Abstract: An ink reconstitution system and method for ink drop printers in which an essentially closed delivery system supplies ink under pressure to a printing bar, and a catcher collects unprinted ink. The unprinted ink is delivered to a temporary holding or reconstitution tank having high and low level sensing means, and a pump is operated in response to the fluid level reaching the high level sensing means to deliver a quantity of collected fluid from the holding tank back to the supply system. Reconstitution is accomplished by metering into the holding tank a predetermined quantity of reconstitution or replenisher fluid, each time the low level sensing means is operated, so that the quantity of replenisher is always related to the quantity of ink returned by the catcher and therefore subject to evaporation.