Automated analysis of coloured ink particles in recycled pulp by machine vision

An experimental system based on machine vision has been developed for accurate and reliable measurement of coloured ink particles in recycled pulp. The system is able to measure automatically the number, total area and size distribution of cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink particles. The experiments conducted showed the system to produce results that were consistent with manual microscopy. The system consists of a microscope, colour video camera, PC with frame grabber and image analysis software. While the current set-up is for laboratory use, the authors anticipate its use in online applications in the future.