Bagumbong High School Rainbow Village 5 Subd.

Bagumbong Caloocan City

“OREGANO (ORIGANUM VULGARE) EXTRACT AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR

COMPUTER INK PIGMENTS”

Proponents:

Escarcha, Joanna Yasmin P.

Sablay, Jellyne P.

7- Ingenious

March 2016

Submitted to: Ms. Karen R. Alcantara

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 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Commercial inks nowadays are quite expensive and contain some toxic ingredient. In this

study, a noble material Oregano (Origanum vulgare) will be used as a substitute for commercial

inks. This will provide as cheaper and safer yet good quality of ink.

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

In this modern world of technology, almost all of the people use ink. It is use in

business, education, communication and several other fields. But, not all the inks are safe. Most

of the commercial inks that are sold in the market contain chemicals such as titanium oxide,

copper-zinc alloy, carbon black and triphenylmethane. The production of commercial inks that

has toxic chemicals can threat to human and environment. However, a cartridge of ink

commonly costs about Php 694.13 and comprise as little as 5 ml of ink. The price of products

like inks becomes a burden to every user. Through this investigatory project, Oregano will be

used as an alternative to computer ink in order to save the cost and risk buying commercial

computer inks.

Origanum vulgare, commonly known as Oregano, is a regular herbal medicine

ingredient. It is a kind of herb with a robust scent; grow in pots where it can spill over an edge of

a pot or low wall. Oregano also grows in an herb garden or in containers. It is a persistent with

thyme reminiscent and green flowers. Its taste is strong and zesty that is commonly used in

Italian dishes. Oregano has a color deep brown or black. The major components of Oregano were

carvacrol, β-fenchyl alcohol, thymol, and γ-terpinene. All these extracts were commonly used to

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flavor food or brew tea. Therefore, in this case, Oregano’s color is good as a substitute for

computer ink pigments.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The objective of this study is to determine the ability of Oregano leaves as a substitute for

computer ink pigments.

Specifically, to answer the following questions:

1. Can these natural pigments act as commercial substitutes to common computer ink?

 Alternative hypothesis: It can perform as commercial substitutes to

common computer ink.

 Null hypothesis: It cannot perform as commercial substitutes to common

computer ink.

2. Can vinegar strengthen the color of the Oregano ink?

 Alternative hypothesis: Vinegar can strengthen the color of the Oregano

ink

 Null hypothesis: Vinegar cannot strengthen the color of the Oregano ink

3. Can Oregano produce a lasting and stable ink alternative like the commercial ones?

 Alternative hypothesis: Oregano ink can produce a lasting and stable ink

alternative like the commercial ones.

 Null hypothesis: Oregano ink cannot produce a lasting and stable ink

alternative like the commercial ones.

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SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Commercial computer inks nowadays are quite expensive and contain some toxic

ingredients. This study will benefit the citizenry by producing an alternative for commercial

computer inks with the use of a noble material, which is Oregano (origanum vulgare). This study

provides a cheaper and good quality ink pigments. The materials used in the study are very

common and easy to find. Also no harmful chemicals will be used in making this ink. Therefore,

it is safer and non-toxic compared to commercially sold inks which have the tendencies of

causing harm to one’s health and to the environment.

SCOPES AND LIMITATIONS

There are limitations and ranges of scope of this study. The first is the researchers shall

only be extracting the pigments of Oregano in controlled time periods. The cornstarch, black dye

such as Jobus and vinegar will be added in the Oregano extract with balanced measurements.

The extracted pigments of Oregano leaves with vinegar and cornstarch shall insert only into

empty inkjet, and print copies in different types of paper to test the effectiveness of the Oregano

ink. Oregano ink shall be compared to commercial printer inks in order to determine its ability as

an alternative option to the current commercial inks that were sold in market.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

 Pigment- is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result

of wavelength-selective absorption.

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 Carbon black- (subtypes are acetelene black, channel black, furnance black, lamp black and

thermal black) is a material produced by the heavy petroleum products such as FCC tar, coal tar,

ethylene cracking tar, and a small amount from vegetable oil. Carbon black is a form of

paracrystalline carbon that has a high surface-area-to-volume ratio, albeit lower than that of

activated carbon

 Triphenylmethane- (triphenyl methane) is the hydrocarbon with the formula (C6H5)3 CH.

This colorless solid is soluble in nonpolar organic solvents and not in water.

Triphenylmetahne is the basic skeleton of many syntheticdyes called triarylmethane dyes,

many of them are pH indicators and some display fluorescence.

 Titanium oxide- also known as titanium (IV) oxide or titania, is the naturally occurring
oxide of titanium, chemical formula TiO. When used as a pigment, it is called titanium

white, Pigment White 6 (PW6), or CI 77891. Generally it is a sourced from ilmenite,

rutile and anatase.

 Cartridge- An ink cartridge or inkjet cartridge is a component of an inkjet printer that

contains the ink that is deposited onto paper during printing. Each ink cartridge contains

one or more ink reservoirs; certain producers also add electronic contacts and a chip that

communicates with the printer.

 Intensity- refers to the purity of a hue. Intensity is also known as Chroma or Saturation.

The highest intensity or purity of a hue is the hue as it appears in the spectrum or on

the color wheel. A hue reduced in intensity is called a Tone. A tone is a hue with reduced

or dulled strength.

 Stability of color- refers to how long the color of the ink will steady without changing its

quality or intensity of the color, in a long period of time.

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 Resistant to fading- the ability of the ink to stay constant in terms of color in a series of

paper, without changing its intensity of color.

 Thymol- (also known as 2-isopropyl-5-methylphenol, IPMP) is a

natural monoterpene phenol derivative of cymene, C10H14O,isomeric with carvacrol,

found in oil of thyme, and extracted from Thymus vulgaris (common thyme) and various

other kinds of plants as a white crystalline substance of a pleasant aromatic odor and

strong antiseptic properties. Thymol also provides the distinctive, strong flavor of

the culinary herb thyme, also produced from T. vulgaris.

 Y-terpinene- The terpinenes are a group of isomeric hydrocarbons that are classified

as terpenes. They each have the same molecular formula and carbon framework, but they

differ in the position of carbon-carbon double bonds. α-Terpinene has been isolated

from cardamomand marjoram oils, and from other natural sources. β-Terpinene has no

known natural source, but has been prepared synthetically from sabinene. γ-Terpinene

and δ-terpinene (also known as terpinolene) are natural and have been isolated from a

variety of plant sources.

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 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

A research study was done by PC world year 2008 confirmed that cheaper 3rd party inks

can print more pages the commercial inks has a better quality in printing photos, text etc. On the

other hand, a journal article from Novo Jm year 2013 found out that the component of Oregano

leaves are Carvacrol, Terpinine, Tymol, Cymene, can have biological effects. According to

Society of Chemical Industry year 2013, Origanum vulgare is one of the strong substitute or

replacement to synthetic chemicals used by the industry. An article entitled “Dietary effects of a

mix derived from Oregano (Origanum vulgare) essential oil and sweet chestnut (castanea sative)

wood extract on pig performance, oxidative status and pork quality traits” from Maet Science

website concluded that herbs and essential oils from Oregano considered as great means to

preserve the quality of food. An article from Agricultural University of Athens tested two

methods of extracting phenolic and bioactive compounds from plant materials. The efficiency of

hot water was proven by extracting phenolic compounds from Oregano and mushroom. This

was tested between infusion preparation techniques which includes the use of ultra sound for the

extraction of bioactive compounds from plant materials. A research study from Allion.com

website is about Oregano leaves that are used in medical herbs and preventing dandruff. Oregano

is also rich in fiber, iron, manganese vitamin E and a great source of vitamin K that is important

vitamin which promotes bone growth. A study of Tim Holtz Adirondack from Stampers

Anonymous website is about Alcohol ink made of Oregano that is acid-free, fade resistant, and

fast drying. Also it is 5 oz formulated to create colorful, polished stone effects on slick surfaces.

The other related research study is about Ink made of Tea bag is done to find out the

ability of the Tea bag extract that came from extracted leaves from the plant Camellis Sinensis.

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On the other hand, the research about Production of brown ink of Gmelina arborea fruit found

out that their research can lessen the amount of toxic chemicals that can harm the health of the

citizenry and the environment.

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 CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

Materials:

 Oregano leaves (20-30)

 Water (3-4 cups)

 Utensil

 Strainer

 Clean container

 Cloth (“12x12” inches)

 Casserole

 Cornstarch (1 tablespoon)

 Vinegar (5 tablespoon)

 10 Grams of black dye (Jobus)

 Cartridge (Cannon 810 black)

 Printer (Cannon)

 Computer

 Bond paper (Hard copy short)

 Photo paper

 Sticker paper

 Cotton balls (4 pcs.)

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Procedures:

1. Boil 20-30 leaves of oregano in 2-3 cups of water for 15 minutes.

2. Squeeze the leaves using a utensil

3. After boiling, separate the extract of oregano from the leaves using a strainer and put the

extract to a clean container.

4. For best results, use a cloth to squeeze the leaves of oregano to give a darker color.

5. Transfer the extract from container to a casserole.

6. Heat the casserole with the extract of Oregano leaves for about 3-5 minutes.

7. While heating, start mixing one tbsp. of cornstarch in one cup of water then put it on the

heated casserole then mixed it.

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8. Add five tablespoon of vinegar to improve ink’s performance.

9. Add ten grams of black dye and then mix it.

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 CHAPTER IV

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

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