Deinking Sometimes the pulp must undergo a pulp laundering" operation called deinking(de-inking) toremove printing ink and"stickies" materials like glue residue and adhesives). Papermakers often use a combination of two deinking processes. Small particles of ink are rinsed from the pulp with water in a process called washing. Larger particles and stickies are removed with air bubbles in another process called flotation. During flotation deinking, pulp is fed into a large vat called a flotation cell, where air and soap like chemicals call surfactants are injected into the pulp. The surfactants cause ink and stickies to loosen from the pulp and stick to theair bubbles as they float to the top of the mixture. The inky air bubbles create foam or froth which is removed from the top, leaving the clean pulp behind.