Here's an interesting website I found.
"The newspapers of yesteryear used inks manufactured from petroleum products that contained heavy metals toxic to hamsters and people alike. Soy ink came into common use in the 1990s and contains no volatile organic compounds to harm your pet. Black and white newsprint is safe for use as animal bedding, according to studies by the Ohio State University. Comics, magazine and ad inserts or other colored portions of the paper are not recommended for use, as they contain additional pigments and chemicals to produce brilliant colors and shiny paper."
It lists a few resources on this page... The first one, which appears to be a study, doesn't display the page anymore. The last one seems to be the same deal. The third one seems pointless because it only talks about general bare minimum care requirements for hamsters. The
second one works and talks about the content of newspaper ink and its safety for mulching purposes.
Thoughts? I was planning on using only the sections of newspaper that are black and white, and have few photos. Next, I'm going to see if I can find some good methods to remove most of the ink. I think I might be able to utilize some of my recyclables for the creatures. I'm probably at least going to try and do something with cardboard. We will see; I will keep researching.
EDIT: Everywhere I look, sounds like cardboard is a yes on safe bedding. Yay! I found out you can just use plain dish soap to actually wash the ink out of newspaper. It doesn't do it 100% obviously, but you just wash the paper strips like you would laundry, until the soap is rinsed away as well. I'm starting to think this might be an option, especially if I'm using a mixture of wood shavings, cardboard, and newspaper. I think the next step would be trial and error? I'll have to see if it's worth the time and effort.