Zink - The next big thing in printing technology

Zink is a "zero ink" technology for high quality digital image printing. The technology was developed by Polaroid Research Labs. Zink is a newly formed start-up that acquired the technology and engineers from Polaroid. The initial target market for Zink is consumers with digital cameras who want to print their photos at home. There are many other commercial applications of the technology as well.

Zink "zero ink" means that the printer doesn't have a an ink jet print head. Instead, colorless dye forming crystals are embedded in the photo paper itself. They are "developed" by passing the paper through a Zink printer, which is basically a stationary thermal transfer print head. The print head selectively heats each pixel at a different temperature to create different colors.  Think of Polaroid instant film technology applied to photo printing on paper. It is amazing!

The picture quality is extraordinary. The Zink printer is 4 to 10 times faster than a traditional ink jet printer. And, the total print cost is lower than ink jets. Zink will be a disruptive technology in the photo printing industry.

The Zink photo paper isn't actually paper. It is a plastic substrate impregnated with several layers of color crystals. The substrate comes in a clear and a white version.  The clear version looks like a clear plastic film similar to overhead transparency film. When it is passed under the thermal print head the color crystals are activated and a high quality photo image comes out the other end of the printer.

The printer has no moving parts, no ink reservoir, and no heaters, other than the thermal transfer print head itself. So it is a very small, low profile, print device. It can fit in the palm of your hand, or perhaps in the future even become part of the camera form factor. The holy grail of reliable printers has been to reduce the number of moving parts. Zink has done it by moving the "ink" to the paper itself.

Zink has technology to manufacture the "Zink paper" for less than the cost of traditional paper and ink. Zink will manufacture the "paper" media and be an OEM supplier to printer partners who will bring Zink printers and solutions to market.

Zink just closed their first round of financing and hopes to have a product on the market next year. You heard it here first. Zink will be The Next Big Thing in photo printing.

Comments

[Richard Ruekema]

Wow - sound fantastic! With so many benefits, why would Polaroid not promote this via it's own brand? (I hope this is not an ignorant question!)

[DonDodge]

Polaroid has been in transition over the past five years with the advent of digital cameras. Polaroid was recently sold to a private equity investor and will be repositioned as a consumer brand company for small electronics.

The new owners are more interested in the consumer marketing side, and didn't want to invest in R&D, create a new market, and compete with all the printer companies.

Zink is one of those rare cases of perfect timing, and finding a jewel hidden in a corporate conglomerate.

[Tom Murphy]

Did Fujifilm not already do this with their CX printers? No ink, no ribbon, just paper. They call it thermo-autochrome. Its slow but the quality is good

[Don Dodge]

Tom, You are right. Thanks for pointing out the Fuji CX printers. I asked the people at Zink about this and they confirmed that the concept is the same but the implementation is very different.

Essentially Zink has figured out how to print all the colors in one pass, making it MUCH faster. The CX design requires several passes and additional processes to complete the print. Zink technology can be applied to standard thermal print head technology, while the CX implementation requires a specialized print engine.

The concept and technology are similar. I didn't know about Fuji CX. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Don