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"Zink Polls and Contests." Zink Imaging, Inc.
Photo printer Pc#
"Polaroid PoGo Instant Mobile Printer." PC Magazine. "News & Updates." Polaroid PoGo Newsroom. "Polaroid's entrepreneurial legacy." March 16, 2008. "Thermal Imaging System." European Patent EP1399318. "Polaroid plans mobile printer - no ink needed." MSNBC. The PoGo prints only 2-inch by 3-inch photos however, Zink can make much larger sizes. Unlike with thermal fax paper, temperatures are unlikely to get hot enough in a sun-baked car to affect Zink paper. Although photos are unlikely to experience these temperatures normally, it's best to keep them away from hot areas, like the oven or stove. If you'll remember, it takes temperatures of at least 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 degrees Celsius) to activate crystals in Zink paper. When he held a print up to a hot light bulb, the colors became altered. Time will tell whether these kinks can be ironed out in later advances.Īnd finally, Stone confirms the obvious suspicion that heat affects these images post-printing (given that heat is creates the print in the first place). He also tested the supposed water resistance the printer advertises and found that, although the photos sustain drops that are immediately wiped off, the image suffers if drops dry on it. One expert reviewer for PC Magazine, David Stone, claimed that half of his test photos came out with skewed coloration and that some were "washed out". But some drawbacks might prevent it from catching on, at least for a little while.įirst, some users have complained that the quality of the photo produced by a mobile photo printer is subpar. Given the advantages, you'd expect this technology to take the public by storm. Also, because there is no ink cartridge or ribbon to dispose of, the printer produces no waste. It can satisfy instant gratification - you don't have to wait to get home to a stationary printer to get finished prints of your images.Īnd eco-conscious people will find that the paper is recyclable (unlike thermal paper) and non-toxic. The obvious advantage of the product is that it's small and light. The advantage of Zink is that there's no middleman - the only materials it needs are the paper and printer. These methods print in color, but are complicated because they use a third material (such as a ribbon) that contains the ink, which needs to be melted down to the paper. Zink paper also shares similarities with other printing methods, namely dye diffusion thermal transfer or dye sublimation methods.
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So, we know this printer is compact and mess-free, but does it have any drawbacks? What are its strengths and weaknesses? Read the next page to learn more. As Zink and its other partnering companies develop other compatible printers, more sizes will be available. And, although Polaroid's PoGo printer uses 2-inch by 3-inch paper, Zink can produce paper of any size. Īlthough years of toil went into perfecting the science of this paper, Zink has managed to produce it cheaply enough to sell it for about $3 per 10-pack (about 33 cents per sheet) for the PoGo printer. Each 2-inch by 3-inch sheet contains about 100 billion dye crystals and gets activated by 200 million heat pulses. ĭifferent mixtures of cyan, magenta and yellow can yield all the colors that you need to print a quality image. The "lower" temperatures and "longer" amounts of time used on these printers are really neither low nor long - temperatures are hot, ranging from 212 to 392 degrees Fahrenheit (100 to 200 degrees Celsius), and printing one line takes only 16 milliseconds.
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