually free. The coffee inks are also sustainable, no chemicals are used in the process and the grounds are a waste product that gets reused and thereby becomes part of the circular economy.
The process only uses a modest amount of coffee grounds so there is no need for large-scale donations by coffee chains yet. But Domestic Stencilworks has developed a special offer for coffee shops and coffee chains. “We offer custom dye creation at no additional charge which means that a individual or shop or roaster or brand can send us their spent grounds and we will use them to create the dye their print run is completed with. This allows folks the opportunity to build on their own story and let their supporters know that the garments they are purchasing were created from their product after it had already been enjoyed in liquid form”, says White.