A Canadian daily newspaper claims ink savings of a third from the introduction of ink optimisation software.

New ProImage says the Manitoba-based Winnipeg Free Press - the country's second largest city newspaper - is reducing ink consumption and ink cost, while improving print quality, following use of the company's OnColor ECO. The publisher prints more than 85,000 daily newspapers and multiple commercial jobs.

A 33 per cent reduction in ink consumption in 2017 compared to 2016 equates to an annual saving of more than $213,000. While black ink consumption went up by $2500, the impact was minimal. The newspaper saw ink savings of 50,228 kg with a 1469 kg increase of black ink for the year.

The system partially replaces cyan, magenta, and yellow colours in an image with black without compromising sharpness or quality, and reduces the overall ink volume required for printing.

ProImage NewsWay workflow software was already in use when ECO was installed and integrates seamlessly with I, appearing as a device in the workflow and as it receives files from Asura.

Operation vice president Christine Fehler says a major benefit is the "good balance of ink savings and print quality the default settings provide". Production required no adjustments.