polaroid zink

The king of instant photographs, Polaroid, has found an able and trustable partner in Zink. The tie up between the giants is bound on job nature rather than strategy. The outcome is Digital Mobile Photo Printer which is based on Zink's inkless printing technology and Polaroid's expertise in producing instant photographs.

The aforesaid printer is capable of producing 2" X 3" borderless photographs. It can connect to cell phones through Bluetooth and digital cameras through PictBridge and USB port. Users can instantly print photographs by syncing the camera devices with the printer. The printer takes a minute for each print.

The printing is inkless and hence no cartridge hassles. Special Zink photo paper needs to be used. Here's a brief about the technology:

Without ink, ribbons, or even toners, the ZINK printer utilizes a patented paper that changes its color when heat is applied. This is made possible with the dye crystals that were put inside the photo paper. At room temperature, the photo paper looks like any other paper. It's colorless. But when inserted in the printer, the heat that was activated when you start printing releases the shades in the embedded crystals to create a plethora of colors that take the shape of your image.

The Digital Mobile Photo Printer should be made available in the US sometime during August/September this year. The estimated pricing of this product is around £75. The cost per print is around 15p per print.

The video below shows the printer in action. It was shot at CES 2008.