A number of different chemicals are used in producing newspaper ink, though the most prominent ingredient is typically soybean oil. This is called the “vehicle” in the ink and was previously usually made with petroleum oil, though recently has been made primarily with soybean oil. A number of other ingredients and chemicals are then added to this to produce the ink. These include dyes and pigments, which can be organic or inorganic in nature, as well as other additives such as paraffin or wax to help the newspaper ink dry faster. The other ingredients added prevent the soybean oil-based ink from being completely biodegradable, though it is somewhat easier to recycle than petroleum-based ink.
Newspaper ink is used in the printing of newspapers for daily distribution and reading. For decades, these inks were made using a petroleum-based vehicle that could dry fairly quickly and create quality printed images and text. As petroleum became more costly, however, efforts were made to find alternatives. This led to the development of several different organic oil compounds for use in creating ink, with soybean oil being the preferred vehicle that is now used by many of the major newspapers in the United States.
If you're not comfortable using newspaper, use paper towels.
