A pollution-preventing lithographic ink system works conventionally at a pH less than 7, but becomes its own emulsifying agent at high pH. Accordingly, it can be washed off lithographic printing presses with aqueous base. The emulsification kinetics of the ink have been experimentally studied as mass transfer coefficients under the conditions of low shear. Correlations for this mass transfer suggest that washing is controlled by diffusion of components within the ink. The results point toward a strategy for achieving other pollution-preventing technologies.