Zink Imaging,
which is located in Boston, has now developed a new way to print your
photos directly from your mobile phone or other devices. In fact, they
went one step further with the mobility of it and are completely
replacing the ink cartridges we're so used to using.
Wireless camera phones would be fitted with these or you could have
this as a separate accessory, but the idea is incredible. How did they
cut out the use of an ink cartridge? Let me tell you...
This company, has utilized the same technology that Polariod uses in
their instant photos. Using chemically treated paper instead of the
traditional ink-on-paper printing eliminates the need for those nasty
cartridges and makes this a more streamlined way to print photos. I
hope they don't make the paper impossible to afford like they have some
printer cartridges though.
So, instead of wasting time with bulky cartridges and large printers
like those from Hewlett-Packard, Lexmark, and others, you would be able
to utilize the process Zink has come up with and embed the ink into the
specialized chemically treated paper. The mobile printer connects
either wirelessly or with a USB cable directly to any camera phone or
digital camera and prints full-color 2" x 3" digital photos (size of a
business card).
Using heat in the process, different layers of ink can be activated
during printing and appear on the special paper, giving you quick
photos in a compact format. This will allow the makers to work for a
small form so that you can carry this around and it's far more mobile
than what is offered on the market today.
As I understand it, the printing process is set up by controlling how
the heat is applied to the paper by using thousands of tiny heated
print heads. This allows the manufacturer to produce small and
easy-to-use printers that could be designed with very few buttons and a
small format.
View a video on the Zink printer and visit the site to find out where you can purchase yours, here. They also have an integrated digital camera and printer available soon.
Thats freaking sweet, but if your ever need to print with a conventional printer cheaply, I would go with Kodak. Check it out http://www.inkisit.com