Zink stands for Zero Ink. They are a company based in the US and have demonstrated what could be the future of printers with no ink.
The ink is in the 'patented' paper and the image magically appears. Dye crystals are embedded into the paper and with a polymer layer on the top, the paper looks like normal photo paper.
It's claimed the images are of an amazingly high quality.
How Zink works
The Zink technology enables a new category of colour printers and paper that work as a system to print in a whole new way.
The key to this process is the patented Zink paper, an advanced composite material with cyan, yellow, and magenta dye crystals embedded inside and a protective polymer overcoat layer outside.
These crystals, named Amorphochromic crystals, represent an entirely new class of molecules, invented by Zink scientists through a rigorous discovery process. The properties of each dye crystal were finely tuned to achieve the colour palette and image stability required for beautiful, full-colour digital prints.
Before printing, the embedded dye crystals are colourless, so Zink paper looks like regular white photo paper. A Zink enabled device uses heat to activate and colourise these dye crystals. Zink scientists also invented a way to activate each of the crystals independently using heat pulses of precisly determined duration and temperature to achieve any colour under the rainbow.
The paper is non toxic and can be customised to meet the needs of a specific application and market. And, because the paper is manufactured in very large rolls, it can be produced and then finished in any size, in rolls or sheets, and on multiple base materials including paper and plastic. It can also be finished with an adhesive back.
The cynics will say that a) it's one of those gimmicky technologies, or b) the company will be bought out quickly by one of the giants and then promptly kill the technology before it can be any threat, or perhaps c) the technology will be so expensive, it's just not viable.
Watch this space for further news from Zink. In the meantime, check out the web site and the videos.
Zink
www.zink.com
