ZINK (short for ‘zero ink’) this morning announced that it has scored $35 million in Series B funding in a round led by Genii Capital. The company also announced the hiring of former board members Mary Jeffries (as chairman and co-CEO) and Ira Parker (as president and co-CEO).
Jeffries was once the CEO of Polaroid, where Parker also served as VP and General Counsel before moving on to a similar role at AOL.
ZINK is behind the ‘Zero Ink Printing Technology’ and its sibling, ZINK Paper, with which the company aims to ruffle some established feathers in the global printing industry.
The company has invented technology and a full-color printing system that essentially eradicates the need for ink cartridges or ribbons when used with its proprietary ZINK Paper. I’m not sure how they pull this off, exactly, but the company pitches its technology thusly:
Based on advances in chemistry, engineering, physics, image science, and manufacturing, the development of ZINK has generated an IP portfolio that includes over 180 patents and patents pending.
At the heart of the technology is ZINK Paper which looks like regular white photo paper before printing. Heat from a ZINK-enabled device activates the color-forming chemistry within the ZINK Paper, forming all the colors of the rainbow.
ZINK’s technology already powers a limited range of home photo printers, digital cameras with built-in ZINK printers, as well as logging printers, with more coming. Partners include Dell and Polaroid.
Founded in 2005, ZINK’s R&D labs and headquarters are based in Bedford, Massachusetts, with a manufacturing plant located in Whitsett, North Carolina.