Bedford, MA-based Zink Imaging said this week it has closed $35 million in Series B financing led by Genii Capital. The company, whose name stands for “zero ink,” is developing technology for inkless digital printers that can be attached to or integrated with cameras, consoles, and other devices.
Zink’s technology was conceived at Polaroid Research Labs. It uses special “paper” consisting of dye crystals encased in polymer film. The technique essentially puts color-producing materials in the paper itself, which get activated by thermal print heads, like those used in fax machines. The result is a small color printout of a photo or document, say. The company has partnerships with Polaroid, Dell, and other firms to manufacture devices for consumers.
Zink also announced it has hired former board members and Polaroid veterans Mary Jeffries and Ira Parker as co-CEOs. They succeed former CEO Wendy Caswell (also a former Polaroid exec), who led the company for almost six years since it started in 2005.
My colleague Wade wrote an in-depth profile of Zink back in early 2008. At the time, the startup was about to debut its mobile photo printer at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
Author: Gregory T. Huang
Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003.
Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
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