the old newspapers used a different ink, so it didn't come off after a day or so, once it had 'set' - the high speed presses most papers use now work with an ink that smears and comes off, even days later - don't know if it ever really 'sets' - if you're worried about the ink used on phone book pages, iron a page with a scrap of fabric and see it any of the ink transfers - I would guess not, but you never know. Also, sometimes just ironing the pages first will set the ink and ensure that it doesn't transfer to your fabric.